diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 95291dd..0754551 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -325,18 +325,70 @@ Automatically backup all recordings and greeting files to USB drives:
 6. Corrupted copies deleted automatically
 7. Success/failure logged to console
 
-**Mount USB Drives:**
+**Mount USB Drives with Proper Permissions:**
+
+**Automated Setup (Easiest):**
 ```bash
+# Run the USB setup script
+sudo ./setup_usb.sh
+```
+This interactive script will:
+- Detect your USB devices
+- Mount them with proper user permissions
+- Test write access
+- Optionally add to /etc/fstab for auto-mounting
+
+**Option 1: Mount with user permissions (Recommended)**
+```bash
+# Find your USB device
+lsblk
+
+# Create mount point
+sudo mkdir -p /media/usb0
+
+# Mount with user ownership (replace $USER with your username if needed)
+sudo mount -o uid=$(id -u),gid=$(id -g) /dev/sda1 /media/usb0
+
+# Verify it's writable
+touch /media/usb0/test.txt && rm /media/usb0/test.txt
+```
+
+**Option 2: Auto-mount in /etc/fstab with user permissions**
+```bash
+# Get USB UUID
+sudo blkid /dev/sda1
+
+# Edit fstab
+sudo nano /etc/fstab
+
+# Add line (replace UUID and username):
+UUID=XXXX-XXXX  /media/usb0  vfat  defaults,nofail,uid=1000,gid=1000  0  0
+# Note: uid=1000 is usually the first user, check with: id -u
+```
+
+**Option 3: Change ownership after mounting**
+```bash
+# Mount normally
+sudo mount /dev/sda1 /media/usb0
+
+# Change ownership (replace with your username)
+sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /media/usb0
+```
+
+**Quick Setup Script:**
+```bash
+#!/bin/bash
+# setup_usb.sh - Mount USB drives with proper permissions
+
 # Create mount points
 sudo mkdir -p /media/usb0 /media/usb1
 
-# Auto-mount in /etc/fstab (example)
-UUID=XXXX-XXXX  /media/usb0  vfat  defaults,nofail  0  0
-UUID=YYYY-YYYY  /media/usb1  vfat  defaults,nofail  0  0
+# Mount USB drives with user ownership
+sudo mount -o uid=$(id -u),gid=$(id -g) /dev/sda1 /media/usb0
+sudo mount -o uid=$(id -u),gid=$(id -g) /dev/sdb1 /media/usb1
 
-# Or mount manually
-sudo mount /dev/sda1 /media/usb0
-sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/usb1
+echo "USB drives mounted!"
+ls -la /media/usb0 /media/usb1
 ```
 
 ## File Structure
@@ -347,6 +399,7 @@ wedding-phone/
 ├── test_complete.py           # Audio testing script
 ├── configure_hifiberry.sh     # HiFiBerry setup script
 ├── install_service.sh         # Systemd service installer
+├── setup_usb.sh               # USB drive setup with permissions
 ├── wedding-phone.service      # Systemd service file
 ├── Makefile                   # Make commands for easy running
 ├── config.example.json       # Example configuration (copy to config.json)
diff --git a/rotary_phone_web.py b/rotary_phone_web.py
index 796d58d..68ffd59 100644
--- a/rotary_phone_web.py
+++ b/rotary_phone_web.py
@@ -186,18 +186,30 @@ def get_usb_backup_status():
 
         if drive_info["mounted"]:
             try:
-                # Check if writable
-                test_file = os.path.join(usb_path, ".wedding_phone_test")
+                # Try to create backup directory first
+                backup_dir = os.path.join(usb_path, "wedding-phone-backup")
+                try:
+                    os.makedirs(backup_dir, exist_ok=True)
+                    test_location = backup_dir
+                except PermissionError:
+                    # Can't create backup dir, try root
+                    test_location = usb_path
+
+                # Check if writable in backup directory
+                test_file = os.path.join(test_location, ".wedding_phone_test")
                 with open(test_file, 'w') as f:
                     f.write("test")
                 os.remove(test_file)
                 drive_info["writable"] = True
+                drive_info["backup_dir"] = backup_dir if test_location == backup_dir else None
 
                 # Get free space
                 stat = os.statvfs(usb_path)
                 drive_info["free_space"] = stat.f_bavail * stat.f_frsize
                 drive_info["free_space_mb"] = drive_info["free_space"] / (1024 * 1024)
 
+            except PermissionError as e:
+                drive_info["error"] = f"Permission denied. Mount with proper permissions or run: sudo chown -R $USER {usb_path}"
             except Exception as e:
                 drive_info["error"] = str(e)
 
diff --git a/setup_usb.sh b/setup_usb.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4312efb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/setup_usb.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# USB Drive Setup Script
+# Mounts USB drives with proper user permissions for wedding phone backups
+#
+
+set -e
+
+# Colors for output
+RED='\033[0;31m'
+GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
+NC='\033[0m' # No Color
+
+echo "=========================================="
+echo "USB Drive Setup for Wedding Phone"
+echo "=========================================="
+echo ""
+
+# Check if running as root
+if [ "$EUID" -ne 0 ]; then
+    echo -e "${RED}This script needs sudo privileges${NC}"
+    echo "Please run with: sudo ./setup_usb.sh"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Get the real user (not root when using sudo)
+REAL_USER=${SUDO_USER:-$USER}
+REAL_UID=$(id -u $REAL_USER)
+REAL_GID=$(id -g $REAL_USER)
+
+echo "Setting up USB mounts for user: $REAL_USER (UID:$REAL_UID, GID:$REAL_GID)"
+echo ""
+
+# Create mount points
+echo "Creating mount points..."
+mkdir -p /media/usb0 /media/usb1
+echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Mount points created${NC}"
+echo ""
+
+# Detect USB devices
+echo "Detecting USB devices..."
+lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,MOUNTPOINT,FSTYPE | grep -E "disk|part"
+echo ""
+
+# Function to mount a USB drive
+mount_usb() {
+    local device=$1
+    local mount_point=$2
+
+    if [ ! -b "$device" ]; then
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}⚠ Device $device not found, skipping${NC}"
+        return
+    fi
+
+    # Unmount if already mounted
+    if mountpoint -q "$mount_point"; then
+        echo "Unmounting existing mount at $mount_point..."
+        umount "$mount_point" 2>/dev/null || true
+    fi
+
+    echo "Mounting $device to $mount_point..."
+    mount -o uid=$REAL_UID,gid=$REAL_GID "$device" "$mount_point"
+
+    if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
+        echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Mounted $device${NC}"
+
+        # Test write permissions
+        if sudo -u $REAL_USER touch "$mount_point/.test" 2>/dev/null; then
+            sudo -u $REAL_USER rm "$mount_point/.test"
+            echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Write test successful${NC}"
+        else
+            echo -e "${RED}✗ Write test failed${NC}"
+        fi
+
+        # Show available space
+        df -h "$mount_point" | tail -n 1 | awk '{print "  Free space: " $4}'
+    else
+        echo -e "${RED}✗ Failed to mount $device${NC}"
+    fi
+
+    echo ""
+}
+
+# Prompt for devices
+echo "Enter device paths or press Enter to skip"
+echo ""
+
+read -p "USB 0 device (e.g., /dev/sda1) [Enter to skip]: " USB0_DEVICE
+if [ ! -z "$USB0_DEVICE" ]; then
+    mount_usb "$USB0_DEVICE" "/media/usb0"
+fi
+
+read -p "USB 1 device (e.g., /dev/sdb1) [Enter to skip]: " USB1_DEVICE
+if [ ! -z "$USB1_DEVICE" ]; then
+    mount_usb "$USB1_DEVICE" "/media/usb1"
+fi
+
+# Summary
+echo "=========================================="
+echo "Mount Summary"
+echo "=========================================="
+ls -la /media/usb0 /media/usb1 2>/dev/null | grep -E "^d|^total" || echo "No mounts found"
+echo ""
+
+# Offer to add to fstab
+read -p "Add these mounts to /etc/fstab for automatic mounting? (y/n) " -n 1 -r
+echo ""
+
+if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
+    echo ""
+    echo "Add the following lines to /etc/fstab:"
+    echo ""
+
+    if [ ! -z "$USB0_DEVICE" ]; then
+        UUID0=$(blkid -s UUID -o value "$USB0_DEVICE")
+        if [ ! -z "$UUID0" ]; then
+            echo "UUID=$UUID0  /media/usb0  vfat  defaults,nofail,uid=$REAL_UID,gid=$REAL_GID  0  0"
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    if [ ! -z "$USB1_DEVICE" ]; then
+        UUID1=$(blkid -s UUID -o value "$USB1_DEVICE")
+        if [ ! -z "$UUID1" ]; then
+            echo "UUID=$UUID1  /media/usb1  vfat  defaults,nofail,uid=$REAL_UID,gid=$REAL_GID  0  0"
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    echo ""
+    echo "To add automatically, run:"
+    echo "  sudo nano /etc/fstab"
+fi
+
+echo ""
+echo "=========================================="
+echo "Setup Complete!"
+echo "=========================================="
+echo ""
+echo "USB drives are now accessible by user: $REAL_USER"
+echo "Wedding Phone can now backup to these drives"
+echo ""