diff --git a/app/Helpers/StorageHelper.php b/app/Helpers/StorageHelper.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c5e084fa6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/Helpers/StorageHelper.php
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace App\Helpers;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Storage;
+
+class StorageHelper
+{
+    static function downloader($filename, $disk = 'default') {
+        if($disk == 'default') {
+            $disk = config('filesystems.default');
+        }
+        switch(config("filesystems.disks.$disk.driver")) {
+            case 'local':
+                return response()->download(Storage::disk($disk)->path($filename)); //works for PRIVATE or public?!
+
+            case 's3':
+                return redirect()->away(Storage::disk($disk)->temporaryUrl($filename, now()->addMinutes(5))); //works for private or public, I guess?
+
+            default:
+                return Storage::disk($disk)->download($filename);
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/Assets/AssetFilesController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/Assets/AssetFilesController.php
index cbf15219b..28aa3097c 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/Assets/AssetFilesController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/Assets/AssetFilesController.php
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ use App\Models\Actionlog;
 use App\Models\Asset;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Response;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Storage;
+use App\Helpers\StorageHelper;
 
 class AssetFilesController extends Controller
 {
@@ -86,7 +87,7 @@ class AssetFilesController extends Controller
                   }
                 return JsonResponse::create(["error" => "Failed validation: "], 500);
             }
-            return Storage::download($file);
+            return StorageHelper::downloader($file);
         }
         // Prepare the error message
         $error = trans('admin/hardware/message.does_not_exist', ['id' => $fileId]);
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/Licenses/LicenseFilesController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/Licenses/LicenseFilesController.php
index 1e3ade907..33f47d123 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/Licenses/LicenseFilesController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/Licenses/LicenseFilesController.php
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Input;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Response;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Storage;
 use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\JsonResponse;
+use App\Helpers\StorageHelper;
 
 class LicenseFilesController extends Controller
 {
@@ -143,18 +144,18 @@ class LicenseFilesController extends Controller
 
                 // We have to override the URL stuff here, since local defaults in Laravel's Flysystem
                 // won't work, as they're not accessible via the web
-                if (config('filesystems.default') == 'local') {
-                    return Storage::download($file);
+                if (config('filesystems.default') == 'local') { // TODO - is there any way to fix this at the StorageHelper layer?
+                    return StorageHelper::downloader($file);
                 } else {
                     if ($download != 'true') {
                         \Log::debug('display the file');
-                        if ($contents = file_get_contents(Storage::url($file))) {
+                        if ($contents = file_get_contents(Storage::url($file))) { // TODO - this will fail on private S3 files or large public ones
                             return Response::make(Storage::url($file)->header('Content-Type', mime_content_type($file)));
                         }
                         return JsonResponse::create(["error" => "Failed validation: "], 500);
                     }
 
-                    return Storage::download($file);
+                    return StorageHelper::downloader($file);
                 }
 
             }
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/SettingsController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/SettingsController.php
index 6ca9662c0..c449df480 100755
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/SettingsController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/SettingsController.php
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ use Image;
 use Input;
 use Redirect;
 use Response;
+use App\Helpers\StorageHelper;
 
 /**
  * This controller handles all actions related to Settings for
@@ -1091,7 +1092,7 @@ class SettingsController extends Controller
 
         if (! config('app.lock_passwords')) {
             if (Storage::exists($path . '/' . $filename)) {
-                return Storage::download($path . '/' . $filename);
+                return StorageHelper::downloader($path . '/' . $filename);
             } else {
                 // Redirect to the backup page
                 return redirect()->route('settings.backups.index')->with('error', trans('admin/settings/message.backup.file_not_found'));
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/Users/UserFilesController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/Users/UserFilesController.php
index bce241aee..f5a3ea118 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/Users/UserFilesController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/Users/UserFilesController.php
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ class UserFilesController extends Controller
 
             $log = Actionlog::find($fileId);
             $file = $log->get_src('users');
-            return Response::download($file);
+            return Response::download($file); //FIXME this doesn't use the new StorageHelper yet, but it's complicated...
         }
         // Prepare the error message
         $error = trans('admin/users/message.user_not_found', ['id' => $userId]);