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Hyper-V Serial Port Passthrough
Olga Weis Olga Weis Last updated May 3, 2024

Hyper-V Serial Port Passthrough: How to Forward a COM Port to Hyper-V

Likely, you’ve already grappled with the issue of Hyper-V serial port passthrough in Windows 10.

This problem may seem tricky to tackle as even the official Microsoft’s Deployment guide on Hyper-V can’t offer you any workable solution.

Sure thing, on your guest machine, you can connect its COM ports to a named pipe but that method won’t work for the host’s COM ports unless you manage to use some ancient projects from third-party developers.

Keep on reading to find out more about said solutions and another, much easier and more reliable way to set up Hyper-V COM port redirection from the host to a guest PC.

FlexiHub
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Redirect COM ports to a Hyper-V virtual machine

With FlexiHub, you can make your host’s COM port accessible via the TCP/IP protocol so that any VM running on Hyper-V can be connected to that COM port in a couple of clicks.

The software works by using the network to establish a virtual connection to map serial ports (or passthrough USB devices) to Hyper-V guest virtual machines. There are no complicated configuration procedures involved: you can implement Hyper-V COM port redirection with just a few simple steps.

How to enable Hyper-V serial port passthrough
  • 1.
    Firstly, register a FlexiHub account to start your free demo subscription.
    create Flexihub account
  • 2.
    Install FlexiHub on the Hyper-V host machine that has a device physically connected to a serial port. FlexiHub also needs to be installed on the Hyper-V guest virtual machine which will then access the serial port.
    download flexihub
  • 3.
    Launch the application on the host as well as the guest, and log into your FlexiHub account. Serial devices available for connection will be displayed in the software interface.
    log into FlexiHub account
  • 4.
    Locate the COM port you wish to connect to Hyper-V and click "Connect".
    click Connect
  • 5.
    Hyper-V serial port passthrough will then be enabled and any device connected to the host’s serial interfaces will be available to the guest. FlexiHub offers a convenient way of managing serial ports in a virtual environment without modifying configuration parameters. blank
How to connect COM ports to Hyper-V VMs - Video Guide

How to add a COM port in Hyper-V (named pipes)

To connect the guest COM ports to “named pipes”, the serial interface must be set up from within the Hyper-V session.

Note: This method won’t work for the host’s physical COM port passthrough to a guest system. It’s intended for program debugging only.
connect serial ports to hyper-v vm
Using Hyper-V Manager to connect COM ports
  • 1.
    Right-click the virtual machine and choose “Settings".
  • 2.
    Select the required serial port from the “Hardware” menu.
  • 3.
    Click the “Named Pipe” radio button.
  • 4.
    Enter the pipe’s name in the text box (e.g. COM1).
  • 5.
    Copy or write down the path to the named pipe (e.g. \\.\pipe\COM1).
  • 6.
    Use the path from step 5 to connect to the named pipe in a serial client of your choice.

How to connect COM ports to named pipes with 3d-party projects

PipeDream

With PipeDream running on your host computer, you can connect a Hyper-V host serial port to a virtual machine. PipeDream acts as a bridge that communicates serial data between a physical COM port and a virtual one on the VM.

You won’t need to install any client-side components or device drivers on your virtual machine, so this method can be used if you still rely on a dated OS (e.g. Windows XP) or some legacy apps.

PipeDream uses Hyper-V's named pipe support for communication, so the network connection is not required. Once you set the pipe name in Hyper-V, a COM port will be instantly accessible from the guest VM through PipeDream.

Note: PipeDream offers a fully functional trial version for a limited time, allowing users to test its features before buying. To continue using PipeDream after the trial ends or to access ongoing support and updates, purchasing a full version license is necessary. Contact details are provided for users to acquire the full license.

PipeToCom

Another handy project for Microsoft Hyper-V serial port passthrough was created by Albert-Jan Nijburg. Put simply, it can get data from the Hyper-V serial port named pipe and pass it through to some other COM port you choose for that purpose.

It has not been much tested and the project has not been updated for several years, but here you can find a tutorial by Mat Smith that will guide you through PipeToCom:

Summing up

This detailed guide should have provided you with the knowledge required to add Hyper-V serial port connectivity to your virtual sessions. Once these connections have been established, your virtual machine will enjoy the same functionality as if it had a direct connection to the peripheral serial device.

Hyper-V Serial Port Passthrough
  • 4.8 overall rank based on 386+ Reviews
  • Requirements: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and Raspberry Pi.
  • 10.76MB Size.
  • Version 7.0.15125. (3 Jun, 2024).
  • Pricing starts from $14/month