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Olga Weis Olga Weis Mar 17, 2021

How to redirect USB devices to a virtual machine

Sooner or later you’ll surely need to access USB in a virtual machine. There is a way to go around it – using an advanced software solution.

FlexiHub will help you redirect USB to a virtual machine and enable you to access and manage physical ports of host OS without compromise.

FlexiHub


Windows, macOS, Linux, Android 4.8 Rank based on 386+ Reviews
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Anyone out there who never heard of virtualization and virtual machines and servers? Perhaps not. Most of us at some point of time made use of benefits offered by virtualization technologies. Running multiple operating systems in parallel on the same hardware has a lot of advantages – apart from cost savings, it helps you automate processes and be more flexible in managing limited IT-resources.

However, virtualization also has certain issues that you will have to go about somehow – one of them is struggling to access USB devices from VM as VMWare or Microsoft Hyper-V, for example, have limited support for USB passthrough.

How to attach USB in Virtual Machine

If you work in a virtual environment rather often, FlexiHub is one of those solutions that will make your life much easier. It is so compact it hardly has any impact on the performance of your machine. The interface is minimalistic - all USB devices are displayed in your account accessible to you on registration. And it is really easy-to-use.

Here is your step-by-step guide on how to connect USB to VM:

1
Register a FlexiHub account and sign up for a free demo to be able to passthrough USB devices to VM.
 Register a FlexiHub profile
2
Download and install the app on your host OS. Login using your credentials and you’ll see a list of all available devices – each of them with ‘Unlock’ button next to it. To make them available in a virtual environment, press this button, if needed.
 Download Flexihub for virtual machine
3
Now you need to download and install FlexiHub on your guest OS. Launch the app and log in using the same credentials. In the app window displayed you will see a list of devices shared from the host OS.
 USB passthrough device to a virtual machine
4
Choose a device you need to access in a virtual machine and click "Connect".
 Connection
5
Now your virtual machine will recognize USB devices as if there were connected directly to it. No additional settings or commands required, manage required USB ports in a virtual machine freely.

FlexiHub

Price: from 14$/month
Free version: Download
Remote Serial Port Access: Detailed How-to Guide

Benefits of using FlexiHub to connect USB to virtual machines

✓ FlexiHub is compatible with a large number of virtualization apps – VMWare Workstation and ESXi, VirtualBox, Citrix XenDesktop, Microsoft Hyper-V, etc. Once you create a FlexiHub account, you can access your USB devices in virtual machines created by any of these software. Virtual Machine USB access


✓ FlexiHub works across platforms, i.e. it supports Mac, Linux, Windows and Android.

✓ FlexiHub detects and recognizes devices connected to your host OS as if they were connected directly to your virtual machine. No additional settings required.

Access USB in the Virtual Machine
30-day demo period

✓ Your virtual machine can access USB ports not only of your host OS but remote computers that have FlexiHub installed, as long as you are logged in there.

✓ FlexiHub allows you to pass through as many USB devices as you need while working in the VM.

FAQ about Virtual Machine USB passthrough

Yes, FlexiHub allows you to work with your USB in VirtualBox. But you can also try the native method for USB passthrough in VirtualBox. First, you need to install the extension pack and make some settings.
Of course, you may access USB in Hyper-V virtual machine. Read the guide with several methods to enable Hyper-V USB passthrough, and your VM can work with any USB devices attached to the host computer.
There are some restrictions, provided by the VMware ESXi, but still, you can access USB in VMware with the native method. FlexiHub provides you with a more simple way for VMware USB passthrough you may read in our tutorial.
Citrix Hypervisor (or XenServer) can give you the opportunity to passthrough USB, but you need to perform a couple of additional steps. Read the full guide about XenServer USB passthrough.
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FlexiHub
  • 4.8 overall rank based on 386+ Reviews
  • Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and Raspberry Pi.
  • 10.45MB Size.
  • Version 6.1.15025. (19 Feb, 2024).