How to share USB over Wi-Fi

Traditionally, a great majority of USB peripherals gets connected to a computer via a USB cable. That is a reliable way of connection which we have been using for years, but it has its own flaws that will make you pick a wireless USB over a cable connection since its working distance is limited as well as places where you can put a USB device. Besides, if there are a lot of connected USB devices, the overwhelming amount of cable will definitely clutter your desk. Luckily there are a number of ways to overcome that problem and extend USB over Wi-Fi - wireless USB hubs, USB over Wi-Fi sharing software, wireless USB extenders, etc.

Contents

• Software solutions
• Wireless USB software
• USB over Wi-Fi Connector
• Hardware Wireless USB Hub Solutions

FlexiHub is a leading software solution for sharing and connecting USB over Wi-Fi. It supports a wide range of USB devices including printers, scanners, hard drives, USB dongles, etc., and is extremely reliable when it comes to the speed of connection, and the level of its stability and security. What stands out about FlexiHub, is that it lets you significantly reduce the number of wires near your computer, turning it into a sort of wireless USB hub without requiring any additional hardware. You can run FlexiHub on any OS of your choice, it can be either Windows, macOS, Linux and even Android.

How to connect USB device wirelessly to another computer

1. Go to the website and register a FlexiHub account.
2. To be able to extend USB over Wi-Fi, sign up for a trial subscription.
3. Download and install FlexiHub on all computers participating in the connection to turn them into a sort of Wi-Fi USB hubs.
4. Launch the app and log in with your credentials on the local and remote computers. On the latter one find the device you need, click the ‘Connect’ button next to it.
5. That’s it, your device will be visible to other users logged into the same Flexihub account and they will be able to connect to USB devices over Wi-Fi and utilize their full functionality.

USB Network Gate is another effective solution for connecting wired USB devices to a wireless network. It not only allows to share USB over Wi-Fi but also works across a local area network, and on top of that allows to establish a wireless USB connection with another computer over the remote desktop protocol.

How to extend USB over Wi-Fi

1. Download and install the software on a machine that will act as a wireless USB hub (Server part) and computers that will connect to the shared USB devices wirelessly (Clients).
2. Plug a device into the computer with the server part installed, go to USB Network Gate and share it from there. This will make it accessible to Client computers.
3. Connect to the shared USB device over a wireless network from any Client computer.

Hardware Wireless USB Hub Solutions

Wireless USB Hub is USB extender that will help you to enable any USB hard drive, USB memory card reader, USB scanner, or USB printer to be shared over a Wi-Fi network among different users. As long as there is Wi-Fi coverage, they will allow you to place your USB devices anywhere in the home or office and you will no longer be limited by the USB cable length running from your USB devices to your computers. The wireless USB transmitters usually have a functionality of a USB hub extension, allowing them to extend several devices over a home or office Wi-Fi network.

How to set up a USB to wireless network converter

1. Firstly, you will need to install the software that comes with the device for the computer to recognize it and then be able to connect to USB wirelessly.
2. Connect the device to a wireless network or via a RJ45 cable.
3. Connect the USB device to a wireless USB hub.

However, there are several things to consider when going with the hardware USB hubs:

• Poor or no support for Mac and Linux.
• Possible speed issues and connection interruptions.
• Usually, the connection has to be restored manually each time the computer is turned on.