Home > Consumer Reviews > Cables To Go - 30505 - 2-Port USB 2.0 Manual Switch

I purchased this switch so that I could use my tray-mounted keyboard and trackball with my desktop computer and also my employer-provided laptop. Basically, I wanted to share these two USB devices between the two computers, and have a convenient way of switching between the two. Since I did not need to share video, I decided not to select a KVM switch, and figured that the "general-purpose" nature of this switch would come in handy. I have given this product 4 stars based on it's intended use (such as sharing a printer), not my application, for which it is not well suited.

Unfortunately, this switch is not ideal in the method that I use it. I have my USB keyboard and trackball connected to a small, bus-powered hub, which is then plugged into the switched port of the switch. The host ports are then connected to my desktop computer and my notebook computer. When either computer is turned on, it immediately attaches to the keyboard and mouse, with no problems at all. In fact, as a replacement for manually unplugging and plugging the USB cables when I need one system or another, this switch works fine. With both systems on, I can use the button on the switch to select one computer or another, and the keyboard and mouse switch over and work just fine.

However, there are two problems with the switch, as a KVM replacement. First, it takes several seconds for the switch to complete the changeover once the button is pressed. This makes it painful to switch back and forth between systems. I can easily see that impacting the way someone would work with two systems, and should be taken in to consideration.

The second problem is really a lack of understanding of how the "hot-key" switching works with this device. I had assumed that this would work like a KVM, where the scroll-lock hot key on the attached USB keyboard would let me select one system or the other. This is not the case. It turns out that you need to use the scroll-lock key on a keyboard of the computer that is not currently switched to the peripheral, a keyboard that is NOT connected through the switch. In other words, if my desktop computer is selected (so that my shared keyboard works with it), I can double click scroll-lock on my laptop keyboard, and this causes the switch to connect the shared keyboard to the laptop. Not very useful if your hands are on the shared keyboard, but it would probably work well for a shared printer selected from one computer or the other.

For a more technical description, I believe it works by emulating a keyboard to the non-selected computer. Then when another keyboard issues a scroll-lock state, all keyboards are notified so they can light their LED. The switch looks for two clicks of the scroll-lock key, then swtiches to the port that casued the event.

For now, I will continue to use the switch for my keyboard, since I don't need to switch back and forth between my work and home computers very much. However, I will probably look for an inexpensive KVM, and just leave the video portion disconnected, as I think that would be a better overall solution. This switch will then find a home sharing my printer between the two computers, a function for which it is better suited (and earns the 4 star rating that I have given it).

*** UPDATE 5/13/2009: After using this great little switch very successfully for nearly two years to share a single printer between 2 PCs, I shelved it (in favor of a network USB hub), as my application had changed. Now, a few months later, I need the ability to occasionally share a KVM setup between my desktop PC and a laptop. Thanks to R. Al-Kazily's and Bruce Zentner's reviews, I'm going to pull this little gem back out of the closet and repurpose it for the KM portion of this application. (My video display has dual inputs, and auto/manual switching.) End of update ***

I bought this switch to share a single USB2 printer (Canon Pro9000) between two PCs (Dell laptop and home-built desktop PC), because plugging and unplugging the USB cables at the back of the printer was getting to be a pain. I wanted the least expensive USB2 switch that could be controlled from the PCs, without loading any software on them.

Both PCs are running Windows XP Pro; the desktop PC is connected directly to the switch, and the laptop PC is connected to the switch through a USB2 hub.

This device simply works! Whether switching sources by depressing the button on the top of the switch, or double-clicking the ScrollLock key on either PC, the LED for the selected source will blink momentarily, then glow steadily when the switch has completed the transition. If it's *very* quiet, you can also hear the switch click over from once source to the other. No power adapter is supplied or required; the switch is powered by the USB ports of the connected PCs.

On my laptop PC's keyboard, ScrollLock is accomplished by Fn+NumLock. Neither this nor the USB2 hub between the laptop and the switch cause any problems in the operation of the switch.

My only complaint is that -- unlike some other USB switches (but just like my $425 printer!) -- no USB cable is included. It would have been nice if a short (say, 3 foot) cable had been included in the package; doing so should have only increased the purchase price $1.00 or so. But that's a minor quibble.

Highly recommended.

I have this switch linked to a docking station for a WinXP laptop and to a Mac Mini (OSX 10.4.9) for my HP Printer. It toggles between both machines seamlessly, taking maybe 5 seconds to settle in and be ready. The first two times I toggled back to the Mac I got an 'unrecognized keyboard' warning, but the printer would work nonetheless and the warning does not happen anymore. So far I am 100% satusfied with this switch.

I bought this switch because I share one printer with my desk top computer and my lap top computer. There was a little mix-up in getting it here, but Amazon quickly re-ordered for me and the switch arrived on time. The switch works great. I have not had the delays that others have written about. One push of the button and the printer is switched to the other computer. If one computer is shut down, the switch automaticly changes to the printer that is running, that is nice. This is a nice product and I would recommend it to others. A big thanks to the people at Amazon for quickly getting back to me and for taking care of issues created by the US mail. UPS was much more dependable and they keep better records of shipments.

I have a monitor with multiple inputs so I only needed to switch my mouse/keyboard combo. This is a great inexpensive way to share 2 computers. Highly recommened.