Willing to know more about USB device passthrough to Hyper-V? Take a peek at this blog.

Here at Bobcares, we have seen several such Hyper-V-related errors as part of our Server Management Services for web hosts and online service providers.

Today, let’s discuss USB passthrough and how to perform it.

Know more about Hyper-V USB Passthrough

The USB passthrough allows us to access the USB device from within a VM. Unfortunately, USB passthrough is not supported in Hyper-V environments, but we can still perform Hyper-V USB passthrough using the following approaches:

• Enable Enhanced Session Mode
• Run the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) session
• Install network-based USB solutions
• Install software-based USB solutions

Today, we shall discuss the first two approaches work as they do not require the installation of third-party software.

Hyper-V USB Passthrough with Remote Desktop Connection

Our Support Engineers follow the below steps to perform Hyper-V USB passthrough with Remote Desktop Connection.

1. First, we enable remote desktop connections on our VM. For that, we connect to the VM and open Remote System Settings in the Control Panel (Control Panel >> System and Security >> Allow remote access).

2. As a result, the System Properties menu will open. We check the Allow Remote Assistance connections to this computer Ensure that the Allow remote connections to this computer box is also checked. Then we click OK.

3. Now, we can connect to the machine remotely. We connect to a USB device by enabling an RDP session.

4. We run the mstsc.exe command to open the Remote Desktop Connection window. Then we click Show Options, select the Local Resources tab and press the More button.

5. In the new menu that opens, we can choose which devices and resources on this computer we wish to use in a remote session. USB devices fall under the Plug and Play devices category. We check the corresponding box and click OK.

6. Finally, we click Connect to initiate an RDP session. Here, we will be asked to confirm our selection once again. We click Connect if everything is OK and we trust the remote computer.

USB Passthrough to Hyper-V with Enhanced Session Mode

Enhanced Session Mode enables redirection of local devices and resources to a virtual machine session using the Virtual Machine Connection tool. In Windows 10 or Windows 8.1, Enhanced Session Mode will be available by default. However, in Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2016, we need to manually enable the Enhanced Session Mode functionality.

Here are the steps that we follow:

1. First, we connect to a computer hosting the VM.

2. Next, we open Hyper-V Manager. Then we right-click the host’s name and select Hyper-V Settings.

3. In the Server section, we click Enhanced Session Mode Policy and check the box Allow enhanced session mode.

4. Then in the User section, we click Enhanced Session Mode and check the box Use enhanced session mode.

5. After that, we click OK to save changes.

The next stage is to choose the local resource we would like to connect to. The local resources include printers, local drives, audio devices, and USB drives. For that, we follow the below.

• First, we open Hyper-V Manager and start the VM by double-clicking its name.
• Before logging into the VM, a configuration window will pop up. We click Show Options to extend the set of configurations for future connections to this VM.
• We select the Local Resources section. Under Local devices and resources, we click More.
• If we want to enable VM access to a local USB device, we check the box Other supported Plug and Play (PnP) devices, as well as the box Devices that I plug in later beneath it. Click OK.
• In the Display section, we can also select Save my settings for future connections to this virtual machine. We then click Connect if we wish to implement any changes.

[Need any further assistance with Hyper-V queries? – We are here to help you]

Conclusion

Today, we discussed Hyper-V USB Passthrough. Also, we saw how our Support Engineers perform it.