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Review on πŸ’» IOGEAR GUS402 Peripheral Sharing Switch: 2 Computers, 4-Port USB 2.0 Efficiency by Michael Ward

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Works well but design has awkward cabling

This thing works great, at least for me. I connected a wired keyboard and wireless mouse to it and now I can tidy my desk while I work on both my work laptop and my home computer. It's a great alternative to mouse and keyboard sharing software like Synergy (which I can't use with VPN) and definitely a big step up from KVM switches, which are overkill for easy peripheral sharing at home. It was plug and play. I just plugged it in, let Windows install the drivers, and within a minute I'm typing and switching between both computers with ease. Now I can play when I should be working. Hooray! My only criticism of this device is the layout/design. Firstly, I wish there was a switch on the box itself. I don't want to use the remote and I don't want to worry about the tiny wire it's connected to. I'd rather be able to just reach out and press a button and that way be able to remotely switch at will. Spring. Another thing is that this doesn't quite lend itself to a wired keyboard. If you prefer a wired keyboard, you're going to have trouble with one cable going one way and all the others going the other way. It's messy and not easy to hide. It would be better if the device were twice as high and all the cables came out at the back. This is particularly inconvenient since the remote control cable comes from behind. In any case, you have a cable that comes out from behind the device. Where can you put something like that? But if you have a wireless keyboard, then things aren't so bad. Except that the remote control cable still comes from behind. Everything else is great. Update: Be sure to install mouse drivers, especially if you have a Logitech gaming mouse. I had an issue when switching from one game to another computer and then back to the game, the cursor would get out of sync; There was a windows cursor above the game grid which was frequently busy/contemplating which would force you to exit and restart the game. While this was annoying, it didn't detract from the usefulness of the USB switch. But then I installed the mouse drivers and voila, the problem is fixed. Now I can pause, switch to another computer, and then smoothly switch back. This little device is very useful and solved my problem perfectly.

Pros
  • Allows two computers to share up to 4 USB peripherals, more can be supported by adding USB hubs
Cons
  • No power