SABRENT USB 2 0 Sharing Switch up to 4 Computers and Peripherals LED Device Indicators USB-USS4

In photos within easy arms reach I have a Laptop, Mini PC, 2 Macs, A Color Inkjet and a Laser Printer,. 3 permanent external Raid/Hard Drive storage Units. Two monitors for three computers. Imac screen is used as target display for Mac Mini using Sabrent to switch usage between the two Macs connected as target display with Thunderbolt cable . Keyboard and mouse can be used for either Mac or Mini PC. Sabrent switch hard to see in Photo just follow the white Mac Keyboard Cable. Switch is simple to set up, two cables out the rear, one to each Mac, keyboard and mouse plug into front of rigedly mounted unit double stickie foam taped to desktop. Sabrent switch works flawlessly with USB 2.0 or 3.0, either or both. can switch from iMac to Mac mini in just a few seconds. Switch is a much more elegant, less expensive and simple solution than trying to wrestle with Bluetooth Keyboard, Trackpad and Mouse; not a problem with one Mac, but with two Macs side by side, mouse ends up being attached to both macs, or neither. Bluetooth is unstable as peripherals won't stay put, either Mac can grab either Magic Mouse or keyboard. My setup is: cheap, generic mouse plugged into one of the Mac keyboard USB ports so the Mac keyboard cable alone will attach both keyboard and mouse. My office set-up is complicated and it has taken a lot of time and trial and error, (wasted time and money), to get it all set up and seamlessly working together. The Sabrent switch was a no-brainer. Just plug it in and it works. iMac is USB 2.0, Mini is USB 3.0; not a problem, it was just plug and play. The only real problem is if You want to set up a mac as target display. What mac will work with the other mac and whether to use a mini-display cable or thunderbolt cable. 27.5 inch display 2008 to 2012, 25.5 inch 2010 -2012. will work as target displays. If both have mini display ports then you can use mini display cable If one or both have a thunderbolt port you must use thunderbolt cable. They look the same, but are different. My Mini has Thunderbolt, iMac is Displayport. It only works with a Mac Store Thunderbolt cable. If you use Mac Bluetooth keyboard Command + F2 will switch Display output, but keyboard won't switch without having to pair it to each computer each time you switch! Sparing you the details - it just doesn't work! As mentioned, Bluetooth with two macs is problematic. Logitech Bluetooth switchable keyboard will switch the Macs but not the display because Command, F2 key used to switch the display does not work as F2 key is dedicated to Bluetooth. Just take my word for it, I found out having wasted a lot of time and money, wired keyboard and mouse with Sabrent hard-wired switch is the way to go. For me, the biggest objection to wired devices is that you end up with a lot of long unused wire hanging all over the place, messy, ugly, gets in the way, gets tangled, etc, etc. I have a picture of the underside of my keyboard, shows how to avoid that. This review is more than just about the sabrent switch, though it tells how nicely it fits into the big picture. I how it answers a lot of questions you might have. Walter O. Read more

Smooth and Simple Way to Share USB Devices This little Sabrent USB 2.0 sharing switch turned out to be a really practical addition to my setup. I’ve been using it to share a printer and an external hard drive between two laptops, and it works exactly as described. The switch itself is compact, lightweight, and doesn’t take up much space on the desk. I like that there are LED indicators that make it clear which computer currently has control, so there’s no guessing. The button on top is firm and responsive—just a quick press and it switches instantly without any hiccups. Setup couldn’t have been easier—plug the USB devices into the switch, run the included cables to each computer, and you’re good to go. I didn’t need any software or drivers, and everything was recognized right away. Transfer speeds are what you’d expect from USB 2.0, which is fine for printing, scanning, and general file access. The only thing to keep in mind is that this is USB 2.0, not 3.0, so if you’re planning on moving very large files or using high-speed storage devices, you’ll hit limitations. For basic peripherals like printers, scanners, keyboards, or even a webcam, though, it’s more than sufficient. Bottom line: A very handy little device that makes it simple to share USB peripherals between two computers. Reliable, easy to use, and a solid value if you don’t need USB 3.0 speeds. Read more

The best thing about this is it has auto switching using changes in current. Start a device and it senses the change and switches automatically. I've beat the daylights out of it switching between a full blown desktop, a micro, and a Pi, sometimes running 2 at the same time. Want to change control? just press the convenient button that sits on your desk. I've even booted powered USB hard drives through it and it works great. It's not USB 3, so there isn't ultra speed transfers, but it's fast enough for my needs. You can get others with USB 3, but I haven't found one with auto-switching for less than $55. I transfer photos from my cameras no problem. A month of hard use hasn't presented any issues yet. And the cables that connect to the devices are a lot longer than I expected! My tower desktop is 2 feet away and there's cabling to spare. I had to bundle the others and tuck them behind the micro and the Pi Overall, I am very pleased with this item. Read more