Your keyboard and mouse work fine for the most part but USB devices connected to the host system don’t show up in the Windows Virtual Machine. Don’t lose hope! We will elaborate on how you can add a USB device to a VirtualBox virtual machine.
Why Are USB Devices Not Enabled by Default?
When you connect a USB Device to the host machine, it mounts it and allows you to use it. But in order to use the USB device in the Virtual Machine, you need to unmount it from the host OS and then mount it on the Virtual Machine. There is inbuilt support to add USB devices in VirtualBox. But that only supports USB 1.0 devices which are rarely in use anymore. On the contrary, newer versions of VMWare support USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 devices out of the box.
If you check out your USB drives, most of them will be either USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 devices. But if you try to add them in VirtualBox, you will see a “failed to attach the USB device [name]” error. You see the error because VirtualBox lacks the binary packages to offer these features.
A simple solution is downloading the VirtualBox Extension Pack that enables the support for USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 devices. Remember that it will enable support for not just flash drives but also other devices such as network adapters, hard disks, webcams, and more.
You will have to download and then install the VirtualBox Extension Pack on your host system. After that, you will have to add the USB device using the settings menu of the virtual machine. For Windows and Mac, the process of adding a USB device is GUI oriented. However, on Linux, you need to do some more effort to mount USB devices. Check out our guide on the VirtualBox vs. VMware Player to understand the differences between the two virtualization programs.
How to Add a USB Device to VirtualBox
The process of adding a USB device to a Windows virtual machine in VirtualBox contains two steps. First, you need to download the extension pack and install it. Then, you must enable the support for USB devices and add a device to the list.
1. Download and Install the Extensions Pack
To download the VirtualBox extension pack, repeat the following steps.
Launch any web browser on your host machine. Then visit the official VirtualBox downloads page. Scroll down and locate the VirtualBox 6. 1. 32 Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack section. Click on the All supported platforms button to begin the download. Open the file download location and double-click on the VirtualBox extension pack file. It will automatically launch VirtualBox with a pop-up window to begin the installation. Click on the Install button. Scroll down and accept the EULA by clicking on the I Agree button. UAC will pop up. Click on the OK button to begin the installation. You will see the message describing that the installation was successful. To verify that the extension pack is now added to the VirtualBox, click on File > Preferences. Click on the Extensions option in the menu. You will see the recently added extension pack with its version name.
2. Add a USB Device to the Virtual Machine
To add a USB Device to the Virtual Machine, repeat the following steps.
Launch VirtualBox on your system. Right-click on the Windows virtual machine and then select Settings options from the context menu. Click on the USB option present in the vertical menu. You will notice that the Enable USB Controller option is auto-checked. But it only offers support for USB 1. 1 controller. Then, click on the USB 2. 0 or USB 3. 0 controller radio button. Pick the option matching the generation of the USB device you want to attach to the virtual machine. Then navigate to the USB device filters section and click on the add USB devices icon with a + sign on it. You will see a list of the available devices. Click on the USB device you want to attach to the virtual machine. The USB device name will now appear in the USB device filters section. You can add more devices to this list. VirtualBox will mount all these devices on your virtual machine once you start it. Now, click on the OK button to save the current settings. Now, select the virtual machine and then click on the Start button to power it up. Wait for the virtual machine to boot up. Open the File Explorer app and click on This PC. You will see the list of all available storage devices including the USB devices you added previously. If you want to access the USB device in the host machine, you will have to power off the virtual machine first.
In the case of a USB flash drive, you can eject it from the virtual machine. It will automatically mount on the host OS and will become accessible via File Explorer.
How to Remove a USB Device From a VirtualBox
Once you add USB devices to a virtual machine in the USB settings, VirtualBox will mount them every time you power on the virtual machine. It will continue to do so unless you remove the devices from the list or change the USB controller settings.
Here’s how to remove a USB device from a virtual machine in VirtualBox:
Launch VirtualBox on your system. Right-click on the virtual machine and then select Settings options from the context menu. Click on the USB option present in the vertical menu. Scroll down to the USB device filters section. Click on the USB device name in the list to select it. Then click on the Remove selected USB filter icon (the one with a cross sign). Then, click on the OK button to apply changes and close the Settings window. Navigate to the top and click on the Start button to power up the virtual machine. OpenFile Explorer and click on This PC. You will notice that the removed USB device doesn’t show up in the app.
To reattach the USB device to the virtual machine, you will have to add it again to the USB devices filters section.
Add and Use USB Devices in VirtualBox Easily
Unlike VMWare, VirtualBox doesn’t support USB 2.0 and 3.0 devices out of the box. You must download and install the extension pack and then add each USB device to the virtual machine. But once you add these devices to the list, they will become usable in the virtual machine. Make sure to add only those devices which you need in the virtual machine.
