Question Can you get a USB data on/off switch?

Aussie_Wolfhound

Reputable
Jul 12, 2022
30
0
4,530
LvfdQef.png
I'll include a picture of what i mean. Reason i'm asking is because my PC in my house is in another room, so i have both a 10 meter long high-speed HDMI cable and a 10 meter long USB extension cord going up to the ceiling in that room, across the ceiling cavity and down through the ceiling in my living room here where i have a little setup... nothing fancy but it works fine (well 99% of the time)
Every once in a blue moon the USB extension cord (which i have connected to a 7 port usb hub and is powered too) drops out and then i have to do the back-breaking horrendous task of leaning over and grabbing where the extension cord and the cord for the hub connect and carefully pull them apart gently and then re-join them.

I bought one of the things you see in the pic pretty cheap... but when it arrived i found out it only works with power (like turning on and off my little USB powered desk lamp that's plugged in)... it does nothing for data (ie. my wireless keyboard, mouse, bluetooth dongle etc.) Do any of you lovely nerds know if you can get a simple thing like this that also switches on and off the data flow because that would just makes things so much easier? Thanks.
 
There are any number of USB hubs with on/off switches.
Either for some of the ports, or each port individually.

I have a 12 port hub, with 2 switches that control 6 each.
Power and data flow as expected.

I have a 4 port I'm getting ready to mount in my car, with a switch for each of the 4.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aussie_Wolfhound
LvfdQef.png
I'll include a picture of what i mean. Reason i'm asking is because my PC in my house is in another room, so i have both a 10 meter long high-speed HDMI cable and a 10 meter long USB extension cord going up to the ceiling in that room, across the ceiling cavity and down through the ceiling in my living room here where i have a little setup... nothing fancy but it works fine (well 99% of the time)
Every once in a blue moon the USB extension cord (which i have connected to a 7 port usb hub and is powered too) drops out and then i have to do the back-breaking horrendous task of leaning my fat ass over and grabbing where the extension cord and the cord for the hub connect and carefully pull them apart gently and then re-join them.

I bought one of the things you see in the pic pretty cheap... but when it arrived i found out it only works with power (like turning on and off my little USB powered desk lamp that's plugged in)... it does nothing for data (ie. my wireless keyboard, mouse, bluetooth dongle etc.) Do any of you lovely nerds know if you can get a simple thing like this that also switches on and off the data flow because that would just makes things so much easier? Thanks.
I’ve got the exact same model as this except it doesn’t have the 5V/2.5A power adapter. Mine turns off data and power.

 
  • Like
Reactions: Aussie_Wolfhound
Will this do the same job? Just i'm in Australia and everytime i've bought something from China it's taken ages and ages to get here.

 
  • Like
Reactions: Aussie_Wolfhound
That’s really complex… myself and @USAFRet have given some examples. If you’re worried about quality, Sabrent is a really good brand. Plus, this one has USB 3.0 versus USB 2.0 that the one you shared. This is on the Australia Amazon store:

https://amzn.asia/d/5zRzRYL
Sorry for the late reply and if this is a dumb question... but all i want is some switch that will break the data flow from the usb extension cord and the cord to the usb hub and then re-enable it (literally just an on/off switch between those two) Will that one you listed in the Amazon link there do that just so i know before buying it?
 
Sorry for the late reply and if this is a dumb question... but all i want is some switch that will break the data flow from the usb extension cord and the cord to the usb hub and then re-enable it (literally just an on/off switch between those two) Will that one you listed in the Amazon link there do that just so i know before buying it?
Yes.

I have a couple of those, and the switches turn one or more ports on and off as desired.
Power and data.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aussie_Wolfhound