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I have an USB mouse and keyboard, both of which have a cable 1.8m long. However for my purposes this is too short.

I read that USB standard limits the length of a cable to 5 meters for high speed devices and 3 meters for low speed devices. I guess that both mouse and keyboard belong into the low speed ones.

I measured that I need 1.2 more meters. However there are no 1.2m USB cables available in the shops I have access to, only 1m or 1.8m.

When I buy the 1.8m USB cable, will it work? Or do I have to look for active USB extenders with own power supply?

And What about the standard USB hubs? What if I connect both mouse and keyboard to an hub and that one will be connected to the extending USB cable, will it extend the range at least a bit?

Giacomo1968
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Youda008
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1 Answers1

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Or do I have to look for active USB extenders with own power supply? And What about the standard USB hubs? What if I connect both mouse and keyboard to an hub and that one will be connected to the extending USB cable, will it extend the range at least a bit?

You don't need an active extender or a hub with own power supply to handle a regular keyboard and mouse. Actually, extenders are usually made of hubs with one port implemented.

There are host systems that can't tolerate long cables in FS mode. To have the connection robust, I would recommend a 2-3 port USB 2.0 "mobile hub", bus powered. In theory, the hub should be able to operate on a 5-m certified cable (power drop would be of prime concern). First, you have only one long cable to care/carry around instead of two extender cables. Second, the hub will handle LS devices and even a flash drive when needed. The only problem that there are not too many small hubs with detachable cables, so you might need a passive extender (which is against USB specifications, but does work in many cases), or shop really hard. Some passive extenders might fail, so it will be a gamble.

Your best bet would be a "two-port extender" like the one made by Monoprice.

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Ale..chenski
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