Sometimes it’s neccessary to configure USB passthrough to a VM on an ESXi host. On situation where that would be necessary is a USB licensing dongle.
- Right-click in the intended VM and Edit Settings…
- On the Hardware tab, click Add…
- Select USB controller, then click Next
- I recommend xHCI with modern devices as it supports USB 3.0. If it doesn’t work, try EHCI +UHCI
- Click Finish
- Once your USB device is plugged in, Edit Settings… on the VM once again and Select Add… on the Hardware tab.
- This time, select USB device and click Next
- You should see your device listed. Click Next and Finish
- Now, the USB should be accessible via the VM.
