Configuring USB passthrough to a VM in ESXi 6.0

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.

1. Right-click in the intended VM and Edit Settings…
2. On the Hardware tab, click Add…
3. Select USB controller, then click Next
4. I recommend xHCI with modern devices as it supports USB 3.0. If it doesn’t work, try EHCI +UHCI
5. Click Finish
6. Once your USB device is plugged in, Edit Settings… on the VM once again and Select Add… on the Hardware tab.
7. This time, select USB device and click Next
8. You should see your device listed. Click Next and Finish
9. Now, the USB should be accessible via the VM.