Category Archives: USB2-HUB10S

The Windows RT and Surface USB Device Compatibility Story

[Updated 11/20/2012]

Microsoft’s official statement is “Windows RT uses class drivers and in-box drivers exclusively, departing from a common driver added scenario on the x64 or x86 architectures.” (see Microsoft policies). There is no DDK. Officially, installing drivers on Windows RT is not supported.

That said, it turns out there is at least oneWindows ARM driver that exists (probably built and extracted from a full Windows RT platform development kit), and as a user you can install those drivers on a normal, unmodified Microsoft Surface device at least.

Whether Microsoft will close this mechanism in the future is unclear.

But for now, these steps show how to install a driver on the Surface to get wired ethernet support for particular devices like ours.

Below is a more complete list of all the Plugable devices which can and can’t be made to work with the surface today. Most use the drivers already built into the RT, so none of the above is a concern — but Windows RT is “special” so check for compatibility before assuming a device will work!

What devices work out of the box with ARM-based Windows RT (without a 3rd party driver install)?

USB hubs, including

USB extension cables, including

USB storage devices, including

USB keyboards and mice, including

What needs a driver package, but don’t have one for ARM-based Windows RT devices

Anything with a USB graphics function, including

Quite a few other devices with driver installs required, such as

Plugable USB 2.0 Gigabit Wired Ethernet Adapter
Plugable USB Serial DB9 adapter
Plugable Windows Easy Transfer Cable (Although Windows Easy Transfer is available on Windows RT devices, the driver for USB Easy Transfer cables is not. Kind of surprising since on Windows XP – 8, this is a driver developed and provided by Microsoft in the box)

What needs a driver package and has one available for ARM-based Windows RT devices

Plugable USB 2.0 10/100 Wired Ethernet Adapter

Feel free to add additional information in the comments, if you discover anything new or find any errors.

Raspberry Pi and Plugable Devices

We recently received a Raspberry Pi at the Plugable offices and we have been using it to test how our various devices interact with it. The Raspberry Pi has 2 USB 2.0 Ports, and no USB 3.0 ports, so our testing was focused on USB 2.0 devices and a couple USB 3.0 storage devices.

All of these tests were carried out on a Raspberry Pi Model B using the latest version of Raspbian wheezy. Here’s a video of the full setup, followed by a bunch of detail about our tests:

Hubs

Plugable USB 2.0 7 Port Hub with 3A Power Adapter – No Issues
Plugable USB 2.0 4 Port Hub with 2.5A Power Adapter – No issues
Plugable USB 2.0 10 Port Hub with 2.5A Power Adapter – Causes the Raspberry Pi to reboot upon connection, because it supplements the 2.5A wall power with 500mA from the upstream port. This is too much for the Pi., but just at the moment it is plugged in. If you plug the 10 port hub in when the Pi is powered down, you can boot into the Pi and all will be well. But since there are better options (like the 7 port hub above), we don’t recommend our 10 port hub with the Pi.
USB2-2PORT – Causes the Raspberry Pi to reboot upon connection. This is simply because this is an unpowered hub. Only hubs with their own power adapter should be used with the Pi.
USB2-SWITCH2 – No issues

Other Devices

The common pattern with all devices is you must have one of the powered usb hubs above and connect the device through that. If you don’t, the Pi won’t be able to handle the power draw, and it will drop voltage and reset.

Ethernet:

Plugable USB 2.0 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter – Driver already in kernel. Works automatically when connected through a powered USB Hub.
Plugable USB 2.0 Fast Ethernet Adapter – Driver already in kernel. Works automatically when connected through a powered USB Hub.

Storage:

Plugable USB 3.0 / 2.0 SATA Dock – Driver already in kernel. Because it has its own 12V 2A AC adapter, it works automatically even when directly connected to the Pi.
Plugable USB 2.0 SD / MicroSD / Memory Card Reader- Driver already in kernel. Works automatically when connected through a powered USB Hub.

Let us know if there are any other Plugable products you’d like us to test, or if you have any questions at all – we’d be happy to help. Thanks for your support of Plugable products!

Where to Buy

Plugable 7 Port High Speed USB 2.0 Hub with 3A Power Adapter

Product Details

$19.95

UPDATED: Plugable Products on Mac OS X 10.8 (aka Mountain Lion)

Listed below are our latest updates about how to make your Plugable products work on Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion with all the caveats shared by customers. If you read this post before and notice changes, it’s because we’ve revised our advice based on differences between our test results and what many customers were reporting. For now, in all cases we are recommending the solutions that have worked for everyone.

Any Plugable products not listed below have not yet been tested or have no Mac support (USB 3.0 graphics adapters, USB 3.0 docking station, Windows Easy Transfer cable).

Product Type	Products Tested	Drivers Needed	Download Site/ Setup Notes
10/100 Ethernet Adapter	USB2-E100	N	Uninstall previously installed third-party ASIX AX88772 driver before upgrading 10.7 or 10.8, to use Apple’s built-in drivers.
Gigabit Ethernet Adapter	USB2-E1000	Y	Leave the Gigabit adapter unplugged. Go to network settings and delete any existing USB Gigabit Ethernet interfaces by highlighting and clicking the minus button. Download and install drivers from: plugable.com/products/usb2-e1000/drivers After installation and reboot, plug in the adapter. Go to network settings. If a new USB Gigabit interface hasn’t been created, then click the plus button, and add a new interface for the USB Gigabit Ethernet adapter. Click the gear button, choose to set the service order, and drag the Gigabit Ethernet interface to the top of the list to make it your primary network connection. Approve the change to return to the main network settings screen. Click Apply in network settings. If the status in network settings goes green with a good IP address (not 169.x.x.x), the adapter is working properly.
USB 2.0 Graphics Adapters	UGA-2K-A,UGA-165, USB-VGA-165, UGA-125	Y	Uninstall any old DisplayLink drivers before upgrading from 10.7.x.After upgrade, download and install the production version of DisplayLink’s v1.8 driver (or later) for OS X at DisplayLink’s Mac driver page. Note that the performance of USB graphics on Mac is not yet at the same level as Windows. And some customers have reported crashes and hangs after installing DisplayLink drivers on Mountain Lion. See DisplayLink’s Mac user forum for the latest details. There is a specific thread on possible causes of Kernel panics. We are filing bugs with DisplayLink based on Plugable customer feedback. If your system is not performing properly once you have installed the latest DisplayLink drivers, please contact us at support@plugable.com for assistance.
USB 2.0 Universal Docking Stations	UD-160-A, DC-125	See Notes	Follow the instructions above for the 10/100 Ethernet adapter and the USB 2.0 graphics adapters.
Hard Drive Dock	USB3-SATA-U3	N
Serial Adapter	PL2303-DB9	Y	http://plugable.com/drivers/prolific/ (Mac security settings must allow installation of executable files from anywhere)
Hubs, Switches, Extension Cables		N	10.8 has a regression where USB Hard Drives attached to a Mac through a USB hub may report “drive wasn’t ejected properly” on return from sleep. We have customer reports of this issue in particular with USB 3.0 hubs like USB3-HUB4