StarTech.com 1 Port USB over Cat5 / Cat6 Ethernet Extender - up to 131ft (40m)

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

If you just need a single USB device to live in a different room without faffing around with full networking, this StarTech 1‑port USB over Cat5/6 extender is a sensible, no-drama buy. It’s the sort of thing you’d use for a cash drawer/printer, barcode scanner, or a USB dongle at the back of a shop or office where running a proper USB cable would be impractical. In practice, the “easy” part matters: it’s typically faster to deploy than software USB-over-IP solutions, and for one device it’s usually reliable.

That said, I’d only recommend it where your target device is fairly simple and doesn’t demand lots of bandwidth. USB extenders can be picky with certain peripherals (especially anything that behaves like a high-speed webcam, bulk data, or has finicky drivers). Also, at ~£98 ex‑VAT it’s not a “cheap throwaway” — if you actually need multiple devices, you’ll get much better value going multi-port or using a different approach. Buy this if you’ve got one known USB device and a fixed Cat5e/Cat6 run; skip it if you’re unsure what peripherals it’ll have to support or you’re expecting “it’ll work with anything” magic.