StarTech.com 65ft (20m) Active USB 2.0 A to B Cable, Long USB Cable, USB Printer Cable, 1x USB A (M), 1x USB B (M), Black

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

If you’ve got a printer, scanner, or any legacy USB-B device sitting way further from your PC than the stock cable allows, this kind of long *active* USB 2.0 cable is exactly the “stop messing around” fix. At £33.34 ex-VAT, it’s not cheap, but it’s also not daylight robbery for a 20m run where passive cables start to get flaky. Active cables like this are generally the difference between “it works sometimes” and “it reliably enumerates every time,” especially in office environments with a bit of distance and interference.

That said, I wouldn’t buy this if you only need a normal-length connection—any short run will be far better served by a cheaper passive lead. Also, if your setup is really bandwidth-sensitive (some faster peripherals, or if you’re using USB hubs along the way), stick to the manufacturer’s recommended approach for long runs. For most typical UK office use cases—USB 2.0 printers and similar—this is good value, and StarTech is usually a safe bet on cable quality. If it’s strictly for “move it 20m and forget it,” then yes: buy it.