StarTech.com 3ft (91cm) 1-Port USB to Serial Cable, DB9/DB25 RS232 to USB Converter, Prolific, USB to Serial Adapter

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

For £15.70 ex-VAT, this StarTech USB-to-Serial cable is a solid “just works” option for the kind of job most UK IT teams actually do: one-off configuration, firmware updates, router/switch console work, barcode/label printer serial links, or interfacing older kit that still speaks RS232. StarTech using the Prolific chipset is the key selling point here—drivers are usually painless, compatibility tends to be reliable, and it’s the sort of adapter you can stick in a spares drawer without worrying it’ll be temperamental. In day-to-day reseller/customer support, that matters more than fancy marketing.

I wouldn’t buy it if you need high-throughput/long-haul RS232 use or you’re wiring up industrial gear that’s picky about signalling—at that point you’d want to confirm cable length, handshaking expectations, and whether RS232 levels and cabling are appropriate. Also, if you’re expecting it to replace a true serial port adapter for everything under the sun, be aware some devices want very specific COM settings (baud/parity/stop bits, flow control), so plan on having those details to hand. But for most “we need an RS232-to-USB bridge, quickly” scenarios, this is good value and a sensible pick.