StarTech.com 6ft (1.8m) 1-Port Professional USB to Serial Adapter Cable with COM Retention, USB to RS232 Adapter - TAA

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

For £31.91 ex-VAT, this StarTech 6ft USB-to-serial lead is a pretty sensible buy *if* you specifically need a reliable USB↔RS232 connection and you don’t want to faff around with flaky no-name adapters. The “COM retention” angle matters more than people think: for IT teams managing older line-of-business gear (routers, HVAC controllers, industrial interfaces, badge readers, etc.), stable COM port numbering reduces the amount of reconfiguration after driver updates/reboots. The 1-port design also keeps it straightforward—less guesswork, fewer “why is it on COM7 now?” headaches.

That said, I’d only buy this if you’re already sure you truly need RS232 (and the device expects serial signalling). If you’re dealing with modern systems, or you’re tempted to use it for USB-native devices that just *look* compatible, it’ll be wasted money. Also, while StarTech adapters are generally dependable in Windows environments, serial comms are picky about driver behaviour and baud rate settings—so it’s not a magic fix for legacy hardware issues. Overall: good value for firms with a small number of legacy serial endpoints who want stable COM mapping and a decent length cable for typical rack/server setups.