11mo ago

USB Switch for docking station to switch between PC and Desktop

I've got a laptop and a PC. I've connected my monitors, keyboard, camera, etc to this docking station

This works like a charm from both my laptop as well as my PC. However, switching between the two is annoying as it involves unplugging & plugging in.

Is there a USB switch I can connect the docking station to, and then a cable each to my PC and Desktop? The docking station has host charging, so it charges my laptop, so I guess the USB switch needs to be powered, or not?

I saw this one which has good reviews.

19 comments

At a glance it looks like that one only does USB. Did you want it to do the monitor as well?
You can search for a "KVM switch", where KVM stands for Keyboard, Video, Mouse.
I'm afraid I don't have one so can't suggest which ones are good, but hopefully that helps a little 🙂
- My plan is to only connect the docking station to the USB switch. The docking station handles keyboard/video/mouse. Not sure if that's even supported :D
  
  Do you have monitors? How do you switch whether the PC or laptop are shown on the monitors?
I have the ugreen USB switch - does what it says on the box, not had any issues with it. I've not tested if it can actually get the fast USB throughput that it advertises, I only use it with keyboard/mouse.
I'm fairly sure it won't let you switch which computer "sees" your dock. I use mine by connecting both my dock and my PC to my monitors (2x DP inputs, so I can manually switch what signal I see), then connecting the USB switch to both the dock and my PC, then keyboard and mouse to USB switch. As others have suggested, a KVM switch would be simpler, but getting one that supports 2x 4k@60Hz outputs is expensive
- I’m fairly sure it won’t let you switch which computer “sees” your dock.
  Just curious why you think it won't work? I've just asked PBTech as well, and they said it should work like I'm planning to.
  I can use your setup as well, but that just means more cables to my monitors, plus changing inputs on my monitors is annoying. I'd like to have one button to press to switch between PC and notebook.
  
  For my dock at least, the connection between the dock and the laptop is a thunderbolt connection, not USB. If you are able to drive the dock off a USB 3 type A port on both your laptop and your pc then yeah, the switch might work, but you will probably be limiting the resolution and refresh rate that you can drive your monitors at
- Right now it all works by just swapping the usb cable from the docking station to the PC and vice versa. Monitors, keyboard, mouse are all connected to the docking station; the PC uses it as well. So a USB switch seems the easiest.
  
  Going to reiterate the above message, you want a KVM. The one I use by Tessmart or something like that has worked great for me for 4 years now. The model I chose let's me do dual monitors for each laptop docking station I have plugged in (work & personal). They are a US company so you'll need to find one that delivers to your area.
Another option if using windows you might be able to use mouse without borders from the Microsoft power toys and connect both PCs directly to the monitors then use a keyboard shortcut to switch computers in mouse without borders and then switch inputs on the monitor itself.

19 comments