I’m trying to pass a USB security dongle from my Windows host to a virtual machine running in Hyper-V, but it doesn’t appear as an option for passthrough. I need the dongle for software licensing inside the VM. Is there any reliable method or workaround to make this work? Any help or detailed steps would be appreciated.
Trying to access a physical USB security dongle from inside a Hyper-V VM? You’re not alone—Hyper-V’s lack of straightforward USB passthrough is the bane of anyone dealing with hardware licenses. Basically, you can’t easily map a host USB device directly into your guest the way you might on VMware or VirtualBox. Native options are pretty limited. You can use Enhanced Session Mode for stuff like thumb drives (if you’re running Windows guests and have the right settings), but for physical hardware dongles, especially those needed for licensing, it’s a bust.
Best workaround? Network-based USB redirection. There are software tools that let you “share” a USB dongle over the network to your VM. The standout is Donglify—it’s designed for exactly this, letting you connect a USB dongle attached to your host directly to your Hyper-V guest as if it’s plugged in physically. Performance is usually seamless since it’s just passing USB protocol data, so most license dongles (HASPs, Sentinel, etc.) work fine.
If you want a step-by-step on accessing a USB dongle in Hyper-V, check out this guide: making your Hyper-V VM recognize a physical USB dongle. It’ll walk you through downloading Donglify, setting up your account, and connecting your dongle into the VM, no sweat.
TL;DR if you need to make a hardware key visible inside a Hyper-V virtual machine: Install Donglify on both host and guest, share the dongle, and you’re in business. Native Hyper-V? Sadly, not happening for specialty USB stuff. The workaround is software—and Donglify is the one most folks (myself included) have luck with.
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Yeah, Hyper-V and USB passthrough are like oil and water—especially for stubborn hardware license dongles that just don’t show up for redirection. @voyageurdubois nailed it: Hyper-V wasn’t built for smooth, native USB passthrough (unless you’re dealing with the most basic thumb drives, and even then it’s not a guarantee unless both sides are Windows, and you’re riding the Enhanced Session Mode train).
But honestly, I’d push back a little on the “Donglify or bust” answer. Donglify’s great (I’ll mention that in a sec), but it’s not the ONLY answer. If you only have a single VM—or don’t want to deal with another paid service—there are a couple other routes, even if they’re a little ugly:
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USB-over-Ethernet Adapters: Not strictly software, but you can physically plug the dongle into a separate piece of hardware, and map it over the network to your VM with nothing extra installed. Kinda expensive, but ultra-reliable.
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Remote Desktop USB Redirection: If your security dongle supports HID or USB-serial modes, some RDP clients let you map local devices through to the VM while you’re remoted in. Works sometimes, but hit-or-miss for weird security dongles, and forget it if your VM is hosted in Azure.
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PCI Passthrough: For the brave (and if you’re running Hyper-V on Windows Server with Direct Device Assignment supported), you can do PCI Device passthrough, but you’re usually limited to entire controllers—not convenient for a single USB port, and most desktops/laptops can’t do this anyway.
But let’s be real, if you need something idiot-proof for most situations (including classic HASP, Sentinel, etc.), Donglify is probably the move. It’s tailor-made for this USB-over-network thing, and the install is dead simple. Just install the program on both your host Windows machine and your Hyper-V VM, connect the hardware dongle on the host, “share” it using Donglify, and on the VM side, just connect—it appears like a local device in the virtual machine. No sketchy registry hacks, no risk of Windows corruption from questionable driver installs. Plus, it’ll save your bacon if you ever end up remoting into the VM from offsite.
Just make sure you go to the right place to get started: get Donglify directly from the source here—don’t go grabbing random “cracks” off the internet, those are malware city.
Final take: it’s either Donglify (works for almost everyone), or you start improvising with niche hardware/software combos that may or may not work depending on your dongle. Hyper-V just doesn’t play nice with specialized USB hardware out of the box. If someone says otherwise, maybe they’ve got some amazing hack no one else has discovered, in which case, tell the rest of us!