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How to extend a USB cable 150 ft or 50 meters with a USB extender
Short answer: a regular USB cable is only safe up to about 3 feet, maybe 5 feet. To go farther, use a USB extender: a transmitter at the computer and a receiver at the device, joined by a network cable (Cat6 is ideal). The economical kit reaches 150 ft (50 m); kits with a power supply on each end go up to 328 ft (100 m).
Some people have video surveillance with USB webcams, which is very cheap, but the USB cable cannot go that far. Here are the options I found to extend it.
Why a normal USB cable is not enough
USB is a short cable. If you want to be safe, 3 feet is the maximum, maybe 5 feet. When you start using longer and longer cables, you start having issues: sometimes the device works and sometimes it doesn't, and you don't know why. When you start having all those problems, it is better to just buy the right thing.
A plain 10 ft (3 m) USB extension cable can be tried, but again, you can start having issues.
How a USB extender works
The kit comes with two devices:
- Transmitter: it connects with a USB cable to the computer and usually has a power cord.
- Receiver: at the other end you connect the device, for example a webcam, a video camera, a printer, a mouse, a keyboard, a controller or a thumb drive.
Between them you run a network cable; Cat6 is ideal. On the models I looked at you get USB 2.0, not USB 3, but USB 2 is usable.
The three options I compared
- Up to 150 ft (50 m), about $20: the most economical one I found.
- Up to 200 ft (60 m), about $60: it works the same way (transmitter, receiver, power cord). It has one power supply and the other end is powered by USB, and I think that is why it does not go as far as the next one.
- Up to 328 ft (100 m), about $110: it costs around four times more, but it comes with a 12 V power supply for both ends, which is how it goes farther.
The link to the extender is in the video description.
Connecting it
- Plug the transmitter's USB cable into the computer.
- Connect the power cord at both ends (on the kits that use one).
- Run the network cable between transmitter and receiver.
- Plug your camera, printer or keyboard into the receiver.
I had a customer with three or four USB cameras on his computer as his video surveillance system, and this is the kind of setup that solves the distance problem.
The better option: Ethernet devices
If you want the best video surveillance system, I recommend Ethernet cameras. They cost more than regular USB cameras, but you are not going to have issues. The same goes for a printer: instead of running USB hundreds of feet away, use an Ethernet cable, which goes up to 300 feet or 100 m.
Frequently asked questions
How long can a USB cable be?
In the video the safe length for a regular USB cable is about 3 feet, maybe 5 feet. Longer cables start having intermittent issues.
How far can a USB extender go?
The economical kit in the video reaches 150 ft (50 m), another reaches 200 ft (60 m), and a kit with a 12 V power supply on both ends reaches 328 ft (100 m).
What cable does a USB extender use?
It uses a network cable between the transmitter and the receiver; Cat6 is ideal according to the video.
Does a USB extender support USB 3?
On the models shown in the video it is USB 2.0, not USB 3, but USB 2 is usable for cameras, printers, keyboards and similar devices.