IOGEAR 2-Port USB 2.0 Automatic Printer Switch

I tried two other $10 no-name USB switches with good reviews from Amazon that completely failed for this function. I am using it to share the scanner function on a multifunction inkjet printer (Brother MFC-J5520DW) between two computers. I use the the manual switch (only printing auto-senses which makes sense when you think about it) and have not installed any driivers. Works great. Lights indicate which port is active, and the center button toggles between the two ports. There's about a 5 second pause after button press during which the light on the new destination port flashes and the unit beeps softly. I believe that "buffering" function is why this one works and other switches did not. Also I like that it uses standard USB printer cables unlike the others I tried.

I recently purchased a label printer. It does not work off wifi, so it needs to be hardwired into a computer. The problem was that we have 2 computers that need access to the printer. I initially thought manually switching the cables would be easy, but it ended up being a pain for my wife, who is not tech savvy at all. This device ended up being the perfect solution! When either computer powers up, it automatically switches to that computer. If both computers are on, a simple press of the button switches between the 2 instantly. No drivers were needed, so it could not be easier to hook up and use.

I am using the switch with a Brother QL-500 printer and a mac and a windows computer. The switch works 75% properly. In manual mode I can switch between my two computers and print fine. In auto-mode, it works from the Windows side but not the Mac side. Iogear tech support said that the Brother P-Touch Label printing software has its own print queuing and needs to be in full connection with the printer the whole time. Since the switch closes the connection on the unused computer, it shows as "offline" on the Mac. However, the auto-switching works fine from the Windows end even when using the P-touch software. So, I am wondering how accurate their response was. It seems like perhaps this is more of Mac issue than a Ptouch software issue. Anyway, there might be a compatibility issue with label printers in general given the way that they normally work (that is what the tech support said). But it's not that expensive and a manual switch isn't the end of the world.

My wife and I both have desk top computers and need to print but space is limited so we can only have one printer, plus, they are expensive. This printer switch is super easy for non-IT techs like me to install. And it works really quite slick. Push the button and hold for a couple seconds, and boom, you just switched computer input to the printer. If you have two printer cables, this unit comes with a cord from the switch to the printer.

Purchased this switch to share a thermal label printer between two PCs. Had two problems, first the software and driver installed correctly on our Windows 11 PC but would not install correctly on our Windows 10 PC. IOGEAR support worked with us but were unable to resolve that issue. Secondly we eventually found that this switch does not work using the software with a thermal label printer per IOGEAR support. One last tip: When installing the driver and software you must be running the setup.exe program as Administrator. This is not covered in the enclose instructions.

Like others who have to use older Legacy OS's for scanners printers etc. This worked right out of the box. Very nice packaging and the booklet catalog and manual were unexpected delights as you kinda see that less and less in electronics packaging. IOGEAR reminds me of how Logitech was great with affordable high quality peripherals and based on this product I'm eager to explore their other offerings all based off of this purchase. Note: You will need two printer cables.

This printer switch is perfect - easy to hook up and worked exactly as I hoped first time out - switch makes it easy to quickly see which computer is hooked up for printing, and changing over to the other computer only takes a moment and it confirms the change with a click sound - great device for home office or anyone sharing a printer.

I recently transitioned to working from home and have a separate work laptop. This product allowed me to connect two computers to one printer. I can push the button for which computer I want to print from (as opposed to unplugging, plugging into each computer). No software to download and has worked seamless so far.

funktioniert super

Just purchased this item. Was worried it would not be plug and play based on other reviews. I plugged it into my two printers, it beeped. It worked from both my primary and secondary printer immediately. Absolutely no issues and very straight forward. A worthwhile purchase. Of note, a printer cable is packaged/included with this device.

Works perfectly with an Epson docket printer.

Nonostante le istruzioni che vengono con l'attrezzo siano un po' intimidatorie (soprattutto quelle per Windows, con indicazioni a installare driver e impostare preferenze varie), io ho semplicemente attaccato la stampante e i due computer, un MacBook Air e un ecografo che gira con una vecchia versione di Windows, e tutto ha funzionato alla perfezione fin dal primo momento. Quando si dice Plug&Play!

Great piece of kit. Well worth the asking price.