→ Applies to: VMware ESXi 6.5 and above

Step 1. Connect to VMware ESXi via CLI (“How to Connect to Vmware ESXi CLI”)

List USB devices

esxcli hardware usb passthrough device list

Bus Port VendorId ProductId DeviceName PassthroughStatus
----    --------  ---------  ------------------------------
1    1   0x0781   0x5583    SanDisk Corp. Cruzer Glide disabled
1    2   0x046d   0xc077    Logitech M100 Optical Mouse disabled
2    1   0x12d1   0x107e    HUAWEI Mobile Connect - 3G Modem disabled

IMPORTANT
Device ID  = Vendor ID:Product ID

Enable USB passthrough (replace <device_ID> with the ID of the device)

esxcli hardware usb passthrough device enable -d <device_ID>

EXAMPLE

esxcli hardware usb passthrough device enable -d <0x0781:0x5583>

Disable USB passthrough (replace <device_ID> with the ID of the device)

esxcli hardware usb passthrough device disable -d <device_ID>

EXAMPLE

esxcli hardware usb passthrough device disable -d <0x0781:0x5583>

Restart USB passthrough service

/etc/init.d/usbarbitrator restart

Stop USB passthrough service

/etc/init.d/usbarbitrator stop

Start USB passthrough service

/etc/init.d/usbarbitrator start