You can configure the virtual USB controller to enable USB 3.0/3.1 and 2.0 support. You can also configure the virtual USB controller to connect USB devices to the virtual machine when such devices are connected to the Mac while the virtual machine is active. The settings you select can persist across several VMware products, such as Workstation Pro and VMware Horizon 7.
If you have a Mac that supports connecting USB 3.0/3.1 devices, guest operating systems can connect to USB 3.0/3.1 devices as USB 3.0/3.1 and connect to USB 2.0 devices as USB 2.0. However, guests with virtual USB 2.0 hardware have issues when connecting to USB 3.0/3.1 devices. An example of a guest operating system that does not have virtual USB 3.0/3.1 hardware is Windows XP. Depending on the specific device, performance might be slow or partial, or the device might fail to connect.
Guests on older Macs can have virtual USB 3.0/3.1 virtual hardware, but both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0/3.1 devices connect in USB 2.0 mode. Guests with virtual USB 2.0 hardware also use USB 2.0 mode for USB 2.0 and USB 3.0/3.1 devices.
