You can configure whether a USB controller supports isochronous USB and Bluetooth devices and whether human interface devices (HIDs) appear in the Removable Devices menu. On Linux host machines only, you can also configure whether a new USB device can be automatically connected to a virtual machine.
Note: You typically cannot configure USB controller settings for a remote virtual machine.
Note: Bluetooth device support is removed in VMware Workstation 17.6 and later.

To configure USB controller settings for a selected virtual machine, select VM > Settings, click the Hardware tab, and click USB Controller.

Table 1. USB Controller Settings
Setting Description
USB Compatibility

Selecting USB 2.0 or 3.0 enables support for isochronous USB devices, including Web cams, speakers, and microphones.

Automatically connect new USB devices

This feature only appears when you use Workstation Pro on a Linux host.

Connect new USB devices to the virtual machine. If this setting is not selected, new USB devices are connected only to the host system.

Show all USB input devices

Human interface devices (HIDs), such as USB 1.1 and 2.0 mouse and keyboard devices, appear in the Removable Devices menu. Icons for HIDs appear in the status bar. An HID that is connected to the guest operating system is not available to the host system. The virtual machine must be powered off when you change this setting.

Share Bluetooth devices with the virtual machine

Enable support for Bluetooth devices.

To connect or disconnect USB devices while a virtual machine is running, select the virtual machine and select VM > Removable Devices. With the two-port USB controller, you can connect to both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 devices.

Important: Before you unplug a USB device or select a removable device to disconnect a USB device from a virtual machine, follow the device manufacturer's procedures for safely unplugging the device from a physical computer.