How to effectively extend the USB cable connection without causing the signal to be affected by interference and attenuation, which will result in a greater performance weakening?
1. Better quality passive USB cable
Passive USB cable is the USB cable we are most familiar with. Simply put, it is a wire without external power supply or signal amplification device. At this time, improving the data transmission capability of the wire depends entirely on the material, diameter, interface technology, etc. of the wire itself. It is a universal truth that you get what you pay for. Better quality passive USB cables are made with thicker copper cores and have better shielding, allowing you to get the best possible speed with less signal loss when exceeding the recommended length. It would be better if the cable had a magnetic ring.
2. Use an active extension cord
Active USB cables allow data to be transferred over greater distances due to electrical circuits on one or both ends of the cable. This circuit boosts and repeats the signal, allowing it to reach greater distances. Active USB cables are sometimes equipped with an external power adapter or charging chip (powered by the USB-C port) to properly boost the signal.
3. Active USB HUB
The relatively long single active USB extension cable is actually very expensive and the cost performance is relatively low (a 10-meter USB3.X standard active extension cable costs more than 100 yuan for a better brand). If you need to extend the connected peripherals More, might as well directly consider an active USB HUB as a more cost-effective choice.
A powered USB hub does the same thing as a powered USB cable, it repeats and boosts any received signal. Each hub can extend the USB cable to the recommended length. In theory, you can use multiple hubs to extend the connection even further, but you're limited to a maximum of 5 hubs on a single connection channel. After that, the connection may become unstable and unreliable, because multiple stretches may result in higher latency, which is the communication delay between the USB host and the USB device.
A powered USB HUB with a power supply is the first choice for extending signal cables. A HUB without a power supply can only be called a "split"
4. Ethernet USB Extender
The next ones are more long-distance extension schemes with clear ideas, but they are also effective.
An Ethernet USB extension adapter (extender) is a HUB with one or more USB ports and an RJ-45 wired Ethernet port. The HUB's built-in chip converts the USB signal to a signal for transmission through the network cable, and then uses another hub on the other side of the network to convert it to a USB signal.
In this way, ultra-long-distance control of USB peripherals that do not support network connections can be achieved, which is very useful in scenarios such as large office buildings, when those old non-network printers, scanners, etc. continue to be used. These extension cables can reach speeds of up to 1000 Mbps when using USB 3.0+ devices and signal cables, as well as Category 5e and above network cables.
Note that an Ethernet USB extender is not the same thing as a USB network card! Don't make a mistake when you buy it!
5. Optical USB Extender
This is currently the closest "lossless" USB cable extension solution in terms of long-distance transmission rates. It is an adapter with a USB port and an optical port. The HUB converts the USB signal to an optical signal that travels through the fiber, then converts it back to a USB signal with another extender on the other side. Due to the powerful bandwidth capabilities of fiber, it can reach speeds of 5 to 10Gbps when using USB 3.0+ devices as well as fiber!
