High-pitch whine coming from new Plugable UGA-165 USB 2.0 to VGA/DVI/HDMI Adapter

Any time this device is on, it makes a constant high pitched whining noise that is driving me nuts!

I have 2 laptops going in to a Plugable USB 2.0 Switch for One-Button Swapping of USB Device/Hub Between Two Computers. The output of that is connected to AmazonBasics USB 2.0 4-Port Ultra Mini Hub, which is connected to a mouse, keyboard and the Plugable UGA-165 USB 2.0.

I bought these items new together. Everything is USB powered.

I plugged it into a different port on the USB hub, and the noise changed but was still there. I plugged the device directly to one of my laptops and the noise pretty much went away, but this means I can’t use it with my USB switch and hub for 2 computers.

Excellent answer!

Hi Ian,

Thanks for posting here! It looks like you are seeing the issue because the hub is not self powered.

USB Graphics Adapters are high powered USB 2.0 devices which need close to the max rate of 500 mA of power that a device is allowed to pull from a USB port as per USB 2.0 specification.

An unpowered or bus powered hub takes 500 mA of power from the USB port on the upstream computer and shares it with all the downstream devices connected.

Although the keyboard and mouse are low powered USB 2.0 devices, connecting them along with the USB Graphics adapter means that the downstream devices connected through the hub need more power that it is receiving from the upstream USB port.

Whenever multiple devices are to be connected via the switch, we always recommend connecting them through a self powered hub (hub that has its own power adapter) to avoid issues related to insufficient power.

I’d suggest swapping out the USB 2.0 4 Port Ultra Mini Hub in the current setup with a self-powered hub to resolve the issue.

If you see any issues at all with using the USB graphics adapter connected to self-powered hub via the switch, just shoot us an email at support@plugable.com. We will help troubleshoot and resolve the issue.

Regards,
Roze