Adding USB Device to a VirtualBox VM

It's quite simple to add a USB device to a VirtualBox 6.1 VM. Elsewhere you find this called "passing in a device", "device passthru", "device passthrough" or something similar. You'll find similar references & guides for Video Cards, GPUs, Hard drives and Network Cards/NICs.

1. With the USB device plugged in, edit the "Settings" of the VM

2. Choose the "Ports" tab icon

3. Choose the "USB" sub-tab

4. Choose "Enable USB Controller" to enable an emulated USB controller in your VM.

5. Pick an appropriate USB spec controller. Very old devices will likely use "USB 1.1 (OHCI) Controller" (super old web cams, scanners, keyboards, mice, etc.). Devices and OSes made in the last 15 years will likely be better suited for "USB 2.0 (OHCI + EHCI) Controller". You'll also likely get better performance. If you're emulating Windows 8.x, 10, 11, or recent Linux, you could get the best device performance from "USB 3.0 (xHCI) Controller".

6. Next click the small USB device icon with a green plus to select your device.

7. Save and close your VM's "Settings".