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AnywhereUSB disconnects from host computer and hangs re-connecting

In this scenario, an AnywhereUSB does initially get connected to a host computer, and works fine.  The attached USB devices work as expected.

The issue is that periodically the AnywhereUSB disconnects from the host computer and doesn't re-connect.

The symptoms at this time are:

  • The Status in the AnywhereUSB Configuration Utility says "Connecting".
  • The RealPort USB Host Controller and RealPort USB Root Hub components (for the AnywhereUSB) are no longer present in the USB section of Device Manager.  In fact, there may no longer be a USB category.
  • The status LED of the USB port(s) that were previously connected (previous solid Green) are now Off.
  • Rebooting the host computer resolves the issue.

This issue is likely caused by a bug in the driver of one of the attached USB devices, related to it not handling Plug&Play "surprise removals" properly.  Because AnywhereUSBs are network-attached USB hubs, they are at the mercy of the network and network "hiccups" may cause AnywhereUSBs to temporarily disconnect.  They should always attempt to automatically re-connect.  However, if a disconnect happens and the driver of an attached USB device doesn't properly handle the surprise removal (the related USB device getting suddenly disconnected), this can cause an issue with Device Manager and thus the AnywhereUSB.

First, update the drivers of all attached USB devices to see if that helps.  If not, proceed below.

To determine if the issue is indeed related to one of the attached USB devices, it's necessary to try to narrow it down.  For example, you could monitor the AnywhereUSB without any USB devices attached for a given period (until the issue would typically happen) and then attached only one USB device and wait again for the same time period.  Or you could remove one USB device from the AnywhereUSB and wait a given time period (until the issue would typically happen again) and attach another USB device, etc. until you see the issue.  If you can narrow down the issue to only happening when a certain USB device is attached to the AnywhereUSB, then we suggest the following:

  • Report the issue to the support team of the USB device/vendor in question and hope to get that driver fixed/updated.
  • Replace the USB device in question with a comparable model, from a different vendor if needed.
Last updated: Apr 25, 2019

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