Accessing Barcode Scanners on Remote Desktop: Comprehensive Guide

Editorial Team Sep 12, 2023

Barcode scanner remote desktop accessibility is a highly important feature to many business owners who rely on modern POS systems.

While it’s possible to access a remote desktop scanner using a cloud-based system, users may need to spend additional money for the necessary upgrade.

The good news is, business owners can save on costs by using an easy and effective USB barcode scanner remote desktop alternative.

Users can share their USB barcode scanner to a remote desktop session by implementing software that redirects data from a “local” barcode scanner to a remote desktop, enjoying full-functionality and control over their scanning device.

Sharing USB barcode scanner to RDP

Unfortunately, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) scanning isn't fully supported, which can lead to delays in barcode decoding.

For example, clients utilizing an RDP have access to USB devices like printers and external hard drives but trying to connect to a remote scanner isn’t possible without some additional support.

The good news is, Electronic Team has a solution to help with remote scanning software, giving users the ability to easily add and use barcode scanners in RDP sessions.

USB Network Gate allows users to control any USB remote desktop barcode scanner connected with a network-accessible machine during an RDP session.

USB Network Gate

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Users who share USB ports with our USB redirection software no longer face restrictions when utilizing their remote scanners. Now users can enjoy access to any USB device that’s attached to a computer in their network.

USB Network Gate’s port functionality even permits users to swap devices without needing to make configuration changes.

How to use a barcode scanner on remote desktop

To successfully implement barcode scanners for remote desktop access, USB Network Gate first needs to be installed on both participating machines (i.e. the local machine that the USB barcode scanner is physically connected to and the machine from which users would like to access the barcode scanner remotely).

Follow the guide below to properly set up your remote desktop barcode scanner with USB Network Gate:

1

Ensure USB Network Gate is installed on a local machine that also has a client for Microsoft RDP installed.
2

Configure the application to share a USB scanner over a remote desktop session (RDP). Remote Desktop Connection act as the client for Microsoft RDP.
3

USB Network Gate must also be installed on the remote machine (the machine from which remote desktop scanning access is needed).
4

After sharing the USB barcode scanner, it should then appear in the client machine’s Device Manager, treated as though it was now physically attached to the remote machine.

Redirect barcode scanner to remote desktop

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Barcode scanner not reading correctly in the remote desktop?

Users may confront the problem of seeing odd or unexpected characters when data is transmitted to a remote desktop. This can happen because of an issue due to the barcode scanner not reading correctly in remote desktop.

Follow the steps below to ensure your scanner is working properly during a Remote Desktop session:

Open the Remote Desktop Client, but don’t establish the connection yet.
Click on the “Show Options” button to expand the menu (as shown below).
Navigate to the “Local Resources” tab.
In the “Keyboard” section, change the “Apply Windows key combinations” setting to “On this computer”.