Parallels desktop USB Passthrough

Apr 15, 2025

We welcome you to the complete guide on USB device redirection to Parallels Desktop virtual machines. In this guide, you will find simple instructions on how to make real USB devices accessible in a Parallels virtual environment in the easiest way possible.

Anyone who wants to effortlessly forward USB devices from the local computer to any remote virtual desktop can do this with a couple of mouse clicks. Below are the details.

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What is Parallels Desktop for Mac?

In a nutshell, Parallels Desktop is a fast and handy virtualization application that lets you work with Windows programs on a Maс computer. The solution makes it possible to simultaneously run both Windows and macOS operating systems and access Windows apps side by side with macOS apps.

With Parallels Desktop, you can switch to Windows OS at any time with no need to reboot your Mac. What’s more, the software gives you a way to start Windows apps right from the Finder utility and move files between Windows File Explorer and Finder by using the drag-and-drop method.

How to establish a USB to Parallels remote desktop connection

Let’s say you have an Android smartphone physically attached to one Mac and your aim is to access this phone from a virtual machine on Parallels Desktop launched on another remote Mac. On the surface, it seems pretty challenging, as Parallels doesn’t offer a native method to achieve this.

But that’s where a dedicated third-party tool, USB over Network, comes into play.

USB over Network (aka USB Network Gate) is an increasingly popular cross-platform app designed for remote access to USB ports and devices.

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Try for Free 14-day trial, You can share only 1 local USB-device

Here’s how you can connect to a remote USB device in Parallels using the USB Network Gate software:

1

Download and install USB Network Gate on the Mac to which your Android smartphone is connected physically.

2

Start the app and share the device by сlicking the Share button in the “Local USB Devices” tab.

3

Install USB Network Gate on Parallels Desktop from which you want to connect to the shared phone remotely. Start the software. Find the smartphone in the “Remote Devices” tab and click Connect next to its name.

Here it is! Your Android device can now be found in the Device Manager of your virtual machine. From this moment forward you can access all of its features like the phone was attached directly to the guest system.

Apart from a seamless redirection of USB peripherals to a Parallels Desktop environment, USB Network Gate offers the following advanced features:

✅ Support for USB devices of virtually any type;

✅ Powerful encryption that reliably protects your data from being intercepted while traveling to its destination;

✅ Compatibility with virtualization apps like VMware, Citrix XenDesktop, VirtualBox, and Hyper-V to name a few;

✅ Works with all major platforms, including macOS, Windows, Linux and Android;

✅ USB Network Gate allows redirecting USB to a virtual environment, an RDP session and any remote computer across the Internet and LAN.

Parallels Desktop for Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 & M2) Support

Parallels Desktop now offers full Mac support with both Intel and Apple Silicon chips (M1, M2, and newer). This means you can run Windows on virtually any modern Mac using Parallels, with improved performance and native support for the Apple chip architecture.

When using Parallels Desktop on M1 or M2 Macs, keep in mind that these machines require the ARM-based version of Windows. Microsoft now officially offers Windows 11 ARM (not Windows 10) for download, simplifying the process considerably.

To run Windows 11 on your Apple Silicon Mac:

Download the Windows 11 ARM ISO directly from Microsoft’s official website — no Insider Preview enrollment is required anymore.
Open Parallels Desktop and select "Install Windows" — it can automatically detect and install the ARM version from the ISO.
Follow the installation wizard, and you’ll have Windows 11 running on your M1/M2 Mac in no time.

Note: Traditional x86 Windows apps generally work fine on Windows 11 ARM thanks to Microsoft’s x64 emulation layer, though performance may vary depending on the app.

This marks a major improvement over earlier versions that required enrolling in the Insider Program and downloading preview builds.

USB Network Gate

Redirect USB devices over network