Cannot hot plug USB devices when VM is running (Workstation Pro 16, Workstation 16.2.x host)

[ilanm1]

If I try plugging in a USB keyboard or mouse while my VM is running, the USB device is not detected at all (it doesn't even connect to the host OS). The problem goes away if I suspend or power off the VM, then connect the peripheral, and power it on again. But it is very tedious to do this every time I want to connect my mouse or keyboard to my laptop. 

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System and VMWare Details

VMWare Workstation Pro 16.2.5 build-20904516

Host OS: Windows 11

Guest OS: Windows 10

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What I've already tried:

- Re-installing VMWare tools

- Rebooting the VM

- Setting VMWare to automatically connect USB devices to the host (see screenshot below)

If you know what to do about this, your help would be much appreciated

[SajeshR]

Check if the VMware USB Arbitration service is running or not in services.msc
If not try the below steps to resolve it. 

1. Uninstall Workstation Pro from your system. and delete files/folders from the below location. 
C:\ProgramData\VMware and delete the folders for VMware Workstation and VMware Player.
C:\Users\dtomar\AppData\Roaming\VMware and delete all the files inside
C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware and delete the folders for VMware Workstation and VMware Player

2. Please stop related services if any by "sc stop serviceName" in cmd with administrative with privilege
sc stop VMUSBArbService
sc stop hcmon
sc stop vmusb
3. Remove drivers:
del C:\Windows\System32\drivers\hcmon.sys
del C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmusb.sys
remove hcmon, vmusb from here C:\Windows\System32\DRVSTORE
4. Open Registry editor and follow below steps:
reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc." /f
reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\VMware, Inc." /f
5.
a.Stop 'VMware USB Arbitration service' from services.msc if running.
b.Delete below registry entries for
i."VMUSBArbService from "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VMUSBArbService"
ii."Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vmusb"
c.Delete the same entries from CurrentControlSet001 if any.
6. Delete usb folders from "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\VMware\USB"
7. Delete hcmon and vmusb from C:\Program Files\Common Files\VMware\Drivers\hcmon & C:\Program Files\Common
Files\VMware\Drivers\vmusb
8. Reboot your system and install WS 


Thanks,

[ilanm1]

Hi Sajesh

The USB arbitration service is running on the Host OS (see attached screenshot). But the problem still persists.

I have determined that when I plug in a USB device while a VM is running, it attempts to connect, and when it fails it attempts to reconnect. It also seems that each time it reconnects, it attempts to connect to all "USB" devices, including my laptop's built in web camera and Bluetooth card. 

The log file shows this (here are a few lines: this pattern continues indefinitely from when I plug in a USB and only stops when I power off the VM):

2023-08-04T07:59:42.785Z In(05) vmx VUsbUpdateVigorFieldsAndAutoconnect: New set of 5 USB devices
2023-08-04T07:59:42.785Z In(05) vmx USB: Found device [name:Chicony\ HP\ HD\ Camera vid:04f2 pid:b6c8 path:1/1/6 speed:high family:video instanceId:USB\\VID_04F2&PID_B6C8\\01.00.00 serialnum:01.00.00 arbRuntimeKey:1 version:4]
2023-08-04T07:59:42.785Z In(05) vmx USB: Found device [name:Synaptics\ FS7605\ Touch\ Fingerprint\ Sensor\ with\ PurePrint(TM) vid:06cb pid:00f0 path:1/1/7 speed:full family:vendor instanceId:USB\\VID_06CB&PID_00F0\\B3EC3A7CC3A2 serialnum:B3EC3A7CC3A2 arbRuntimeKey:2 version:4]
2023-08-04T07:59:42.785Z In(05) vmx USB: Found device [name:Intel(R)\ Wireless\ Bluetooth(R) vid:8087 pid:0026 path:1/1/13 speed:full family:wireless,bluetooth instanceId:USB\\VID_8087&PID_0026\\5&25B92ECE&0&14 arbRuntimeKey:3 version:4]
2023-08-04T07:59:42.785Z In(05) vmx USB: Found device [name:Unknown\ External\ USB\ 3.0 vid:0080 pid:a001 path:1/1/18 speed:super family:storage,storage-bulk instanceId:USB\\VID_0E0F&PID_0001\\MSFT30201503310007F serialnum:MSFT30201503310007F disconnected:1 arbRuntimeKey:33 version:4]
2023-08-04T07:59:42.785Z In(05) vmx USB: Found device [name:Virtual\ Bluetooth\ Adapter vid:0e0f pid:0008 speed:full family:wireless,bluetooth virtPath:usb:0 deviceType:virtual-bluetooth info:0000001 version:4], connected to usb port 0.
2023-08-04T07:59:43.398Z In(05) vmx VUsbUpdateVigorFieldsAndAutoconnect: New set of 4 USB devices
2023-08-04T07:59:43.398Z In(05) vmx USB: Found device [name:Chicony\ HP\ HD\ Camera vid:04f2 pid:b6c8 path:1/1/6 speed:high family:video instanceId:USB\\VID_04F2&PID_B6C8\\01.00.00 serialnum:01.00.00 arbRuntimeKey:1 version:4]
2023-08-04T07:59:43.398Z In(05) vmx USB: Found device [name:Synaptics\ FS7605\ Touch\ Fingerprint\ Sensor\ with\ PurePrint(TM) vid:06cb pid:00f0 path:1/1/7 speed:full family:vendor instanceId:USB\\VID_06CB&PID_00F0\\B3EC3A7CC3A2 serialnum:B3EC3A7CC3A2 arbRuntimeKey:2 version:4]
2023-08-04T07:59:43.398Z In(05) vmx USB: Found device [name:Intel(R)\ Wireless\ Bluetooth(R) vid:8087 pid:0026 path:1/1/13 speed:full family:wireless,bluetooth instanceId:USB\\VID_8087&PID_0026\\5&25B92ECE&0&14 arbRuntimeKey:3 version:4]
2023-08-04T07:59:43.398Z In(05) vmx USB: Found device [name:Virtual\ Bluetooth\ Adapter vid:0e0f pid:0008 speed:full family:wireless,bluetooth virtPath:usb:0 deviceType:virtual-bluetooth info:0000001 version:4], connected to usb port 0.
2023-08-04T07:59:45.816Z In(05) vmx VUsbUpdateVigorFieldsAndAutoconnect: New set of 5 USB devices
2023-08-04T07:59:45.816Z In(05) vmx USB: Found device [name:Chicony\ HP\ HD\ Camera vid:04f2 pid:b6c8 path:1/1/6 speed:high family:video instanceId:USB\\VID_04F2&PID_B6C8\\01.00.00 serialnum:01.00.00 arbRuntimeKey:1 version:4]
2023-08-04T07:59:45.816Z In(05) vmx USB: Found device [name:Synaptics\ FS7605\ Touch\ Fingerprint\ Sensor\ with\ PurePrint(TM) vid:06cb pid:00f0 path:1/1/7 speed:full family:vendor instanceId:USB\\VID_06CB&PID_00F0\\B3EC3A7CC3A2 serialnum:B3EC3A7CC3A2 arbRuntimeKey:2 version:4]
2023-08-04T07:59:45.816Z In(05) vmx USB: Found device [name:Intel(R)\ Wireless\ Bluetooth(R) vid:8087 pid:0026 path:1/1/13 speed:full family:wireless,bluetooth instanceId:USB\\VID_8087&PID_0026\\5&25B92ECE&0&14 arbRuntimeKey:3 version:4]
2023-08-04T07:59:45.816Z In(05) vmx USB: Found device [name:Unknown\ External\ USB\ 3.0 vid:0080 pid:a001 path:1/1/18 speed:super family:storage,storage-bulk instanceId:USB\\VID_0E0F&PID_0001\\MSFT30201503310007F serialnum:MSFT30201503310007F arbRuntimeKey:34 version:4]
2023-08-04T07:59:45.816Z In(05) vmx USB: Found device [name:Virtual\ Bluetooth\ Adapter vid:0e0f pid:0008 speed:full family:wireless,bluetooth virtPath:usb:0 deviceType:virtual-bluetooth info:0000001 version:4], connected to usb port 0.

Would you have any idea what may be causing this?

[ilanm1 · Accepted solution]

Repairing the VMWare installation solved the problem

The problem is now solved after I repaired the VMWare Workstation Pro installation (Control Panel > Programs and Features > Uninstall a Program > Right click on VMWare Workstation Pro > Change > Repair)