Customer Reviews

IOGEAR MiniView¿ III USB KVMP Switch Kit with Cables (GCS1714)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Two points. When you plug in the mouse and keyboard through the two front labeled USB ports (as you're supposed to, especially the keyboard), the switch WILL NOT pass the USB product ID's and substitute generic ID's instead. this is done to keep the connections 'live' to the PC/Mac and allow keyboard switching to work. Unfortunately, as someone else noted, this means the manufacturer's software (like Logitech) won't be able to recognize the mouse and so all the custom features won't work. You can get by this in part by plugging the mouse into one of the peripheral ports on the back of the switch, but you're out of luck with the keyboard.

The other issue is that since this switch has on-screen-display capability, it keeps the VGA connection always live and (most) monitors will never go to sleep even if your PC or Mac does. That's a bigger problem for me.

If you're OK with all this, it's a great product. The keyboard switching feature is great and everything, even the cables, are included.

Me though, I think I'm going back to my old ioGear without the OSD and keyboard switching, and live with having to use the select switch on the box and the occasional USB sync problems.

I bought this product with the intention of using it with my 5-button MS USB wireless Intellimouse and wireless Logitech keyboard. The box and documentation imply that the KVM will work with any USM mouse. The problem I'm having with the KVM is randomly, the right click menu will appear. This happens enough be a major interruption while working...about every 20 seconds. After a few emails with IOGEAR's support manager, I got to the bottom of the story; this KVM only supports two button mice! This is not stated anywhere in the product description or manual!!! They have an "device emulation" feature that prevents lag time in device detection when switching between computers by emulating the mouse and keyboard connection; The KVM emulates a two button mouse and standard keyboard. Since it is not possible to upgrade the firmware on this KVM, the only advice the support manager could provide was to either use a 2-button mouse or return the KVM.

I purchased the IOGEAR GCS1714 4-Port MiniView III USB KVMP Switch Kit for my home last year and also puchased 5 here where I work. It seemed cool at first but the more I used it the more I noticed the problems with it. It seems when I boot into DOS mode or into the BIOS it send repeated keystrokes. So if I press the spacebar 1 time it will send 20 keystrokes which is very frustrating I have ended up having to bypass the KVM all together and hook up a normal keyboard. Also when I reboot my computer the device looses connectivity with the USB port on the computers. I have to manually unplug the device from the power to have it reset itself and sometimes I even have to fish around and unplug the USB cables 10 times before it reconnects. I have checked their website for any kind of support and there is none.
I would recommend not purchasing this device.

I bought this device and hooked up 2 PCs to one Logitech USB cordless mouse and one Logitech cordless keyboard. Didn't work at all. I called tech support and met 2 of the rudest support people ever. They were like the rude people in commercials that make fun of rude cust svc/tech support people. You wouldn't believe how rude the last guy was. If only I had room here to tell you. ALSO - Their product doesn't work with cordless mice and keyboards, esp if your device has extra buttons with special functionality. To use their terms: "We don't support cordless devices". STAY AWAY ! PS: If you manage to get the "real" supervisor, he is friendly and tries to help.

Pros:
Physically easy to connect to my four computers.
Cons:
Spurious signals causing issues.
First used with older Dell keyboard but suprious signals caused menus to pop up unsolicited and, worse, context switching from one application to another while correctly typing input into MS Word. Thought keyboard was at fault.
Bought new USB miniature game-type keyboard. Same problem.
Bought new IBM standard size keyboard. Same problem.
Bought new Dell keyboard. Same problem.
Decided maybe wireless mouse was too close. Moved KVMP. Same problem.
Decided to go back to wired mouse. Same problem.
Sent email to IOGear support. May as well have spit into the wind.
Thinking of scraping unit if I can't stablelize it within another week or two because I'm getting tired of unsolitited context switching.

This thing is unbelievably BAD.
I have to reboot it at least twice a day, it either locks up or causes the mouse to shoot off in one direction. Only way to resolve is to unplug.

IOGEAR offer no Firmware update either.

AVOID at all cost!

I requested a better switch at work but was given this. The on screen display is difficult to use (four keystrokes including F1 or F4 just to switch) and it completely blocks recognition of Microsoft wireless mice. Recommend their Extreme products or a different manufacturer.

Pros: Neat idea.

Cons: Will not work with my backlit Saitek keyboard. It actually doesn't work at all and this is the second unit I've received from IOGear. I can't switch between computers with hotkeys or the manually with the buttons. Tech support is pretty much useless because they will tell you to try autoscanning and if that doesn't work then they'll want you to return it for a replacement. I'm sorry but if they can't ship a working product then I'm not going to waste my time being their QA for free. I was able to get out of tech support that there isn't enough power coming out of the front USB ports to power a backlit keyboard even when the KVM switch is plugged in.

Good luck to anyone that buys this product.

Let me first say that this unit has some great features. The fact that it also switches USB peripherals enabled me to share my printer with four computers. And since all the cables connect in the back (except for the keyboard & mouse), it uses up a lot less space than some other KVM switches.
Unlike a couple of other reviewers, I was able to use a wireless Kensington keyboard & mouse. I plugged the "transmitter" part into the USB port for the keyboard on the front of the switch, & the mouse worked fine as well.
CONS:
My backlit Razer keyboard would NOT work with it, however. the power to the keyboard would go out every few keystrokes, and sometimes you hit a character and you end up with a whole string of letters.
Big problem: After about a month of working perfectly, the switch began switching to port 1 on its own. Sometimes it would even do it in the middle of the night when I was asleep, and since it chirps whenever it switches, this was very annoying. It would even try to switch if it was already on port 1.
The first time it happened I was able to reset the unit, though that's a major pain. In addition to unplugging the unit's AC adaptor, you also have to power down each computer and disconnect their power supplies for several minutes.
Worked fine for about a week after that but the problem arose again. This time it wouldn't rest.
I have since bought a TRENDnet 4-Port USB KVM Switch Kit (Includes 4x KVM Cables) which seems to be working fine so far.

I've had this for over a year now, and it is not as good as a cheap no-name brand I used before it. The only reason I bought it was because of the USB support.

Cons:
1. Video is flickering on my LCD screen unless I use 800x600, anything higher, and the kvm can't handle it.
2. Can't use advance USB keyboard or mice features
3. Stops responding at least 4 times a week, have to "reboot" it (unplug it).
4. Horrific tech support, they've got monkeys working for iogear.

Pros:
1. USB support