Review of the Belkin Flip KVM Switch with audio support (USB)

KVM Switches are a hardware solution to share a keyboard, monitor and mouse between two different computers, resulting in a less cluttered desktop. I have the Belkin Flip, a KVM with a nice wired remote that allows you to switch effortlessly; it also shares sound speakers. This review is from an owner’s point of view after some months of use. I won’t repeat the manual here, so you should read that too (available from the previous link).

Full Disclosure: Other than being an individual customer, I have no relationship nor interest in either the company or the product. More info here.

The Belkin Flip

I have the F1DG102U model: 2-Port KVM Switch with Audio Support, USB Connection, wired remote. Detailed specs, including cable length, are here. You should note one of the cables connecting to the back of the computer is shorter than the other. However, the most important measure is your own devices’ cable length -you don’t want the body of the Flip cluttering your desktop. Connectors on the body are labeled, including where to connect the mouse and the keyboard. I haven’t tried mixing those.

To switch, just press the top of the buck-shaped remote. Audio will change instantly, quickly followed by video; mouse and keyboard will take a moment (more on this below). You don’t need to install any software or configure your machines to use the Belkin Flip. Just turn off the machines, connect, then turn on the first machine, switch, then turn on the other. You have to install software only if you want to listen to one computer’s audio while using the other, or to switch by hot-keys or a desktop icon (untested by me; software and more information at Belkin’s site). I am switching between Windows XP and Vista, without any Belkin software installed.

Compatibility with USB devices

Instead of a mouse, I use a small USB touchpad. It comes with its own drivers but I don’t use them, letting Windows recognize it as a generic USB mouse. I do this because it works okay for me and I always ended having problems with the touchpad drivers (before using the Flip). I have an ergonomic but otherwise vanilla keyboard. Supposedly some KVMs allow you to use “enhanced” mice and keyboards; user reports vary, and you can’t really count on them for anything other than the specific device (maybe even driver version) reported. Success probably depends on how the KVM handles the USB connection internally and how creatively the driver uses it.

Belkin’s documentation says the Flip works with ”any keyboard and mouse with a USB connection”, and even mentions a few mouse brands, but that doesn’t really says much. It subtly hints custom drivers might work (enabling non-standard functionality like programmable buttons), but no assurances. My suggestion? Don’t count on them, but try anyway. KVM switching is a great thing, even if only using the vanilla features of your devices.

Tips and tricks

Mouse and keyboard

• Don’t immediately try to use the mouse or keyboard after switching. If you do before they are ready, they will take even longer to be recognized. Having said that, my waiting times usually are around 3-4 seconds. Usually the mouse comes first. The delay time isn’t consistent. How to know when your devices are ready? Usually, the mouse pointer will change shape briefly, then your keyboard’s lights will turn off then quickly turn on again. I seldom check for this – I wait for a moment, then use the machine, mouse first.
• If you have waited too long and still your keyboard won’t come on (it’s always the keyboard), especially if you tried to type before, you can switch to the other machine a couple seconds and back. I only have to do this occasionally. Just make sure you have focus on the window or text field you are trying to type on -specially at Windows login screens.
• Sometimes, just after switching, the mouse moves and clicks erratically by itself. Apparently this is because, from your motherboard’s point-of-view, the mouse was disconnected then connected. Usually it corrects itself after a few seconds; after that you shouldn’t have more problems. It’s a small annoyance, and it seems more frequent when I begin to use the mouse too quickly. If instead of moving erratically the mouse feels a bit “stuck”, clicking once might help.
• As a last resort, disconnecting and reconnecting the mouse or keyboard usually solves any problems you have. If you followed the above guidelines, you should very rarely have to do this. If still this doesn’t work, check you don’t have one of the problems described below.

Starting, sleeping and rebooting machines

• In general, once properly started, the switch can deal with hibernating or sleeping machines.
• You can reboot the current machine whenever you want, without problems, but you can’t switch before it restarts (you don’t need to wait for the login screen) or it won’t detect the mouse and keyboard.
• If both machines unexpectedly turn off (say because of a power outage) you have to disconnect the Flip’s USB power from both, then reconnect, before restarting. If you don’t, they won’t recognize the mouse and keyboard, even if the machines reboot. For this reason I suggest to configure the power button of your machines to shut down instead of going to sleep. This way you can turn off your machines safely without mouse and keyboard. If your machine’s asleep, the first press of the power button should simply awake it, regardless of its configuration. If you did all this and still have problems, disconnecting and reconnecting mouse and keyboard should fix it, at least for the current machine; you might have to reboot the other.
• Once I had a problem when switching to a sleeping machine -it woke up, but failed to recognize the keyboard and mouse. Disconnecting and reconnecting the Flip’s USB power for that machine did the trick, without having to reboot.
• Another problem I had once with a sleeping machine was that, apparently, because the other machine was in hibernation there wasn’t enough power for the Flip, so the keyboard wasn’t working and I couldn’t use it to wake up the sleeping machine. Maybe this depends on the specific USB port you connect the Flip on? Not all ports are powered. For the record, it’s not unusual for me to have both machines asleep, and I can usually wake them up without problems.

Troubleshooting

• If you are having problems with waking up a sleeping machine make sure the other is active. Also, try to awaken it with both keyboard and mouse -sometimes it will respond to one but not the other.
• A quick check to make sure everything is working is to see if both LEDs are lit -on the body and on the remote. If they aren’t, double-check your connections. The machines don’t have to be turned on, but they have to be powered. Also, just connecting the KVM to one is enough to light the LEDs -make sure both machines are connected via a powered USB port. Powered USB ports are usually only on the back of your desktop or laptop. Front or side ports might not work reliably or at all; avoid hubs.

Conclusion

I am very happy with the Belkin Flip, and I recommend it. Belkin’s suggested retail price as of this writing is USD$59.99, but it can be found for a lot less in online stores. If you are shopping for a KVM, remember to look for audio sharing -not all models do it. You might think you don’t really need it, but you probably will.

If you need to connect more than two computers, other KVMs allow you to do that, either a fixed number (say 4) or by daisy chaining. As far as I know the Belkin Flip’s remote is unique to it; other KVMs switch when you press a certain keyboard combination, which hopefully you don’t need for anything else. KVMs are pretty straightforward -if you want something different, there are software alternatives that allow different ways of sharing and multitasking between networked machines. Unfortunately I don’t use such software, so I cannot give you any pointers.

© 2010 Héctor Cuevas. All rights reserved.