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Recently I bought an eID reader (Vasco/OneSpan Digipass 905). I've since tested the device on several computers (all identical Windows 10 machines), and it works fine on each of them.

Because of the placement of the eID reader, I'll need to use an extension cable, so I got a 3M long extension cable and attached the eID reader.

Unfortunately, when I plug in the cable, Windows shows a message warning me that the "USB device has failed". The strange thing is that this error only pops up on the one computer where the eID is supposed to be placed.

All other computers accept the eID reader with the extension cable just fine. This leads me to believe that the cable is fine. Also, there are no drivers available for this device because Windows 10 should support it out of the box according to the manufacturer.

Any idea what could cause this?

Thanks!

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  • how long is the captive cable on this reader?
    – Ale..chenski
    Mar 2, 2019 at 4:34
  • Are all machines truly identical? What is their brand/chipset?
    – Ale..chenski
    Mar 2, 2019 at 4:35
  • @Ale..chenski What do you mean when you say "captive" cable? Do you mean the cable attached to the reader? That cable is 1 meter in length. The machines are all identical, they are Dell Optiplex 7020s with an Intel Q87 Express chipset.
    – Joe
    Mar 4, 2019 at 8:02

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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Possibly PC isn't able to supply enough power trough its usb ports, try to connect a active (powered) USB HUB to the extension then the reader to the hub to see if it gets enough power.

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    For this PC this is probably the best solution to fix the problem, though a higher quality cable might also help. The root cause is probably that many PCs will put out a slightly high voltage (up to 5.25 is normal) for USB ports to overcome voltage drops in the cable, while the PC in question may be putting out "only" 5v or slightly less and combined with the cable voltage drop (due to thin conductors) the device could be seeing 4.5v or less. Better cables, or a shorter cable combined with a powered hub are both good ways to go.
    – Mokubai ♦
    Mar 1, 2019 at 9:31
  • @Mokubai: I'll see if I can find a powered hub to test, a shorter cable isn't going to be an option because of the placement of the eID reader I'm afraid.
    – Joe
    Mar 4, 2019 at 8:04
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    @Joe not necessarily a shorter cable, but a better quality one with thicker power conductors might help. It can be difficult to tell which is which just by looking at them though, and it is a bit of pot luck...
    – Mokubai ♦
    Mar 4, 2019 at 8:25

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