# usb extension cords

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-extension-cords/279512>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 12, 2004, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-extension-cords/279512 "2004-12-12T23:49:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![phaishazamkhan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@phaishazamkhan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phaishazamkhan)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-extension-cords/279512/1 "2004-12-12T23:49:10Z")

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I have a webcam which has a puny four or five foot long cable. I would like to have something that’s much, much longer so I can bore people with my webcam.  
Are there USB extension cords?

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**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-extension-cords/279512/2 "2004-12-12T23:59:46Z")

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You can buy USB extension cables at virtually any electronics or discount store, usually in 6 or 10 ft. lengths.

**However** , according to the USB standard, the maximum length for a USB signal is 5 meters (about 16 feet). If you go longer than that distance, you can buy repeaters or powered hubs to extend the distance, placing a repeater every 5 meters, up to a maximum distance of 30 meters (about 100 feet).

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-extension-cords/279512/3 "2004-12-13T01:12:20Z")

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If you want to go longer than that, you can get a pair of devices that allow a USB connection to be extended with Cat5 cabling (which can either be a simple length of cabling, or a direct patch through installed structured cabling - bypassing the hub/switch/router etc); there are some examples here: [http://www.kvms.com/kvm\_extenders/usb\_extenders.asp](http://www.kvms.com/kvm_extenders/usb_extenders.asp)