# Connecting USB Devices Directly to Your macOS Virtual Machine

Starting from version 20.3.0, Parallels Desktop for Mac allows you to connect USB devices directly to a virtual machine running macOS. For example, this may enable you to connect a USB security device to the macOS virtual machine instead of your Mac, similar to the way it works for [Windows virtual machines](https://docs.parallels.com/landing/pdfm-ug/v20-en-us/parallels-desktop-for-mac-20-users-guide/use-windows-on-your-mac/connecting-external-devices).

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**Warning**:

1. This functionality is only available on Macs running macOS Sequoia 15 and newer. 
2. It MAY NOT WORK for your particular device. For the latest known issues, refer to [this Knowledge Base article](https://kb.parallels.com/en/128867). 
3. The current implementation of this feature does not support permanently assigning them to a specific virtual machine running macOS.
   {% endhint %}

### How to connect a USB device to your macOS virtual machine

Due to the current limitations, you will have to manually assign a USB device to the specific virtual machine running macOS. For that:

1. Ensure that your Parallels Desktop [**Devices Preferences**](https://docs.parallels.com/landing/pdfm-ug/v20-en-us/parallels-desktop-for-mac-20-users-guide/parallels-desktop-preferences-and-virtual-machine-settings/parallels-desktop-preferences/devices-preferences) are set to **Ask me what to do**.
2. Launch your macOS virtual machine if it isn't active yet.
3. Connect your USB device and wait for the Parallels Desktop connection dialog to appear.<br>

   <figure><img src="https://4047593329-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FNgaOYFJddKmopmi2cfn5%2Fuploads%2Fz5QseCm8kOZDB47rH0OY%2FPDfM-122144_macVM_USB_PT.png?alt=media&#x26;token=45b12ee1-6d48-4505-aa99-a8221fe2c825" alt="" width="375"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

   The **Remember my choice** option is inactive due to the aforementioned limitations.
4. Choose the macOS virtual machine.

### How to disable connecting USB devices to a virtual machine

For security reasons, you may want to prohibit connecting USB devices to your virtual machines. Here is how you can do it using the command line interface:

```
prlctl set <VM ID> --device-del usb
```

This command will disable the USB device controller for the virtual machine. For more CLI capabilities, please review the [respective section](https://app.gitbook.com/s/NS18wNNEob8E86PpkwMT/command-line-interface-utility) of our Developer's Guide.

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**Note**: Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface is only available on Pro, Business, and Enterprise licenses.
{% endhint %}