Using Meeting Owl and Clickshare Together with a Single USB-C Port
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TechTraveler42
Hey everyone! We're setting up Meeting Owls for video calls and Clickshare for screen sharing in our conference rooms, but we've got a hiccup. Our newer Surface laptops only have one USB-C port. We tried using splitters to connect both devices at once since they're both USB-C, but only one usually works — typically, the Meeting Owl doesn't. We even got powered hubs thinking that might help, but no luck. Is there a way to use both devices simultaneously on one port, or is it a limitation of the devices' communication?
Answers
You can connect to the Clickshare without using the USB-C dongle. There's a Clickshare macOS app that connects directly to the base station. I had great success using it in my last job with a ton of Clickshares in different buildings.
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It might help if you give links to the specific devices you're using. Have you confirmed that each device works on its own? And did you check the official documentation for support?
TechTraveler42: I've added the links! Yes, they all work individually and both can run at the same time on my Mac, which has two USB-C ports. We've checked the support documentation, and our IT team can't figure it out either.
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One workaround I found is to connect your conference hardware directly to the Clickshare base. That way, you just plug in the Clickshare dongle, and switching laptops becomes easier. I know you might not want a cable going from the Clickshare to the monitor, but it simplifies things when you have multiple devices.
LaptopLion17: Yep, we do the same thing at my office! The compatibility can depend on the version of the Clickshare hardware, but it’s awesome to just plug in one device and have it all work.
TechTraveler42: I'm not quite getting it. We have the Clickshare units mounted on the back of the TVs with HDMI connections. Are you suggesting to plug the Meeting Owl into the Clickshare? I don’t see how that would work.
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LaptopLion17: I find that works fine on the Mac too, but haven’t tried it on Surface laptops. Just a heads up, when you do this, the internet might not work because you’re connecting to the Clickshare's Wi-Fi. We don’t have our Clickshares wired to any network.