Hyper-v usb passhrough while installing windows 11 guest?

Question

I need to create a couple of Windows 11 VMs in Hyper-V. These VM guests will be company joined through Entra ID. Joining the device to Entra ID requires that I supply email address, password, and Yubikey.

The trouble I am having is that the Windows 11 Pro guest OS cannot see the Yubikey that is plugged into the Hyper-V host. RDP connection does allow USB pass-through, but I am not aware of a way to RDP into a guest that is part-way through a Windows 11 install.

Also, there is some amount of USB passthrough if I can switch to Enhanced session mode in vmconnect.exe, but I have not found a way to get Enhanced Session mode on a VM that is sitting at the MS login section of the Windows 11 Pro install.

Achieving this Windows 11 Pro guest OS login with Yubikey is very simple on Oracle VirtualBox, but this company is not licensed for VirtualBox, so I have to achieve this in Hyper-V.

For reference, I am using Hyper-V 9.0 on Windows 10 Host. I am aware that I can upgrade to Hyper-V 10.0 if the host is upgraded to Windows 11. I am not sure if this would allow better USB pass-through that will solve the issue above. Upgrading the host is possible if this would solve the issue, but I do not want to spend that time if there is no benefit.

Any advice appreciated, thank you.

Answer 1

Hi Mike,

Hope you're doing well.

1. Enhanced Session Mode: Enhanced Session Mode in Hyper-V does support USB redirection, but it can be challenging to enable it during the initial setup phase of the VM. Unfortunately, Enhanced Session Mode typically becomes available only after the VM has been fully set up and the Hyper-V integration services are installed.
2. Another method involves using server-side USB passthrough via the SCSI controller. This method is more suitable for USB storage devices but might not work for all types of USB devices.

Best Regards,

Ian Xue

---

If the Answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.