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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-06-18T12:28:06+00:00

I’m trying to set up a USB Fax Modem in Ubuntu through Virtual Box

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I’m trying to set up a USB Fax Modem in Ubuntu through Virtual Box but I’m not sure how to do so. 

Host OS = Mac OS X
Virtual Box Guest OS = Ubuntu 12.04
56k USB Fax/Modem = Lenovo 43R1786 (43R1815) by Conexant

On the host os, I can see /dev/tty.usbmodem24680241. I enabled USB Controller, and found my modem as “Conexant USB Modem”, so I enabled that. Now, when I run the guest OS, and from the Virtual Box menu for that OS, I go to Devices > USB Devices > Conexant USB Modem, it says:

Failed to attach the USB device Conexant USB modem to the virtual machine Ubuntu32. USB device is in use by someone else. Looks like it means that the host (mac) grabbed the device first. How can I get it to let go so the guest can use it? Am I setting it up the right way?

Thanks!

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    I figured it out. You are supposed to:

    1. Plug in the device, let the host grab it
    2. In the host, go to virtual box, and edit the configuration for the guest to use usb, and add a filter to include the plugged in device
    3. Unplug the device
    4. Start the guest os
    5. When the guest os is running, plug in the device.

    Virtual box will grab the usb device and make it available for the guest. The guest will then go on and try to identify and configure the device.

    Done.

    Notes:
    Done have a running or saved instance of the guest(virtual machine) running while changing the settings.

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