Device is being exclusively used by the host computer

I say:

$ VBoxManage controlvm <vbox uuid> usbattach <device uuid>

VirtualBox says:

VBoxManage: error: USB device '<device>' with UUID <uuid> is being exclusively used by the host computer

I say:

$ gpasswd -a <vbox user> plugdev

and log out the vbox user completely (no vms running, no logged-in shell).

And now the device is available and add-able.

Author: H Walker Jones, Esq

A professional programmer with a sordid past involving sysadmin, tech support, and cooking. View all posts by H Walker Jones, Esq