What is a Dongle? Even if you don’t know what a dongle is, chances are you have used one at some point in your life. If you’ve used a HDMI device like Amazon Fire TV, then that is a dongle. If you’ve used a USB device to add functionality to your laptop, that is a dongle too, but how did we get here and what is it that dongles can do? While we think of the latest Fire TV devices as cutting edge, allowing you to stream 4K content to any screen with an HDMI port, the dongle is actually some of the oldest tech around. The first dongles appeared as far back as the 1970s and were mostly used as security systems to prevent software theft. The idea being, you bought your software, and it came with a dongle. Anyone could install that software, but unless the computer had the dongle plugged in, the software wouldn’t run. It worked really well for years, but when we started using digital delivery of software, the idea of a dongle became impractical and they mostly faded away, apart from some niche software platforms, such as model railroad control. Source. Today though, the dongle lives on, not as security protection for a single piece of software, but as a way to stream content on an older TV, to add fast wi-fi connections to a PC or laptop and so much more. A dongle then, is the technology you can plug into your device to add the functionality you need, amazing devices that extend the lifespan of your tech. How do Dongles Work? Although small, dongles pack a lot of tech into those little packages. Simple to use, you just plug your dongle into the USB or HDMI port, whichever the dongle is designed for, and it does its thing. But what is behind that, how do such tiny devices add so much capability to your technology? At the heart of the process is device to device (D2D) communications, because the dongle is essentially a bridge between your device and the specific tech in the dongle. This ensures that the wi-fi module talks to your laptop, or TV can show the signals from the streaming service, or whatever the dongle does. Common Interfaces Dongles are usually designed to work with a specific port on your device, and there are three common ones, these are: USB — Wi-Fi dongles, security keys for software and so on. HDMI — Allows streaming dongles to interface with your TV Audio Jack — For dongles that allow you to connect headphones to a device that lacks a headphone jack. Through these interfaces, dongles make your tech better. Take Google’s Chromecast, it lets you take whatever is on your laptop screen and put it on your much larger TV screen. Perfect for streaming movies, or even viewing your best holiday photos. The Chromecast just plugs into your TV, then connects wirelessly to your laptop, and off you go. Types of Dongles and How They Can Be Used Streaming your holiday pics is not all a dongle can do though, in fact there are hundreds of different dongles that help you add features to your devices, use specific software or just make your tech experience better. These are the most common dongles in use today: Internet Access Dongles As the name suggests, this type of dongle plugs straight into a USB port on a computer or laptop, and it provides stable, fast internet connectivity over a mobile network. Great for life on the go, but also useful for remote locations when using a desktop PC. Software Licensing Dongles The first use of dongles, and much less popular now than they were back then, but some software still relies on a dongle as their main security solution. It solves the issue of piracy by not allowing the specific software to run unless it can detect the dongle connected to that specific computer. You can have the entire program installed, but unless you also have the physical dongle, it won’t work. Wireless Connectivity Dongles Add the latest Wi-Fi or Bluetooth wireless capabilities to older tech that has slower connectivity or no wireless connection at all. Just plug in and you can connect to your device. Media Streaming Dongles Whether Google’s Chromecast or Amazon’s Fire Stick, or any of a hundred similar devices, you plug this type of dongle into your TVs HDMI port, and it becomes a smart TV able to stream movies and series straight from the internet. Vehicle Diagnostic Dongles With modern vehicles relying on technology to function, it should be no surprise that dongles are used in both maintenance and vehicle telematics solutions. Plugging into the industry standard OBD-II fitted to all modern vehicles, OBD-II dongles allows software systems to access real-time data and settings within cars, including engine performance, fuel efficiency, GPS location tracking and more. The AutoPi dongle can take all this data and stream to the cloud, allowing for remote access to all this data and more, ideal for fleet management. Display Dongles Having everything on your laptop screen automatically visible on a larger TV or monitor can be extremely useful, and with something like Chromecast, you just plug in the dongle, connect to the screen and it is done. Technical Insight While built around ease of use, getting the most from your dongle means understanding a little about the specific technology to get everything working at its best. For instance, if you are using a Wi-Fi dongle, there may be a choice of frequency bands to use for connection, and to get the best speed, you need to change settings to make sure the system is using the best option for your location. It is important then to know what is going on behind the scenes, here are some of the more common technologies dongles use today: Connectivity Standards Wi-Fi Dongles: Technical: You should choose a dongle with the latest technology such as IEEE 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) or 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6). These later technologies provide faster connection speeds and maintain stronger connections even in high use areas. Simplified: A Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6 dongle means you can connect to the internet at faster speeds, and even when you are in a busy location with lots of people trying to connect, you will have no problems. Bluetooth Dongles: Technical: Bluetooth has evolved over the years, and if you want the best performance, Bluetooth 5.0 improves both connection distance and speed and offers a more robust connection for your device. Simplified: If you choose a Bluetooth 5.0 dongle, you can connect faster, from further away, and your devices won’t drop the signal as easily as older versions. USB Ports: Technical: Different USB versions have different speeds, with USB 3.0 or USB-C being the fastest. Choose dongles designed for those USB types for the best performance. Simplified: USB 3.0 and USB-C dongles move data faster and use less power than older USB versions. Data Transfer Rates: Technical: For internet and data dongles, higher transfer rates (measured in Mbps or Gbps) mean quicker downloads and uploads. Simplified: If you choose a dongle with faster transfer rates, you can move your data quicker, enjoy faster internet connections and so on. Power Consumption: Technical: Not all dongles are created equally. Choose a dingle with tech such as USB suspend to reduce energy consumption, important if you are using it with a laptop, for instance. Simplified: Choose a dongle with power saving features to avoid draining your laptop battery. Compatibility: Technical: Not every dongle is compatible with every platform, so check it is suitable for the version of Windows, iOS, Android, Linux or MacOS you want to use it with. Simplified: Know what platform you want to use the dongle with and check compatibility. Built-in Features: Technical: If a dongle has additional features such as WPA3 security for Wi-Fi, or quality DAC solutions for audio, they will perform better than dongles that lack those things. Simplified: Check what extra features a dongle may have, they may be worth the additional cost if it were something you would use. Not every dongle is the same, so check out the specs and features before you buy. Remember to think about cost vs features, if you won’t use a feature you don’t want to pay extra for it. Practical Tips for Using Dongle While every dongle offers something great, additional features for your tech devices, just plugging in and starting up isn’t the best approach. You could miss out on some nice extras, so here are our tips for getting the most from any dongle you use. Installation and Setup Read the manual — While it may seem straightforward, always check the manual to make sure you get started the right way. Install Drivers — If the dongle requires drivers, install them. Always download the latest drivers from the manufacturer’s website for best performance. Secure Connection — Make sure the dongle is firmly seated in the socket. For USB you should be OK but HDMI as a habit of being awkward, so make sure it is fully pressed home into the socket. Troubleshooting No Connection — If your dongle doesn’t connect to the device, take it out and reinsert into the socket. You can also restart the device to force recognition too. Driver Problems — If the dongle isn’t working as it should, download the latest drivers, uninstall the old ones and do a fresh install of those new drivers. Interference — If you are using a wireless dongle, avoid placing it near large metal objects, or alongside other wireless devices to avoid interference. Maximizing Performance Positioning — If you are using a dongle that uses wireless connections, place it as high as practical and with a clear line of site to the router or other device it wants to connect to. Firmware — If there is a firmware update for your dongle, install it. They usually offer improved performance or new features, but can also be critical for security, so check frequently for new ones. Power Management — If you are using more than one USB dongle at once, or a USB dongle with a computer that already has a lot of USB devices plugged in, think about using a powered USB hub to make sure your dongle has all the power it needs to work properly. Whether you are using a dongle for streaming or performing vehicle diagnostics, if you follow these best practices, you should have the best experience with any dongle you use. Future of Dongles If you look at those early 1970’s dongles that protected simple word processing software, it is hard to believe that the same idea is behind things like the Amazon Fire Stick or the latest Wi-Fi connection dongles. The technology has really come a long way, but dongles are not done yet, so what does the future hold? Emerging Trends As new technologies emerge, we want to make use of them. That could be 5G cellular for instance, which can dramatically increase internet connection speeds. Dongles give us access to that without having to buy new tech devices. Dongles that use mobile networks to provide internet access can provide faster, more reliable connections, not only making browsing and downloading faster, but also enabling other uses for the dongle. Smart home devices and Internet of Things networks will seamlessly integrate with dongles, allowing you simpler ways to control and automate tasks such as heating or lighting adjustments for your home. Dongles will play a role in security too, making it easy to add biometrics, such as fingerprint authorization, to existing devices, software solutions and even internet purchases. As dongles themselves use the latest in manufacturing processes to become smaller, they become more practical even for mobile applications. Innovative Applications One of the most likely areas where we will see advancements in dongle use is the healthcare industry. As technology advances, they will be able to deliver faster, more accurate diagnosis. But for us as patients, it is remote patient monitoring where the difference will be made. With this technology, we can be comfortable at home in familiar surroundings, while still have real-time health monitoring by our medical teams. We can see the same in the automotive industry, where diagnosis capabilities are going to improve. Real-time, detailed diagnostics can be transmitted as the vehicle is in use, so we will see predictive maintenance that schedules work to deal with issues before they impact vehicle performance, leading to a safer, more efficient driving experience for you. Dongles will have significant impact in education too, providing interactive learning and enabling secure exam systems. Dongles will also allow you to use AR and VR to provide educational materials, creating a more immersive learning experience for everyone. As their capabilities expand, dongles will integrate into even more aspects of our lives, providing connectivity, security and integration of the latest technologies into everything we do. Conclusion Dongles have been with us since the dawn of personal computing, but they have evolved over time, always being the perfect platform for new functionality. Today, they are offering faster connections, better security, more features, they are more important than ever. That is going to continue, and it is sure that dongles are going to keep evolving, and we are going to keep using them.
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