Hardware Tips for Working from Home

You can get a keyboard and mouse with USB cables that connect to your computer.

     Pros: Least expensive option. No batteries. Easy setup.

     Cons: Extra wires to deal with. Uses two USB ports on your laptop.

To use, plug the keyboard and mouse cables into USB ports on your laptop.

You can get a wireless keyboard and mouse that uses a small USB receiver that you plug into your laptop.

     Pros: No wires to deal with. Long battery life. Easy setup. Only uses one USB port.

     Cons: Slightly more expensive option than wired. Requires AA or AAA batteries, depending on model. You have to keep track of that tiny receiver for ihe keyboard and mouse to work.

To use, put batteries in the mouse and keyboard and plug the USB receiver into your laptop.

If your keyboard and mouse have extra buttons for other functions, you may need to download a driver to help them work properly with your computer. Go to the manufacturer's website to download the drivers and install them on your computer.

You can get a wireless bluetooth keyboard and mouse

     Pros: Doesn't use up USB ports. No wires to deal with. No USB receiver to loose. Some types use built in rechargeable batteries that last longer than AA or AAA.

     Cons: Some types use AA or AAA batteries, which need to be changed out more often than using USB receiver. Bluetooth setup requires a few more steps.

To use, put batteries in the keyboard and mouse and turn them on. Then, using the bluetooth setup on your computer, follow the steps to connect.

The most common types you will find on your monitor are VGA, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB-C.



1. Determine what video ports are available on your monitor.

2. See what video ports are available on your laptop. For Mac Laptops, see the section on Mac Laptop Ports below.

See if there are any matching ports on your laptop, so you can get that type of cable. (For example, if they both have an HDMI port, you would get an HDMI cable to connect those ports.)

If there are no matching ports, you can get an adapter to go from one video type to another. However, you want to try to avoid doing this because it can degrade the quality of the video signal.

In addition to these types of video ports, there are many more, less common types. For Macs, see section on Mac Laptop Ports below. Otherwise, check out this website for details on other types.

If you have an Apple laptop, there is an extra step.  Apple puts "mini" ports on their laptops so it takes up less room, but this means you'll need a converter.

In order to determine what type of converter you need, first, you'll need to check what type of video port it has, Mini-Display or Mini-DVI.

Then get an adapter that can connect to your monitor port. For example, if you have an HDMI port on your monitor, and a Mini-Display port on your laptop, you would need a Mini-Display to HDMI converter and an HDMI cable.

To use 3.5 mm audio, look to see if your computer has one port or two (when there are two, the cables and ports are usually pink for microphone or input and green for speaker or output). If your headset has a different number of cables than your computer, you may need to get an adapter to make it work properly.

• If your computer has one port, but your headset has two cables, you need to combine them. (Make sure the splitter you get says 4-pole or TRRS to be sure it can carry audio in and out.)
  
  
   
• If your computer has two ports, but your headset has one, you need to split them. (Make sure the splitter you get says 4-pole or TRRS to be sure it can carry audio in and out.)