If you're in the market for a new serial cable we recommend purchasing one based on an FTDI chip. FTDI chips are widely used and well supported with high-quality drivers on all platforms including Windows, Linux, and macOS. In addition, many FTDI-based adapters support "COM Port Retention", a feature that preserves the device's path (or COM port assignment on Windows) to be remembered across reboots and replugs, and allows Serial to remember any settings you've applied to the device. Devices that support this feature have a unique serial number assigned to each cable to enable this feature.
Alternatively, the cables based on a Prolific chip usually work well for low-speed applications and console access. This device is less efficient when receiving large amounts of data, however, so receiving large file transfers may cause high CPU usage while in progress. Most Prolific-based cables do not support COM port retention.
| USB | Conn. | Wiring1 | Signaling | Ports | Retention | Chip | Manufacturer | P/N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USB A | DB9F | DCE | RS-232 | 1 | Yes | FTDI | Tripp Lite | U209-18N-NULL |
| USB A | DB9M | DTE | RS-232 | 1 | Yes | FTDI | StarTech | ICUSB2321F |
| USB A | DB9F | DCE | RS-232 | 1 | Yes | FTDI | StarTech | ICUSB232FTN |
| USB A | DB9M | DTE | RS-232 | 2 | Yes | FTDI | StarTech | ICUSB2322F |
| USB A | RJ45 | - | RS-232 | 1 | No | FTDI | Cable Matters | 202065-6 |
| USB C | DB9M | DCE | RS-232 | 1 | Yes | Prolific | StarTech | ICUSB232PROC |
| USB C | RJ45 | - | RS-232 | 1 | No | FTDI | Cable Matters | 201065-6 |
| Wiring | Manufacturer | P/N |
|---|---|---|
| Straight Through (DTE to DCE) - F/F | StarTech | MXT100FF |
| Null Modem / Crossover (DTE to DTE) - F/F | StarTech | SCNM9FF |
For a list of all supported devices see Compatible Devices .