Enable USB devices from a Unix Host to a Virtualbox Client

1) First thing to make sure is that you have installed VirtualBox extensions.

Installing virtualbox extensions:
a) Download the file at Virtual Box Downloads
b) Install in the virtual box by going to:
File > Preferences > Extensions

2) Make sure that you have enabled USB on the Virtual Machine settings (Double click on the Virtual Machine of your choice or click Ctrl+S).

Enabling USB devices on Virtual Machine
a) Go to Settings > USB
b) Click Enable USB Controller and Enable USB 2.0 (EHCI) Controller if it is USB 2.0
c) Click on Add new USB filter and choose the device you want to include.

3) Run your virtual machine


Troubleshooting

There are some cases that the system might not detect your devices after doing the above steps in a UNIX system. To resolve this, do the following:

1) add this to the bottom of /etc/fstab file

none /proc/bus/usb usbfs devgid={REPLACE THIS NUMBER},devmode=664 0 0

2) replace the devgid number by your devgid number. To know this, type:

grep vboxusers /etc/group

the output would be:

vboxusers:x:125:username

which means that 125 is your devgid number.

3) REBOOT your system and re-run your Virtual Machine. Sometimes, you would need to re-attach your USB device in order for your Virtual Machine to detect it.