Logitech Unifying receiver – originals, fakes and much much more

Preamble

This was originally under the blog, Dell WK636p keyboard dongle.

This is compatible with the Jetson Nano, apparently, according to the Jetson Nano forums, see Jetson (Nano) compatibility below.

See also

• Dell WK636p keyboard dongle
• Logitech receiver found
• Another fake Logitech mouse receiver?
• Jetson Nano – basic specs
• Logitech M570
• Logitech mice and keyboards

Links

• Logitech wireless mice genuine or fake – Tom’s hardware
• Why you should really, really update your Logitech wireless dongle
• USBsamurai For Dummies
• USBSamurai — A Remotely Controlled Malicious USB HID Injecting Cable for less than 10$
• Logitech – Unifying software
• Are Logi Bolt devices compatible with Unifying USB receivers? – No!
• Fake one ten boxed genuine Logitech M185 24g wireless mouse NANO joint guarantee for three years

Videos

• Converting devices to USB Type-C
  • Convert an USB-A Unifying receiver to USB-C

Jetson (Nano) compatibility

The reason for worrying about this is that if you can use a dual peripheral (i.e. mouse and keyboard) wireless USB dongle, then you don’t need to take up two USB ports on the Nano, for a wired mouse and wired keyboard – thus saving yourself one USB port.

So, using a Logitech Unifying receiver, or a Dell Universal receiver (see Dell WK636p keyboard dongle), is quite a good idea.

Nvidia forums

• Can Jetson Nano connect with wireless keyboard and wireless mouse via usb? – K400r reported to be working, uses Unifying receiver.
• Does any wireless combo mouse and keyboard work with the jetson nano? if not what products do you recommend? – MK220 reported working, does not use Unifying receiver

Elsewhere

• Setting up the Jetson Nano – K400+ reported working, uses Unifying receiver

Logitech Unifying receiver

As a comparison to the Dell Universal Receiver, a Logitech Unifying dongle is around $10. Or as low as $8.60, $8.75, $9.90, $10.42. Or in Fortune Town 599 baht ($18), more expensive but original:

and

Note, the image on the box makes me wonder if this is actually original. It certainly doesn’t look like the newer format (see below), nor like the receiver on the Logitech website, USB Unifying Receiver:

In fact it looks like the 3 mm receiver (again see below). Also, the lack of plastic wrap to the package suggests a fake.

I would have expected it to look something like this, from here

Nevertheless, even with the plastic wrapping, the dongle looks the same.

However, this very interesting link, USBsamurai For Dummies, identifies this suspect looking dongle as a C-U0012:

Differences between C-U0007 & C-U0012:

As you see below, they quite differ from aesthetic point of view. Moreover, the C-U0007 mounts a Nordic chipset and the C-U0012 a TI chipset. This info will be partially useful when will be matter of picking the best hardware for creating USBsamurai.

>>> Personally I do recommend the C-U0012, you will thank me later! 😉 <<<

C-U0007 Unifying Dongle

C-U0012 Unifying Dongle

Physical forms

Be aware that there are two physical versions of the Unifying receiver [source: Wikipedia]:

• the older has Logitech written on the end, and;
• the newer has “logi” embossed on the end.

Older, and limited to 45 matches, Unifying receiver:

The newer format

From https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32842874670.html, 3mm (not listed on Wikipedia) and 6 mm (original older model)

Wikipedia may be incorrect, and it may be the 3 mm model is bone fide (as per the packaged version shown above).

Fake clones

From https://www.ebay.com/itm/142419609219 some fake looking receivers, the left hand receiver has the wrong colour logo and the “logitech” logo is incorrect – it is printed, when “logi” should be embossed.

From twitter, some more examples of the fakes

Marcus Mengs

@mame82

·

Jul 29, 2019

Logitech Unifying receiver fake. Bought 3 cheap Unifying CU0008 receivers (TI chip). Turner out, they all are CU0007 (Nordic) with wrong label and ALL HAVE THE SAME S/N All are running old, unsigned bootloader (BOT03.01) – so they can be flashed with every fw you like

Firmware revisions

There are a number of version firmware versions, i.e. the faster “gaming” C-U0008 and the more common C-U0007

Another variant  C-U0012, with a different physical form (maybe a clone?)

Videos

Logitech Unifying and Nano Receiver – Disassembly

Two notes on the Logitech Unifying

• Latency is less than Bluetooth – see Bluetooth vs. Proprietary Unifying Receiver
• USB 3.0 ports can cause interference – and extender cable is required to move away from the USB 3.0 port. = see How do I fix Logitech mouse lag? Why does it happen?

The problem is often unrelated to the mouse, keyboard or battery.

Logitech’s Unifying Receiver USB is prone to interference when plugged into certain USB ports that are near electronic noise generated by your computer.

You can try changing which USB port it is plugged into, but the most reliable solution is to buy a short male-female USB extension cable to put some space between the USB wireless receiver and your computer.

M185 – unifying or not?

I have bought a number of M185 mice for 20 baht, and some have a Unifying logo, some do not. The M185 webpage states that it comes with a Nano receiver, but also that the Unifying receiver is compatible – does that mean all mice/keyboards with a Nano receiver are also Unifying capable?

This article, Logitech launches Unifying USB nano receiver, states that the Nano has been upgraded to Unifying, but pinch of salt and all that. It seems to have confused the two, using the term nano for just a small receiver…

On god-awful Quora, idiots are guessing what is compatible and what is not, without actually knowing for sure.

A moron from India who thinks that the Nano receiver should have a Unifying logo on it, see Logitech mouse received with no unifying symbol on nano receiver which seems fake receiver.

It is quite remarkable that Logitech don’t actually state what devices are supported, nor explain the different versions. The Wikipedia entry is just out of date and incomplete.

The best actual information/confirmation seems to come from here, Non-Unifying “NANO RECEIVER” confirmed working (just add the ID) #4:

Some Unifying-ready Logitech devices, such as the M305 mouse, come with a non-Unifying receiver. It looks the same, but instead of the Unifying logo it has “NANO RECEIVER” written on the case. The device ID of the nano receiver is 0xc52f.

I have M305 and M175 mice. both of them come with one of these Nano receivers. I added the ID to the code and your pairing tool worked, both mice pair successfully.

Here are two M185 that I purchased in a market for 10 baht each, note the differences (i.e. the missing Unifying logo on the mouse on the right)

This is the receiver that came with the ‘non-unifying’ mouse on the right

Note the state of the logo

 

Get a mouse instead of just the Unifying receiver module

Seeing as the Unifying receiver is 599, would it be worth just getting a mouse that comes with a Unifying receiver?.

The cheapest mouse that came with a Unifying receiver was the M590 for 990 baht or the M720 for 1690. The M720 has Easy Switch (3 devices) and Flow (see below). The M590 also has Easy Switch (2 devices) and Flow.

Easy Switch (or Flow)

To add an addition layer of complexity (or two).

If you have multiple Unifying receivers and you have Logitech peripherals that support Easy Switch then you can switch computers (up to three) like a KVM.

On top of that, there is Flow, which appears to expand the Easy Switch concept.

Supported by

• Combo
  • MK850
• Keyboard
  • K375s
  • K380
  • K780
  • M720
  • MX Keys
  • Craft
• Mouse
  • MX Master 4
  • MX Master 25
  • MX Ergo
  • MX Anywhere 25
  • M585
  • M590
  • and surely the M720?

See also Logitech Easy Switch: Switching mice and keyboards between computers is so un-KVM and How to Use Logitech Flow for Mice and Keyboards Across Multiple Computers

The break can be clearly seen in this photo:

 

Note the orientation of the IC w.r.t. the white plastic insert

 

A closer look at the Nano receiver

I purchased another M185 (10 baht), which also had a receiver, but the top was missing. It seems that the antenna part has snapped off.

 

From logitech nano-receiver disassembly. USA, Germany, Canada, Europe, UK, Australia, Netherlands, Africa

 

See also these good videos from Tech & Lifestyle

• How to Open a logitech Unifying Receiver
• Logitech NANO RECEIVER disassembly and connection problem Fix
• Logitech Unifying Receiver Disassembly and connection problem Fix
• Faulty Logitech Unifying USB diy easy fix

All of which appear to just add some insulation between the IC side of the PCB and the shielding case

Useful note for old keyboards and newer mice

For example K350 with M575.

Use the older, original, Logitech Unifying Software application (launched via Logitech Setpoint). The newer Logitech Options will not connect the older keyboard correctly (or at all).

See Logitech M570 vs M575 at 4:10

See also Logitech M570

Fake packaging

This typically weird Chinese page, Fake one ten boxed genuine Logitech M185 24g wireless mouse NANO joint guarantee for three years, appears to show fake and genuine packaging:

• Genuine – bubble packed and white
• Fake – No bubble plastic pack and green

Although I may have that confused, and maybe the green box is the original.

See also:

• https://www.fakespot.com/product/logitech-m185-wireless-mouse-grey – not useful
• Logitech wireless mice genuine or fake – Tom’s hardware