Monoprice 5342 USB 2.0 Print Server

62%

38%

Ease of Setup

OS Compatibility

Connection Reliability

Value for Money

Build Quality

Network Speed

Driver Support

Compact Design

Printer Compatibility

Power Efficiency

Documentation & Support

Wired Network Performance

Overall Reliability

Overview

The Monoprice 5342 USB 2.0 Print Server is a compact, wired networking accessory that lets you connect a single USB printer to your home or office network — no dedicated PC required. It is strictly a wired Ethernet solution, so if you are hoping for Wi-Fi, stop here. The device plugs into your router via a standard RJ-45 cable and handles print jobs quietly in the background. Compatibility is limited to Windows 2000 through Windows 7 — no Mac, no Linux, and nothing newer than Windows 7. For a Windows household with an older printer gathering dust, this Monoprice networking device makes a surprisingly practical case for itself at a budget price point.

Features & Benefits

This print server keeps things simple by design. It has a single USB 2.0 port — one printer, one connection — and an auto-sensing Ethernet port that works whether your router runs at 10 or 100 Mbps without any manual configuration. The whole unit weighs under an ounce and fits easily behind a printer or alongside your router. Once set up, multiple Windows computers on the same network can send print jobs without anyone needing to physically switch cables. Power draw is minimal, so leaving it running around the clock is not a concern. The plug-and-play setup is genuinely straightforward for anyone comfortable with basic network settings.

Best For

This USB network adapter is best suited for Windows-only households running XP, Vista, or Windows 7 with a USB printer they would rather share than retire. It is also a practical pick for a small office where a wired connection is preferred over the potential inconsistencies of Wi-Fi. If you have a reliable older laser or inkjet printer and just want other computers in the house to reach it without running a long cable across the room, this fits the bill. It is not the right tool for Mac users, Linux setups, or anyone running Windows 8 or later — and the wired-only requirement is a dealbreaker if your printer lives far from your router.

User Feedback

With a 3.2-star average across nearly 200 reviews, this print server clearly works well for some buyers and frustrates others. The positive camp tends to praise easy initial setup and the compact design — people who matched the right hardware and OS report it working reliably without much fuss. The complaints, however, are pointed. Several users ran into trouble with specific router configurations, and intermittent connection drops appear more than once in the critical reviews. Many problems seem tied to environment rather than outright defects, so reading the negative feedback carefully before purchasing is worthwhile. When the conditions are right, this Monoprice networking device delivers solid value — but it is not a universal fit.

#Print Servers

#Networking Products

#Computers & Accessories

#Electronics

Pros

Compact enough to tuck behind a printer or router without adding visual clutter
Allows multiple Windows PCs to share one printer without rerouting USB cables
Auto-sensing 10/100 Ethernet port works with virtually any wired home router
Low power consumption makes it practical to leave running around the clock
Setup is straightforward for non-technical users comfortable with basic network access
Wired connection provides more consistent print job delivery than budget Wi-Fi alternatives
Budget-friendly price point makes it easy to justify for a single-printer household
Lightweight and small enough to reposition or pack away without hassle

Cons

Compatibility stops at Windows 7 — no support for Windows 8, 10, 11, or any newer OS
Mac and Linux users are completely locked out with no driver support available
Only one USB port means you cannot share a second printer through the same unit
Some users report intermittent connection drops that require restarting the device
Performance can vary depending on router brand and network configuration
No wireless option whatsoever, limiting placement to wherever an Ethernet cable can reach
A 3.2-star average across nearly 200 reviews suggests reliability is inconsistent for many buyers
Driver or configuration issues may frustrate users who are not comfortable troubleshooting network settings

Ratings

The scores below for the Monoprice 5342 USB 2.0 Print Server were generated by our AI engine after analyzing verified buyer reviews from global markets, with spam, bot-submitted, and incentivized feedback actively filtered out. The ratings reflect a balanced picture — where this print server genuinely delivers, the scores show it, and where real users ran into frustration, that comes through just as clearly.

Ease of Setup

71%

29%

Users who landed in the right environment — a Windows XP or Windows 7 machine paired with a common router — often reported getting up and running without needing technical support. The plug-and-play approach resonated with home users who just wanted to stop moving a USB cable between desks.

Setup experiences diverged sharply depending on network hardware and Windows version. A meaningful portion of buyers spent hours troubleshooting driver conflicts or router compatibility issues that the product documentation did not adequately prepare them for.

OS Compatibility

38%

62%

Within its narrow supported range — Windows 2000 through Windows 7 — this print server does what it claims. Users with legacy Windows setups specifically praised it for breathing new life into older printers they did not want to replace.

The compatibility ceiling at Windows 7 is a serious limitation in 2024, and many buyers only discovered it after purchase. No Mac support, no Linux support, and nothing beyond Windows 7 means the overwhelming majority of modern computer users are simply locked out.

Connection Reliability

52%

48%

When the device maintained a stable connection, users reported it handling shared print jobs quietly in the background without interrupting their workflow. In stable, low-traffic home networks with compatible routers, some buyers ran it for extended periods without issues.

Intermittent connection drops are one of the most frequently cited frustrations in the review pool. Several users described needing to power-cycle the device regularly to restore network visibility, which is a significant inconvenience in any shared printing environment.

Value for Money

67%

33%

At its price point, this Monoprice networking device undercuts most competitors in the wired print server category by a noticeable margin. For someone with an older Windows setup and no budget for a new printer with built-in networking, the cost-to-function ratio is defensible.

The value proposition erodes quickly when setup problems eat hours of time or when the device turns out to be incompatible with your OS. Several buyers felt they had wasted money entirely because the compatibility window was not clearly communicated before purchase.

Build Quality

61%

39%

The compact housing feels adequately constructed for a stationary device that sits behind a printer and never gets handled. Its light weight and small footprint mean it does not compete for desk space, which users in tight home office setups appreciated.

The plastic casing feels utilitarian at best, and there is no indication of any meaningful durability testing or heat dissipation engineering. A few users noted the unit felt cheap relative to competing products at slightly higher price points.

Network Speed

74%

26%

The auto-sensing 10/100 Ethernet port handles standard home and small office network speeds without any manual configuration. Users printing text documents and moderate-size files reported acceptable transfer times with no perceptible lag compared to direct USB printing.

Large print jobs — high-resolution graphics or multi-page documents — occasionally exposed the limits of the USB 2.0 and 100 Mbps ceiling. This is unlikely to affect typical home users but could frustrate small offices with heavier printing demands.

Driver Support

41%

59%

When drivers installed cleanly on a supported Windows version, users found the software unobtrusive and relatively stable in day-to-day operation. The installation utility does walk users through the basic configuration without requiring deep technical knowledge.

Driver support has not kept pace with operating system evolution, and there is no path forward for Windows 8 or later. Several reviews described driver installation failures even on supposedly supported Windows versions, pointing to inconsistencies that Monoprice has not publicly addressed.

Compact Design

83%

The palm-sized form factor is one of the device's clearest wins. It tucks neatly behind a printer or alongside a router, and its 0.64-ounce weight means it can be repositioned or stored without any hassle at all.

The small size does come with a trade-off: there is room for only one USB port, which hard-limits the device to a single printer. Users who initially hoped to daisy-chain or share two printers were disappointed to find no such option exists.

Printer Compatibility

69%

31%

This print server works with a wide range of USB printers — laser and inkjet alike — as long as Windows drivers for that printer are available on the networked computers. Users with standard home printer brands generally had no trouble pairing hardware.

Printers with proprietary communication protocols or advanced scan-and-fax functions often lost those extra features when routed through the print server. Users expecting full multifunction printer support over the network were sometimes left with print-only functionality.

Power Efficiency

78%

22%

The low power draw makes leaving this USB network adapter running continuously a practical and low-cost decision. Home users who want their shared printer available at any hour without switching anything on appreciated the always-on convenience.

There is no power management mode or sleep function documented for this device. While the draw is minimal, users looking for any kind of energy-saving scheduling or automatic standby will find nothing here.

Documentation & Support

44%

56%

The device ships with basic setup instructions that are sufficient for a clean, uncomplicated installation on a compatible Windows machine. Users in that scenario rarely needed to go further than the included materials.

When things went wrong, users found the documentation thin and Monoprice customer support difficult to navigate for nuanced network troubleshooting. The lack of detailed guidance for non-standard router configurations left a number of buyers solving problems on their own through third-party forums.

Wired Network Performance

76%

24%

For users who prioritize a stable wired connection over the convenience of Wi-Fi, this print server delivers a more consistent experience than budget wireless alternatives in its price class. Print jobs tend to arrive at the printer without the interruptions that poorly configured wireless devices can introduce.

The strict requirement for an Ethernet cable significantly limits where the printer can be placed relative to the router. Users in homes where running a cable is impractical found this a dealbreaker, especially given that comparable wireless options exist at a modest price premium.

Overall Reliability

55%

45%

Buyers who matched this device correctly to their environment — a stable Windows 7 machine, a mid-range consumer router, a standard USB printer — reported multi-month runs without major issues. In its ideal conditions, this print server performs with quiet consistency.

The 3.2-star average across nearly 200 reviews tells a story that cannot be ignored: a significant share of buyers experienced failures, drops, or compatibility dead ends. Reliability is environment-dependent in a way that makes this a somewhat risky purchase without careful pre-purchase research.

Suitable for:

The Monoprice 5342 USB 2.0 Print Server is a genuinely useful tool for a specific and well-defined audience: Windows users who own an older USB-only printer and want to share it across multiple computers on a wired home or small office network. If your household still runs Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 — perhaps on a machine dedicated to a particular task — this device quietly solves a real inconvenience without requiring you to buy a new printer. Small offices with a single shared printer, a wired router nearby, and no need for wireless flexibility will find this print server does exactly what it promises at a price that is hard to argue with. It is also a practical pick for anyone who has been living with an awkwardly long USB cable snaking across a room just to stay connected to a printer.

Not suitable for:

The Monoprice 5342 USB 2.0 Print Server has hard limits that disqualify it for a wide range of buyers, and it is worth being direct about them. If you run a Mac, a Linux machine, or any version of Windows from Windows 8 onward, this device simply will not work — there is no workaround. It is also a wired-only solution, meaning your printer needs to sit within a reasonable cable run of your Ethernet router or switch; anyone expecting wireless convenience will be disappointed. The single USB port means you cannot share more than one printer through this unit, which rules it out for even modestly complex office setups. Buyers who need broad compatibility, modern OS support, or Wi-Fi connectivity should look elsewhere rather than hoping for a workaround that does not exist.

Specifications

Brand: This print server is manufactured by Monoprice, a brand known for affordable networking and connectivity accessories.
Model Number: The official model number is 5342, also referenced internally by Monoprice as 105342.
USB Standard: The device uses a single USB 2.0 port to connect one printer at a time to the network.
USB Ports: There is exactly one USB port on this unit, limiting shared printer connections to a single printer.
Ethernet Standard: The built-in Ethernet port auto-senses between 10Base-T and 100Base-T speeds to match your existing network.
Network Connector: A standard RJ-45 port provides the wired Ethernet connection to your router or network switch.
Wireless Support: This device has no wireless capability whatsoever and requires a physical Ethernet cable for all network communication.
Compatible OS: Supported operating systems are limited to Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 only.
Dimensions: The unit measures 8.4 x 5.5 x 2.1 inches, making it compact enough to sit discreetly beside a printer or router.
Weight: The device weighs just 0.64 ounces, making it one of the lightest print servers in its category.
Form Factor: The palm-sized housing is designed for low-profile placement in home or small office environments.
Power Draw: The device operates at a low power level suitable for continuous, always-on network use without significant energy cost.
Printer Sharing: Once connected, the print server allows multiple networked Windows computers to send jobs to the single attached USB printer.
Network Speed: The auto-sensing Ethernet port supports network speeds of 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps depending on the connected router or switch.
Category Rank: This print server holds a rank of number 64 in the Computer Networking Print Servers category on Amazon.
Average Rating: The product has an average customer rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars based on approximately 198 ratings.
Manufacturer Status: Monoprice has not discontinued this product, and it remains available through current retail channels.
Date Listed: This product was first made available for purchase on Amazon in October 2017.

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FAQ

No, it does not. The Monoprice 5342 USB 2.0 Print Server is only compatible with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and 7. If you are running Windows 8 or anything newer, this device will not work for you and you should look for a more current solution.

Unfortunately, no. This print server has no Mac driver support at all. If you are on macOS, you will need a different device that specifically lists Mac compatibility.

It requires a physical Ethernet cable connection to your router or network switch. There is no wireless functionality built in, so your printer will need to be within a reasonable cable run of your networking equipment.

Just one. There is a single USB port on this print server, so only one USB printer can be connected and shared at a time. If you need to share two or more printers, you would need additional hardware.

For most Windows users on a supported OS, the setup is fairly straightforward — you connect the device to your router, plug in your printer, install the necessary software, and configure the printer on each computer that needs access. That said, some users have reported that certain router configurations can make the process more complicated, so it is worth having some patience during the initial setup.

Print quality will not change since it is the same printer and the same data being sent. Print speed may be marginally affected depending on your network conditions, but for most everyday printing tasks the difference is negligible.

The device itself uses USB 2.0, but USB is backward compatible, so a USB 3.0 cable or printer with a USB 3.0 port will still work at USB 2.0 speeds. You should not experience any issues connecting modern hardware on the printer side.

Some users have reported intermittent disconnections, and this appears to be one of the more common complaints in the reviews. The frequency seems to depend on your router model and network environment. If you experience drops, restarting the device often restores the connection, but it is a known pain point worth considering before purchasing.

Not simultaneously. Print servers like this one queue print jobs, meaning one job completes before the next one starts. Multiple computers can send jobs to the queue, but the printer handles them one at a time, which is normal behavior for this type of device.

The device itself does not include an Ethernet cable, so you will need one to connect it to your router. Make sure you also have the installation software available, which may need to be downloaded from Monoprice directly if it is not included in the box.