13 Useful USB Gadgets Recommended By Students

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Being a student means juggling between lots of tasks at the same time. You may have several different subjects and electives, with assignments, homework, and tests across all of them. With so much to handle, having gadgets or accessories that can make your life easier is a blessing. While no magical robot can perform all your tasks for you (yet), we've found some extremely useful USB gadgets that students absolutely swear by. These range from simple USB drivers to transfer files from one device to another, to tiny computers, Raspberry Pi alternatives, that you can use to build complex projects like drones and home security systems. Since these gadgets are recommended by students, for students, we've also made sure to keep the price in check.

Most gadgets on this list are quite affordable, but the value they provide is immense. Depending on your usage, you can pick up a few of them — and they will certainly save you a lot of hassle in certain situations. Apart from the cost, we considered several factors while concocting the list. For starters, students should be allowed to carry these gadgets to school without any issues. All the gadgets should be universally compatible with multiple devices and operating systems — so regardless of whether one has a Windows laptop or a Mac — they should be able to take complete advantage of it. Finally, they should contribute to making a student's job easier in terms of efficiency, productivity, organization, or comfort.

Students share notes, textbooks, and assignments ever so often. So, having an external drive to do it makes it convenient. While wireless methods like AirDrop or cloud storage are handy, using a physical drive to transfer large chunks of data is often the preferred method. If you're looking for a reliable one that's also compatible with multiple types of devices, the SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive is a compact, high-speed flash drive with both USB-C and USB-A connectors. This means you can plug it into smartphones and computers. It has a retractable design that protects the connectors when not in use. There are several storage configurations available, but as an ex-student not too long ago, I would recommend opting for at least the 256 GB capacity. A larger capacity lets you store thousands of documents, presentations, lecture recordings, or multimedia projects — which is ideal for managing coursework across multiple devices.

You don't have to worry about deleting old files or quickly running out of storage. It's also much more affordable compared to an external hard drive or SSD, so students can afford to buy multiple flash drives for different purposes. Moreover, it's super compact and can fit into the smallest compartment in your backpack, or even your trouser pockets with ease. It's a no-brainer for students, especially at $20 for 256GB of storage.

Being a student could mean having to stay with a roommate. Since y'all are two separate individuals, you may study or do your homework at different times during the day. If you're someone who prefers working late into the night, having the lights turned on can be disturbing to your roommate if they go to bed early. Using the Dott Arts USB clip-on desk lamp is an excellent workaround to light up your workspace without disturbing others. As the name suggests, it clips onto the edge of a desk and has a long extension that you can bend or point in any direction of your choice. The other end of the lamp connects to a USB port, so you can use it with a wall adapter, a laptop, or even a power bank.

If you're not at your desk and you prefer reading while lying in bed, you can clip the lamp onto the bed frame and point it at your book. This is the added convenience of a design like this, compared to traditional desk lamps. For just $10, this is an excellent accessory for any student who wants to illuminate their workspace at night.

The Arduino Uno R3 is a USB-connected microcontroller board — which is a staple among students enrolled in STEM courses. It features 14 digital I/O pins, six analog inputs, and an extremely supportive and helpful open-source community that helps you create a bunch of interesting projects. You can interface the Arduino board with multiple sensors and modules, which makes it perfect for prototyping electronics projects like smart home devices, IoT systems, small robots, etc. The idea is to foster hands-on learning for engineering, computer science, or robotics students. Since it connects via USB, programming the board via any computer is a breeze.

What makes Arduino Uno popular among students is its extremely affordable price. Compared to SBCs like the Raspberry Pi, the $25 price tag is within every student's reach, and setting it up is also much easier for beginners. You can find a ton of ideas online, or get started with easy Arduino projects that can familiarize beginners with the microcontroller's functionality. If you're pursuing a course in any branch of engineering, the Arduino Uno is a must-have.

Being a student means juggling between multiple devices all the time. Laptop, smartphone, headphones, smartwatch, etc. The challenge is to keep all of them powered at all times, since a dead battery would mean that you have to wait for a while to use the gadget, or stay tethered to a wall with a charger. Thankfully, the solution to this problem is quite simple — a power bank or portable battery pack. While there are many options from various brands, the Iniu 20,000mAh power bank hits the sweet spot regarding pricing and features. The capacity is large enough to charge a small laptop, like the MacBook Air, along with other accessories. If you're not going to charge your laptop, you can juice up your smartphone multiple times.

The 65-watt output ensures you can even charge larger laptops like the MacBook Pro, or even fast-charge certain smartphones. You can also charge the power bank at 65 watts using the same USB-C port. If it runs out of power, you just have to plug it in for a couple of hours for a full charge. There are three output ports and a display indicating the battery level. It's compact and is the perfect accessory to carry in your backpack. 

If you're working late in the night during winter to meet your deadlines and complete assignments, a mouse pad that provides warmth to your hands can prove extremely useful. It can be more effective than wearing gloves indoors, since you may not be able to use your phone or the touchscreen on your laptop with gloves on. Moreover, gloves can make it difficult to type on certain keyboards. A mousepad that provides heat like the Wolvio USB heated mousepad solves this by warming your mouse hand while allowing you to interact with other devices seamlessly. It features an enclosed design with adjustable heat settings for personalized comfort. Apart from dorms, it's also ideal for students in cold classrooms or libraries.

Along with providing warmth, a mousepad like this also indirectly contributes to improving focus in students while performing tasks like coding or writing, since chilly environments can cause discomfort and distractions for an extended period. The fact that it's soft and foldable means you can stuff it into your backpack and carry it with you throughout the campus during winter.

Most students nowadays prefer having laptops over desktop computers, since they're easier to carry around. In that case, most laptops have built-in webcams to facilitate online classes, seminars, and other meetings. However, the video quality from these webcams is often underwhelming, which is fine for online classes, but may end up looking unprofessional for online interviews with universities or potential recruiters. As a result, it's advisable to get a good-quality webcam like the Logitech C920x. It's a 1080p webcam with stereo audio, HD light correction, and customization options for the field of view. Unlike most webcams on modern-day laptops, the difference when using a dedicated webcam like this is night and day.

Apart from online interviews and important meetings, a high-quality webcam can also be useful for other purposes. For instance, let's say you play games on your computer, and you want to stream your gameplay on YouTube or Twitch. You can use an external webcam as your face cam by placing it at any angle you prefer. Apart from gaming, you can also use it to create other forms of content like presentations, tutorials, etc.

Along with video quality, it's extremely important to focus on audio quality when attending a meeting or creating content. The perfect companion to the Logitech webcam is the HyperX SoloCast USB condenser mic. Since it's a USB mic, all you have to do is plug it into your computer and start using it. The cardioid pattern is ideal for most use cases, and the affordable price means that most students can get a high-quality mic without emptying their pockets. The mic has a mute/unmute button that's useful during online meetings and classes. Apart from that, the HyperX mic can be used for a myriad of other purposes, like recording a voice-over for a class presentation, or in tandem with the webcam when live-streaming on any online platform.

I used to record podcasts with various students from my university when I was a student, discussing different career paths and job prospects in those particular fields. A mic like this was extremely helpful in recording high-quality audio while keeping away background noise. Many of my presentations also took place online, and the quality of audio while I was speaking stood out compared to the rest of the class, since I was using a professional mic.

Living in a dorm, especially in a shared room, means that you don't have access to too many wall outlets. Moreover, limited desk space doesn't allow you to use multiple chargers, docks, or hubs. Any gadget that saves space while occupying a single wall outlet is certainly a blessing in such circumstances. That's exactly where the Lisen 3-in-1 charging station shines. It has a MagSafe charger to mount your iPhone, a retractable Apple Watch charger, and a tertiary wireless charger for your AirPods. It takes care of the complete Apple ecosystem — all while taking up just a single wall outlet or even drawing power from a portable battery pack. The angle at which the MagSafe charger is fitted also makes it a good nightstand for your iPhone.

It's extremely well-built, can charge three devices at once, and has a portable form factor that can easily be carried around to the class, library, dorm, and then to your house during the summer break. What's not to like about it? Unless, of course, you have an Android phone, in which case, this gadget isn't for you. 

Ideal for biology, chemistry, or geology majors, the Jiusion USB microscope enables detailed specimen analysis, supporting lab work, research, and presentations with high-quality visuals that support 50-1000x magnification. Students can examine plant cells for a biology lab, analyze mineral samples for geology, or capture images of soldering joints or tiny components of a PCB for a science project — all using a tool that fits into the pocket. Compared to traditional microscopes that are large and bulky, the Jiusion pocket microscope can be carried around anywhere. As a result, it can be used in dorms, labs, or field trips. Additionally, it can connect to a smartphone or computer using a USB cable to view the output instead of a traditional eyepiece.

Apart from academics, hobbyists can also use the microscope to examine coins, fabrics, or artefacts. Students studying electronics and electrical engineering may have to make extremely tiny solder joints on a circuit board. In such situations, using the Jiusion microscope for magnification makes things much easier. The built-in LED to brighten the scene is a small yet thoughtful addition.

A printer is undoubtedly an excellent addition to your student life if you have space in your room. The Brother MFC-J1010DW is a compact, USB-powered all-in-one printer that prints, scans, and copies. Whether you want to print your class notes since you don't prefer reading on a screen, or you wish to scan handwritten notes from a friend's notebook to read and distribute online, this printer has you covered. Additional features like duplex printing and mobile app connectivity make it an even sweeter deal — especially at the asking price.

Its fast printing speeds and high-quality output make it suitable for printing project documentation and research papers. Due to its compact design, it can fit on small dorm desks. It can even be purchased as a shared resource among multiple students by pooling in money, since the savings in the long run are going to be substantial.

While all the above gadgets add value in several ways, this one's more of a hack to ensure your computer doesn't sleep. The Meatanty USB mouse jiggler is a discreet, USB-powered device that simulates mouse movement to keep computers active — preventing sleep mode or idle status during long tasks. It's ideal for students working on time-intensive projects like coding, rendering, or online exams, as it ensures uninterrupted workflows by keeping the screen awake. It requires no software, so you can also use it with shared campus computers.

Students can also use it to maintain an active status during virtual classes, especially when the online program detects whether a student is active or not, depending on the mouse cursor's movement. Other use cases include preventing screen locks during presentations or keeping a laptop running during a long video rendering session for a media project.

Most new laptops have limited ports with most of them being USB-C. This is especially true if you have a MacBook. It becomes difficult to plug in other devices that use different ports in such situations, pushing you to buy a USB hub or dock. If you don't want to spend too much on one, but still want a reliable solution, the Anker 7-in-1 USB-C dock is the way to go. It converts a single USB-C port into an HDMI port, two USB-A ports, two USB-C ports, an SD card reader, and a microSD card reader. This is the must-have accessory if you use an external monitor, or often connect projectors and external drives to your laptop.

Along with being a student, I was also a content creator, using a camera to record videos. If that's something you do as well, you can use this adapter to plug the SD card from your camera directly into your laptop to transfer footage and edit it. Among the plethora of options, the Anker hub is extremely affordable at just $20, making it our top recommendation.

The Czur smart document scanner is a USB-powered device that captures documents, books, and other objects with auto-flattening technology and OCR for converting scans to editable text. It's perfect for students since it digitizes notes, textbooks, or research materials, creating shareable and searchable files that save time and enhance organization. For example, students can scan textbook chapters for digital study, digitize handwritten notes for sharing with study groups, or capture 3D objects for art projects.

Unlike a standard scanner that only creates images or PDFs of the scanned document, the Czur scanner uses OCR to recognize the text. It's also compact and foldable, so you can use it in the classroom, library, or dorm. The Czur scanner can also be used as a secondary camera to showcase documents on a table during online classes. Granted, it is quite expensive at $199, especially for students. That said, it can be purchased as a shared resource since multiple students can use the feature set.

I was a student myself, not too long ago, so I used several of these gadgets personally to make my life easier in class or my dorm, when I was away from home. While basic, most gadgets on this list can be extremely helpful when used correctly. For instance, I had multiple USB drives and external SSDs that I used for various purposes. One for backing up my PC data, i.e., notes, assignments, research documents, and projects, one for storing and transferring notes and textbooks, and another for personal files like photos and videos. Then, there are devices like the Logitech webcam or USB mic that aren't necessarily mandatory for students, but they add quality of life upgrades. For instance, a high-quality video and audio output when attending an online interview sets a good impression with the recruiter. Moreover, they can assist with live streaming and content creation if you're into that.

Devices like the Arduino Uno and the USB microscope directly contribute to hands-on learning, since these devices can be used for research, experimentation, and a better understanding of concepts. A few other gadgets may not be directly linked to learning or make your life easier in the classroom. However, they can still be good additions to your student life by saving space on your desk in a small dorm, or keeping you comfortable when meeting your deadlines on a cold winter evening.