KMBOX NET Setup Guide - Drivers, Network & Firmware

What is the KMBOX NET?

It's a small box (about 62 × 62 × 27mm) with four USB ports, a tiny OLED screen, and one hidden button for firmware updates. Inside, there's a WCH microcontroller that handles all the translation between network commands and USB HID signals.

The way it works is simple. You plug one USB cable into your second PC, which creates a virtual network adapter. You plug another USB cable into your gaming PC, which registers the KMBOX NET as a keyboard and mouse. Then your real keyboard and mouse go into the other two ports for passthrough. When your software on the second PC sends a command like "move mouse 50 pixels right," the KMBOX NET converts that into a genuine USB input that the gaming PC can't distinguish from you physically moving your mouse.

Compared to the older KMBOX B and B+ models that used serial communication at 115,200 baud, the NET version uses USB-emulated Ethernet at 100 Mbps. That means roughly 1,000 commands per second instead of 300, and none of the "white screen" crashes that plagued the serial models.

What's in the box

You get the KMBOX NET device and two blue USB-A cables (about 1 meter each). That's it. No power supply needed since it draws power through USB.

Port layout

Port	Label	Goes to
Top-left (Port 1)	"Net Port"	Your second PC
Bottom-left (Port 2)	"Controlled PC"	Your gaming PC
Top-right (Port 3)	Peripheral	Your mouse
Bottom-right (Port 4)	Peripheral	Your keyboard

When the device powers on, the OLED screen shows three values you'll need to write down:

IP address - usually 192.168.2.188 by default
Port number - unique to your device (something like 8336)
UUID - the hardware identifier (something like 24B75054)

You'll need all three of these when connecting software to the device, so keep them handy. When using a PhantomDMA cheat, the KMBOX NET screen will display the PhantomDMA logo once it's connected.

There's no Ethernet jack on this thing. The "network" connection is entirely over USB. When you plug the Net Port cable into your second PC, Windows creates a virtual network adapter called "USB 2.0 Ethernet Adapter." It's a direct link between the two devices, nothing goes through your router.

Wiring it up

In a typical DMA setup, you've got three things working together: a DMA card in your gaming PC that lets the second PC read game memory, the KMBOX NET for sending inputs, and the second PC that runs everything.

Second PC

USB

Port 1

Gaming PC

USB

Port 2

KMBOX NET

Port 3

Mouse

Port 4

Keyboard

Step by step

Take the first USB cable and connect Port 1 (top-left, "Net Port") on the KMBOX NET to any USB port on your second PC.
Take the second USB cable and connect Port 2 (bottom-left, "Controlled PC") to any USB port on your gaming PC.
Plug your mouse into Port 3 (top-right) and your keyboard into Port 4 (bottom-right).
Turn both PCs on. The KMBOX NET screen should light up and show its IP, port, and UUID.

If you're running a single-PC setup without a DMA card, just plug both USB cables from the KMBOX NET into the same computer.

Installing the driver

Good news: your gaming PC doesn't need any drivers. It just sees a normal keyboard and mouse. All the driver work happens on your second PC.

Plug the Net Port USB cable into your second PC. Sometimes a virtual disk drive pops up automatically. If it does, open it and run the installer inside.
If nothing pops up, grab the driver from kmbox.top/wiki_doc/kmboxNet-en/site/tools/kmboxNetDriver.zip and download it manually.
Extract the zip and run WCHUSBNIC.EXE as administrator.
Hit INSTALL and let it do its thing.
Restart your PC. This isn't optional, the driver won't work until you reboot.
After reboot, go to Control Panel → Network and Sharing Center → Change adapter settings. You should see a new adapter called "USB 2.0 Ethernet Adapter". If it's there, you're good.

Setting up the network

Now you need to tell your second PC how to talk to the KMBOX NET. Since it's a direct USB link (not going through your router), you need to manually set a static IP on the virtual adapter.

Open Control Panel → Network and Sharing Center → Change adapter settings.
Right-click "USB 2.0 Ethernet Adapter" and hit Properties.
Uncheck "Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)." IPv6 can cause weird connection issues here, so just turn it off.
Click on "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" and hit Properties.
Select "Use the following IP address" and fill in:
- IP address: 192.168.2.100 (anything in 192.168.2.x works, just don't use the same IP as your KMBOX NET)
- Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
- Default gateway: leave it blank
- DNS servers: leave it blank
Click OK and close everything out.

Make sure it's working

Open Command Prompt and ping your KMBOX NET:

ping 192.168.2.188

Use whatever IP your device's screen shows. If you get replies back, you're connected. If it times out, don't panic. Some KMBOX NET units don't respond to ping even when they're working fine. Try swapping USB ports, double-checking your static IP, or making sure the cable is in Port 1 (not Port 2). The real test is whether your software can connect to it.

Updating the firmware

KMBOX puts out firmware updates pretty regularly, and it's worth staying up to date. New versions fix bugs, improve stability, and sometimes add support for new peripherals.

What you'll need

The firmware file (.bin) - grab it from kmbox.top/Net_firmware-en.html
The upgrade tools - download from kmbox.top/wiki_doc/kmboxNet/site/tools/updatatools.zip. Inside you'll find two folders: "01-Drive" (the flash mode driver) and "02-Upgrade Tool" (the actual flashing app)

How to flash

Unplug everything from the KMBOX NET.
There's a tiny recessed button inside the case. You can reach it through the plastic window with a paperclip. Hold that button down, and while holding it, plug the USB cable from Port 2 into your PC.
The screen should go solid white and the blue LED will start flashing fast. That means you're in firmware update mode. You can let go of the button now.
Run the driver installer from the "01-Drive" folder to install the flash mode driver.
Open "02-Upgrade Tool" (WCHMcuIAP_WinAPP.exe).
Click "Search Device" and make sure your KMBOX NET shows up.
Click "Select File", switch the file filter to .bin, and pick your firmware file.
Click "3. Program" and wait. Don't touch the cable while it's flashing.
Once it's done, the device reboots on its own. You'll see the new firmware date on the OLED screen.

Heads up: if you had VID/PID spoofing configured, it gets wiped after every firmware update. You'll need to set it up again.

Common issues

The network adapter isn't showing up

Unplug and replug the Net Port cable. Still nothing? Reinstall WCHUSBNIC.EXE as admin and reboot. Also try a different USB port — stick to motherboard ports and avoid hubs.

Ping isn't getting through

Make sure the cable is in Port 1 (top-left), not Port 2. Check that your static IP is in the 192.168.2.x range but isn't the same as the device's IP. Make sure you disabled IPv6. If nothing works, try 192.168.2.189 as your PC's IP instead.

Software can't connect (init returns non-zero)

The IP, port, and UUID have to match what's on the KMBOX NET screen exactly. Capitalization matters for the UUID. Make sure you can ping the device first, and try running your software as administrator.

Mouse movement feels choppy

Update your firmware first, this fixes a lot of movement issues. Avoid USB hubs. If you're using movement smoothing functions, make sure the duration isn't set too low (anything under 50ms can look robotic).

Firmware tool doesn't detect the device

Try entering flash mode again (hold button, plug cable). Make sure you installed the flash mode driver from "01-Drive". It's a separate driver from the normal WCHUSBNIC one. If it still doesn't work, try a different USB port or a different PC.

VID/PID spoofing isn't working

Some mice with VID/PID values that are all numbers (no hex letters) can cause the spoofing to fail. Try a different mouse as the source. And remember, spoofing settings get reset every time you update the firmware.

Tips for best performance

Use motherboard USB ports

Skip the USB hubs, front panel ports, and extension cables. The KMBOX NET maxes out at around 1,000 commands per second and needs a clean USB connection to hit that.

Strip down the network adapter

In the adapter properties, disable everything except IPv4. No IPv6, no file sharing, no network discovery. Less background noise on the link means less latency.

Keep firmware updated

Seriously, each update tends to fix movement issues and improve overall stability. It takes two minutes and it's worth doing.

Don't bridge the connection

The USB network link is a dedicated point-to-point connection by design. Don't route it through a switch or bridge it into your LAN since that just adds latency and exposes the device to unnecessary traffic.

Which KMBOX should you get?

There are a few different models out there. Here's how they stack up:

Model	Connection	Speed	Price
KMBOX A	Standalone	N/A (macro recorder)	$15–25
KMBOX B / B+	Serial (115,200 baud)	~300 cmd/s	$25–50
KMBOX NET	USB-Ethernet (100 Mbps)	~1,000 cmd/s	$40–55
KMBOX NVideo	USB-Ethernet + HDMI capture	~1,000 cmd/s	$70–100+

The B and B+ are the older serial models. They can run Python scripts directly on the device which is cool, but they max out at around 300 commands per second and have a reputation for crashing under load (the dreaded white screen). Not ideal for anything serious.

The KMBOX NET is what most people use now. It's about 3x faster, doesn't crash, and has encrypted communication built in. The tradeoff is that all your logic has to run on the second PC instead of on the device itself. For DMA setups, that's not really a tradeoff at all since your software already runs on the second PC.

The NVideo is the premium option. Same networking as the NET, but it also has a built-in HDMI capture card and can convert keyboard inputs to gamepad inputs. Worth it if you want to cut down on the number of devices in your setup.