Network administrators, point-of-sale technicians, industrial maintenance teams, and laboratory staff across Kenya keep hitting the same wall: the equipment still uses a 9-pin serial port, while the laptop stopped shipping one more than a decade ago. The UGREEN CR104 closes that gap. Technicians servicing APC battery backup units in Upper Hill server rooms, weighbridge operators along the Nairobi-Mombasa corridor, PLC programmers in Athi River factories, and installers commissioning KRA-compliant receipt printers all need a working COM port. Without one, configuration work stalls and a paid service call gets pushed to another day.

Unlike other electronics retailers in Kenya who stock unbranded serial converters built on counterfeit controllers, Mascom International carries the UGREEN CR104 USB to DB9 RS-232 Female Adapter Cable with the genuine Prolific PL2303 part — the component that decides whether Windows loads a driver or returns an error code. Users consistently report that cheap converters install once, then stop working after the next driver update. At Mascom International, we're seeing steady repeat demand from IT contractors who buy two units at a time, one for the toolbox and one spare. Visit our Kimathi Street counter to test the UGREEN CR104 on your own laptop before paying.

It gives a laptop without a serial port a working COM port. The UGREEN CR104 converts USB 2.0 signalling into RS-232 serial communication, so software on your computer sees a numbered COM port exactly as it would on an older desktop. Terminal programs, configuration utilities, meter-reading software, and manufacturer service tools then talk to the connected equipment normally. Nothing about the connected device changes. The conversion happens inside the moulded housing on the USB end of the 1.5-metre lead.

Far more than most buyers expect. Battery backup units from APC and Eaton, PLC controllers on factory lines, weighbridge and platform scale indicators, laboratory analysers, older CNC machines, cash drawers, thermal receipt printers, barcode scanners, GPS trackers, standby generator control panels, and network hardware console ports all still use 9-pin serial. Kenyan hospitals, sugar mills, flour millers, and county water utilities run equipment purchased ten to twenty years ago that has no other configuration route.

The female 9-pin connector mates with equipment that presents a male DB9 port. That covers most battery backup units, many PLC controllers, weighbridge indicators, some scale heads, and the COM port on an older desktop tower. If your device or existing cable ends in a female DB9 socket instead, you need the male-ended CR104 variant or a small gender changer. Bring the device or a clear photograph of the port to our Kimathi Street counter and our team will confirm which one fits.

Usually no manual work is needed. Windows and most Linux distributions detect the Prolific PL2303 controller and load a driver automatically within a few seconds of plugging in. Where automatic detection does not happen, the driver comes from Prolific's official download page — never from a random file-sharing link, which is how counterfeit adapters spread broken drivers. On macOS you may need the vendor package for older releases. Our team walks buyers through installation over WhatsApp at no charge.

Comfortably, yes. RS-232 equipment typically runs between 9,600 and 115,200 bits per second, and the UGREEN CR104 supports rates up to 1 Mbps — roughly nine times the fastest speed most serial devices will ever negotiate. Serial links carry configuration commands, meter readings, receipt data, and firmware payloads, not video. The practical limit is almost always the connected equipment, not the adapter. Set the baud rate your device manual specifies and the cable keeps up.

UGREEN lists Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista and XP, Linux kernel 2.4 and later, and macOS support for this cable. Windows 11 is not named on the manufacturer's own compatibility list, and driver behaviour on Windows 11 depends on which Prolific chip revision the unit ships with. 

The KSh 1,600 buys a genuine Prolific PL2303 controller, and that single component separates a cable that works from one that does not. Counterfeit converters sold around KSh 500 to KSh 800 in Nairobi use cloned chips that Prolific drivers deliberately refuse, producing the familiar error code 10. A technician who loses one billable site visit to a dead cable has already spent more than the difference. Tinned copper conductors and triple shielding also hold the signal steadier on longer runs.

Open Device Manager on Windows and look under Ports for the assigned COM number, or run a terminal listing on Linux and macOS to find the device path. Then set baud rate, data bits, parity, stop bits, and flow control to match your equipment manual — 9,600, 8, N, 1 is the most common combination. Use PuTTY, Tera Term, or the manufacturer's own utility. Where two data terminal devices connect, a null-modem crossover may also be needed.

The UGREEN CR104 is available over the counter at Mascom International, Old Mutual Building, First Floor Room 4, Kimathi Street, Nairobi CBD, Monday to Saturday between 9:00 AM and 7:00 PM. Bring your laptop and we will confirm the COM port loads before you pay. For buyers outside the city, Mascom International runs pay-on-arrival delivery to all 47 counties, so you inspect the cable and test the connector before any money changes hands. Call or WhatsApp +254 708 852 521.

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Every unit ships with the 6-month Mascom warranty stated above, coordinated from our Nairobi CBD counter.

Buyers across Kenya rely on Mascom International for accurate specifications, current Kenyan pricing, and after-sales backing on every cable and adapter we stock.