Physical input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, stylus) are commonly used by users to perform actions (e.g., keystrokes, mouse movements). These actions may then be translated into data that can be provided to a computing device to represent human interactions with the computing device. Today, it is common for a user to have a multitude of computing devices that they use on a regular basis, and even simultaneously. For example, a single user may have a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a smart phone, and a tablet computer.
As a result, users may often regularly interface with more than one of these computing devices. For example, a user may be using a laptop computer for business purposes and a tablet computer for entertainment purposes. It would be cumbersome for a user to carry separate input devices for each computing device and physically move from one input device connected to one computing device to second input device connected to a second host computing device in order to utilize both computing devices. Some alternatives allow reusing a single input device for data entry to multiple computing devices. However, these solutions are not without their drawbacks.
One significant drawback with prior solutions is how the process of switching multiple data input devices from a first host computing device to a second host computing device is done. In some prior solutions, in order to switch both the keyboard device and the mouse device to a second host computing device, the user would have to perform two separate actions, which can be detrimental to the user experience. For example, in prior solutions, both the keyboard device and the mouse device are independently paired with each of the two or more host computing devices. When the user wants to switch from using a first host computing device to a second host computing device, the user would have to change the pairing for each of the keyboard device and the mouse device, individually.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need in the art for improved methods and systems to more efficiently switch connections pairings input devices with multiple computing devices.