How to Tell What Kind of Usb Ports You Have

From the 1990s to the early on 2000s, one would have to bear a dozen cables of dissimilar shapes and sizes to brand the most of their already bulky gadget. Today, this connectedness procedure has been simplified, and a headache has been eliminated by manufacturers who abide by the industry standards while making the near of it. About a decade agone, the technology giants defined what connection ports should look like and what purpose they would serve.

The Universal Serial Bus (USB), as the name would suggest, is now the universally accustomed standard for connecting devices. Most external devices like wired mouse and keyboards, hard drives, printers and scanners, speakers, and more than are continued through these ports.

USB ports are plant in a few different types, differentiated on the ground of their concrete shape and size as well as their transfer speed and power carrying capacities. Today, the well-nigh common blazon of ports found on well-nigh every laptop and PC is the USB type- A and USB type- C.

This article will assistance you lot sympathise dissimilar types of USB ports institute on your device and methods to identify them. This will aid you boost your device's overall functioning past connecting the right device in the right USB port.

Types of USB Connectors based on the shape

The 'U' in 'USB' can be a niggling misleading as there are various types of USB connectors available. But luckily, at that place are a few dissimilar common types of connectors. Listed below are the most popular ones plant in laptops and reckoner systems.

● USB A

The USB Blazon-A connectors are the well-nigh recognizable and normally used connectors in the world. They are flat and rectangular. They are found abundantly in virtually every laptop or figurer model. Many TVs, other media players, gaming systems, home audio/video receivers, car stereo, and other devices adopt this blazon of port too. These connectors provide a 'downstream' connexion, which means that they are intended to be used solely on host controllers and hubs.

● USB type C

USB type C is one of the newest emerging standards for transferring data and charging. It is at present included in the newest smartphones, laptops, tablets, and more than. They are universally adored because they are the least frustrating ones to plugin due to their symmetrical oval shape, making it incommunicable to connect them incorrectly. Some other reason being that these are powerful enough to transmit data at 10 Gbps and use xx volts/5 amps/100 watts of ability to charge a device while remaining thin and tiny nonetheless extremely durable.

The new MacBooks have ditched all other types of ports in favor of USB type C. The mess of USB blazon-A connectors, HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort, etc. is streamlined into a unmarried type port here. Even though the physical USB-C connector isn't backward compatible, the underlying USB standard is. You volition just need a physical adapter to connect to the peripheral devices via this port.

● USB type B

Besides known as USB Standard B connectors, this style is normally reserved for connexion to peripheral devices like printers and scanners. Occasionally, they are also found in external devices like floppy drives, hard bulldoze enclosures, and optical drives.

Information technology is recognized by its squarish shape and slightly beveled corners. The main reason for a separate port is to differentiate peripheral connections from the usual ones. This likewise eliminates the risk of accidentally connecting i host computer to another.

● USB Micro B

This type of connection is found on newer smartphones as well as GPS units, digital cameras, and smartwatches. It is identified easily past its five pivot design with a rectangular shape and beveled edges on one side. This connector is favored past many (later type C) equally it supports loftier-speed data transfer (at the speed of 480 Mbps) as well as has the feature of On-The-Go (OTG) despite remaining physically smaller in size. It is powerful plenty to permit a smartphone to make a connectedness with peripheral devices that a figurer is generally capable of.

● USB Mini B

These are similar to USB B type connectors but are way smaller in size. They are as well used to connect to peripheral devices. This mini plug has 5 pins, including an extra ID pin to support OTG capabilities that let devices to deed every bit a USB host.

You will find them in early on smartphone models, occasionally in digital cameras, and very rarely in computers. Now, most USB Mini B ports have been replaced with the sleeker micro USB.

● USB Mini-B (4 Pin)

This is a type of unofficial connector found in digital cameras, mostly manufactured past Kodak. It resembles a standard B-style connector due to its askew corners, but it is much smaller in size and squarish in shape.

Types of USB Connectors based on their versions

USB had had multiple versions since its inception back in 1995. With each version, major improvements have been made to requite these inch broad ports immense power and potential. The main difference between each lies in its transfer speed and the amount of current information technology tin allow to flow through.

The very first version, USB 1.0 released dorsum in 1996 could barely transfer 12Mbps and USB 1.1 was hardly an improvement on it. Only this all changed in 2000 when USB 2.0 was released. USB 2.0 exponentially increased the transfer speed to 480 Mbps and delivered up to 500mA of power. To date, it is the most common type of USB port available in modern computers. It became the manufacture standard until USB 3.0 was launched in 2008. This SuperSpeed port immune transfer speeds upward to 5 Gbps and delivered upwardly to 900mA. Manufacturers rushed to take advantage of it and adopted this technology as it was exponentially faster, at least 5 times the speed of USB 2.0 on paper. Only more recently, USB 3.i and iii.two were released, which allowed transfer speed upward to ten and 20 Gbps, respectively. These are called 'SuperSpeed +' ports.

Also Read: Ready USB Blended Device can't work properly with USB iii.0

How to identify USB ports on your Laptop or Reckoner?

In one case you have visually identified the type of port yous have by its shape, it is essential to understand its capabilities to make the nigh out of information technology. For case, you might have noticed that your telephone charges faster from i of the 2 visually identical USB type-A ports. This occurs when you take different versions of ports on your system. Connecting the right device to the right port will heave the overall functioning. Hence, it is essential to physically place which ane is which on your device.

Method i: Check for labels

Few manufactures accept the ports labeled directly past their blazon on the device'southward body, the ports are usually marked equally ane.0, 11, 2.0, 3.0, or 3.1. They can too be marked with the employ of symbols.

Most USB 3.0 ports are marketed as SuperSpeed USB, and their manufacturers will mark information technology as such (meet above epitome). It is generally marked with the prefix 'SS'.

If a USB port has a thunderbolt lightning icon located next to information technology, it denotes an 'Always on' port. This means that you tin can hook your device to accuse on this port even when the laptop/figurer is turned off. This type of port usually delivers more power than any other, allowing the device to charge faster.

Method ii: Check the colour of the port

Sometimes, ports are marked by color for piece of cake visual identification. USB 3.0 ports are mostly blue in color. While USB ii.0 ports are differentiated by blackness insides. White color is reserved for older USB ane.0 or 1.1 ports. If you accept a newer device with USB iii.1 ports, they are red in color, and 'Always On' ports are represented past yellow insides.

USB Version	Colour Allocated
USB 1.0/ ane.1	White
USB two.0	Black
USB 3.0	Bluish
USB iii.1	Scarlet
Always On ports	Yellow

Method 3: Bank check Technical Specifications

If identification through colors or logo is tricky for yous, you can start empathize what kind of ports your device has built-in and so brainstorm to locate them. This will give you a general idea of what you are looking for.

On a Windows system

This process is common for all Windows systems irrespective of their manufactures, models, or versions.

Stride ane: Firstly, open the Run dialog box by pressing  'Windows central + R' or y'all tin simply type 'Run' in the search bar.

Step 2: Type 'devmgmt.msc'  and hit enter. This will open up the ' Device Director ' .

Step three: The Device Manager lists all the organisation components. Locate and double-click on the  'Universal Serial Omnibus controllers' to aggrandize the drib-down carte.

Step four: About times, the version of the ports is directly mentioned, otherwise the name of the component will hint you lot to its properties.

If y'all spot 'Enhanced' in the port's clarification, so it is a USB two.0 port.

USB 3.0 can be identified by terms like 'xHCI' or 'Extensible Host Controller'.

Step v: Y'all tin can likewise correct-click on the port's name and open its properties . Here, you will find more details about the port.

On Mac

ane. Click on the Apple icon located on the pinnacle-left corner of your screen. In the resulting menu, select 'Nearly This Mac' .

2. The subsequent window will listing all your system specifications. Click on the 'System Study…'  button located on the bottom. Click on 'More info'  if you are using Bone Ten 10.9 (Mavericks) or below.

three.  In the Arrangement Information  tab, click on 'Hardware' . This volition list all the hardware components available. Finally, click to expand the USB tab.

4. You lot will find a list of all the bachelor USB ports, listed co-ordinate to their type. You can confirm the type of port by checking its title.

Once you know the blazon you lot tin start locating them physically on your device.

Method 4: Identify USB ports through your Motherboard's Technical Specifications

This is a lengthy way of determining the USB ports available by looking at the laptop or motherboard'due south specifications. This will aid in finding the verbal model of the device and yous can comb through its specifications to observe information almost the ports.

On Windows

ane. Open the Run dialog box by referring to the steps mentioned above, type in 'msinfo32'  and hit Enter.

2. In the resulting System Data  window, find the 'System Model'  item. Click on the line and printing 'Ctrl + C' to copy the value.

iii. Now, open your favorite search engine, paste the model details in the search bar, and hit search. Become through the search results and find a reliable website (preferably your manufacturer's website).

Comb through the website and check its specification to locate words like USB, yous can only press 'Ctrl + F' and type in 'USB' in the bar. You will notice the exact port specifications listed.

On Mac

Similar to Windows, you just search the specifications of your particular MacBook model to find the bachelor ports.

If you don't know already, yous tin can easily determine what model you are using past simply clicking on the Apple logo located on the superlative left. In the drop-downwardly carte du jour, click on 'About the Mac'  pick. System information including model proper name/number, operating arrangement version, and serial number will be displayed in the resulting window.

Once you lot find the model existence used, you lot tin just search its technical specification online. Visit Apple'south official support website for the well-nigh accurate information.

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I promise this guide was helpful you were able to Identify USB Ports on your computer. But if you yet accept questions regarding this article and then feel costless to inquire them in the comment section.

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Source: https://techcult.com/identify-usb-ports-on-computer/

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