Now that we understand the different USB types, it’s time to talk about length limits. On other devices, it can be impossible to tell without checking your owner’s manual. On a PC or Mac, you can find out what type of port you have through the system menu. However, only USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 ports can be built to accept a smaller, Type-C connector. USB 3.1 ports are very common these days.Īll three types of USB can use a standard, Type-A connector. Finally, the faster read-write speeds helps you get the most out of an external SSD. It’s also designed to keep up with 10Gbps Ethernet used in commercial applications.

This was done, in part, to keep up with Apple Thunderbolt capabilities. It offers the same 15 watts of power, but doubles the data transfer rate to 10Gbps. Released in 2013, USB 3.1 is often considered a new standard, but it’s technically an upgraded version of USB 3.0. USB 3.0 is still found on many modern devices. Newer, USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 hard drives can run on USB power alone. For instance, older USB 2.0 hard drives typically required a separate power cord. This allows it to be used for a wider variety of devices. It also offers upgraded power, supplying 15 watts instead of 7.5 watts. USB 3.0 is capable of transferring data at a rate of 5Gbps, more than 10 times as fast as USB 2.0. The answer to this need was USB 3.0, first reduced in 2008. As more people started storing larger files, a faster standard was needed. It was good enough for transferring some documents or songs, but not for video. USB has a maximum data transfer rate of 480Mbps, which was blazing fast for the time. You won’t find it on any new devices, but many older devices still use the USB 2.0 standard. The first version we really need to worry about is USB 2.0, which was first released in the year 2000. In other words, if you’re going to extend your cable, you first need to know what type you’re dealing with. Why? Because different types of USB cable have different maximum lengths. Before we talk about maximum length, let’s talk about types of USB cable.

Usb 2 vs usb 3 mic cable