Tip #148: Which USB Version Does Your Mac Support?
… for Random Weirdness
Tip #148: Which USB Version Does Your Mac Support?
Larry Jordan – https://LarryJordan.com
When in doubt, look it up.
Yes, the USB plugs on the back of your computer all look the same. However, here’s an easy way to find out what version of USB your computer supports.
Go to the Apple logo in the top left corner of your computer.
- Choose About This Mac
- At the bottom of this window, click System Report
- In the display that follows, click Hardware > USB
This panel displays more than you will ever want to know about your USB ports and connected peripherals, including the version of USB your system supports.
Cool.
Interesting that the 2018 MacBook Air with USB-C to USB 3 dongle did NOT work with a USB 2 card adaptor.
USB 2 did NOT show up in System Profiler.
The pins are differnt, so maybe it was time to drop USB 2 support?
Patrick:
USB 2 is simply too slow for anything. Barely reaching 10 MB/second. Given the vast number of inexpensive USB 3.x devices, there’s no real need for USB 2.
That being said, it is important to transfer any files you need to retain off of USB 2 media soon, before the ability to access that format goes away.
Larry