On 02/06/2017 05:17 PM, Bob Goodwin wrote:
On 02/06/17 17:07, Rick Stevens wrote:
> Perhaps this will help: USB1.1 and USB2 type "A" connectors have four
> pins on the connector--all located on the little "shelf" inside the
> connector. USB3 has nine pins--four on the little shelf (for
> compatibility with USB1.1 and USB2) and five on the top of the "open"
> part of the connector (the USB3-specific pins).
>
> The shelf of your USB2 cable must fit between the shelf and the other
> five pins of your computer's connector. USB3 connectors typically have
> a thinner shelf than USB2 connectors (with pins on both sides of the
> shelf to make contact with all 9 pins). That's probably where the
> "tightness" you've felt when using a USB2 cable or device comes from
> (stuffing the thicker shelf of USB2 into that space).
>
> Using a USB2 cable in a USB3 connector won't hurt things (those five
> extra pins in USB3 will flex back and forth), but the tension those
> other five pins have in the USB3 connector may "cock" the USB2 cable so
> it doesn't make reliable contact with the USB3 "shelf". Here's a
good
> picture that may make it clearer and you can see where the USB2 "shelf"
> has to fit:
>
>
http://pinoutguide.com/Slots/usb_3_0_connector_pinout.shtml
>
> I use USB2 cables and such on my USB3 slots a lot. Yes, I've had the
> occasional "gee, the USB3 doesn't see that device", but a reinsertion
> or "wiggle" of the USB2 part of things generally fixes it.
>
> YMMV
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> - Rick Stevens,
Ok, that helps to explain things and why I was trying to decide which way to insert a
plug into the USB3 jack, but now I am looking into the male plugs on a usb 2 and a usb3
flash drive and both appear to have the same four pin connector? I've had the USB3
flash drive a while so there may have been a change in the convention?
No change. Those pins are well back in the connector and very difficult to see since
you're looking at them almost directly end-on. If you compare with a USB2 connector,
you'll see the 5 pin bases in the USB3 connector where the USB2 connector has just a
blank wall.
--
Bob Nichols "NOSPAM" is really part of my email address.
Do NOT delete it.