Does my computer have USB 3?

catalogue · 24 Apr 2015

How do I know if my computer has USB 3? The manual only says "your computer MAY have USB 3 capability" and before you say the ports will be yellow, the most authoritative sources I can find quote industry standards that ENCOURAGE manufacturers to use blue for USB 3 but leave it entirely up to the manufacturer whether they follow it or not.

I find it hard to believe it's not somewhere in Device Manager or elsewhere in Control Panel. I looked through all the USB listings under Device Manager and didn't see it specifying either USB 2 or USB 3 (things like Generic USB Hub, USB Root Hub, Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 1C26 etc)

Finally, there is the little three-pronged wavy-fork USB symbol by the port. One person said it will have "SS" next to it if it's USB 3 but (1) only ONE person said it and (2) that sounds awfully iffy and unreliable, like the yellow-port myth.

pbcopter · 24 Apr 2015

From the specs on the Lenovo site, I can not find any reference to USB 3.0.

Detailed Specifications - ThinkPad T520 - Lenovo Support (US)

You should see reference to a USB controller in the device manager, if one exists.

Also, the industry standard is for USB 3.0 connectors to be Blue in color.

catalogue · 24 Apr 2015

pbcopter said:

From the specs on the Lenovo site, I can not find any reference to USB 3.0.

I have a CTO so online specs won't be definitive and like I said, the manual says it MAY have USB 3.

pbcopter said:

You should see reference to a USB controller in the device manager, if one exists.

Please re-read the post - just now I edited it to clarify that I went through all the USB listings under Device Manager and can't find anything that specifies whether it's 2 or 3.

pbcopter said:

Also, the industry standard is for USB 3.0 connectors to be Blue in color.

Sorry - I said yellow where I should have said blue. I corrected the post but the point still stands. There are lots of people out there saying their computers have all-black USB 3 ports with no blue at all.

Also what I found online appeared to be a verbatim quote from the actual industry document itself saying the color-coding is a SUGGESTION, not a requirement. That is, it wasn't just a person in a forum saying they had heard this.

At any rate it still seems there would be something in Device Manager or some other system information thing within Windows itself that should flat-out state USB 2 or USB 3.

TVeblen · 24 Apr 2015

A USB 3 controller will show up as a separate device in Device Manager. It would be separate from any USB 2 controllers. If you have not installed a USB 3 driver for the controller it would show up as an "Unknown Device". But if there were a USB controller on the motherboard you would see something.

pbcopter · 24 Apr 2015

Under USB, Enhanced controller is USB 2.0.

I am convinced you do not have any USB 3.0 capability.

While the color may be a recommendation, I have not seen any USB 3.0 ports, or connectors that are not Blue. It seems the industry has adopted that standard.

Wandering one · 24 Apr 2015

USB 3 should be blue in colour and will have more than the four contacts that a USB 2 has. Look in the USB socket on your computer and if you cannot see evidence of more than four contacts ( there will be tiny ones almost out of sight ) it is a 2.
Art.

Layback Bear · 24 Apr 2015

Just having the usb 3.0 ports on a computer does not mean you have the needed drivers installed.

Please read TVeblen post # 4.