Some basic info about USB

It gets even better, each function of the port also needs proper support from the cable. Often cables do not support the full spec of usb to cut costs.

While the symbols in the post are often put on computers, for usb cables this is seldom done (only a few brands do).

Source: had to find a cable that supports both DP and PD to connect a portable external monitor after I lost the original cable. (1/9 cables worked)

Yes, this is incredibly annoying and it's also the reason why some USB cables cost more than others, even they may look the same superficially.
- One of those cables that don't work is rated for like 120W, with gigabit transfer speed... But it refuses to transmit display.... Like bruh
For that portable monitor, you should just need a cable with USB-C plugs on both ends which supports USB 3.0+ (could be branded as SuperSpeed, 5Gbps, etc). Nothing more complicated than that.
The baseline for a cable with USB-C on both ends should be PD up to 60W (3A) and data transfers at USB 2.0 (480Mbps) speeds.
Most cables stick with that baseline because it's enough to charge phones and most people won't use USB-C cables for anything else. Omitting the extra capabilities lets cables be not only cheaper but also longer and thinner.
DisplayPort support uses the same extra data pins that are needed for USB 3.0 data transfers, so in terms of cable support they should be equivalent. There also exist higher-power cables rated for 100W or 240W but there's no way a portable monitor would need that.
Luckily, all new PC seem to choose Thunderbolt over only alt mode, which makes stuff more easy, since they have the flash on the cable (but are also more extensive, I gear
Yeah, it's gotten so bad I eventually ordered a USB cable checker to figure out what any given USB cable is capable of (and to see if the cable has gone flaky, which seems to happen a lot). I haven't received it yet so I don't know if I can recommend this item, but ... gosh darn you sure need something like this.
Sometimes people want to charge their phone in an outlet 10 feet from their airport seat.
Sometimes people want to transmit 8k video.
It's not physically possible to do both tasks with the same cable.
But because USB is a flexible standard, we don't have two incompatible specs to do the same thing. So when you get out of the airport and to your meeting, you can actually plug your phone into the meeting room projector for your business presentation. That's a win.

exept when manufacturer don't give a fuck and print whatever or nothing next to the port. like always

TL;DR: The USB Implementers Forum is ridiculously bad at naming, symbols and communication in general. (And they don't seriously enforce any of this anyway, so don't even bother learning it.)

This is the correct answer; after the whole USB 3.2 Gen 2 2x2 (hands of blue) bullshit, I wouldn’t trust that team to name a park bench in the middle of the desert. Let alone something important and universally used.
- It basically gets longer every few years. At this rate, it'll turn into an Amazon listing.
  USB 3.5 Gen 3 2x2 20 Gbit Two-Sided DP PD USB 3 USB 2 USB 1 Compatible
- We could have gone for already proven and tested conventions like the resistor color codes and have a unique distinguishable icon for each features to attach when needed (like thunder icon for high power). But nope, we got this USB 3.2 Gen 4 2x2 Hyper Turbocharged World Champions and Knuckles Platinum Edition bs instead.
- The bench is called "Bench" (legacy name, it's actually more like a concrete slab, but at the time it was more benchy that the previous bench which was just a pile of sand).
- the whole USB 3.2 Gen 2 2x2 (hands of blue) bullshit
  If you're not trying to wire your own USB port you can just use the recommended names "USB SuperSpeed 20 Gbps" or "USB 20 Gbps". You don't have to be confused by technical names if you don't want to be.
  The real bullshit is between your ears--you and only you can fix it.
"Just plug your device in, you little bitch"
They are not bad at this. You are bad at understanding it.
Don't get mad when you could instead learn something.
Yes it gets complex. It's a 25-year old protocol that does almost everything. Of course it will be.
But the names are not hard if you bother to learn them.
- They are not bad at this. You are bad at understanding it.
  I work with this stuff, and I do understand it. Some of my colleagues are actively participating in USB-IF workgroups, although not the ones responsible for naming end user facing things. They come to me for advice when those other workgroups changed some names retroactively again and we need to make sure we are still backwards compatible with things that rely on those names and that we are not confusing our customers more than necessary.
  That is why I am very confident in claiming those naming schemes are bad.
  "don’t even bother learning it" is my advice for normal end users, and I do stand by it.
  But the names are not hard if you bother to learn them.
  Never said it is hard.
  It is more complex than it needs to be.
  It is internally inconsistent.
  Names get changed retroactively with new spec releases.
  None of that is hard to learn, just not worth the effort.
- There is some stuff to be learned, but especially with USB-C I'd say the vast majority are not labeled. There's even some devices charged with USB C that can't be charged with a PD charger and need an A to C cable. Phones are a great example where you have to look up the specs to know data transfer capabilities. Additionally they renamed the USB 3.0 standard which has been established for over a decade to USB 3.1 Gen 1 which is completely unnecessary and just serves to confuse. The standard was largely understandable with USB 3.0 generally being blue or at least a color other than black and on decently modern devices USB 2.0 would be black. With USB-C indication has just about gone out the window and what used to be a very simple to understand standard has now become nearly impossible to understand without having researched every device and cable you interact with.

LOL, yeah, manufacturers don't follow this at all.

The USB-C standard and particularly the USB PD (power delivery) is so complex it almost feels comical.

The PD standard document (freely available on usb.org) is over 800 pages long and features a lengthy part about the role of the cable alone which is mostly hidden from the user. Here's a short video about this issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bZ0y9G-4Pc

Do you regularly read highly technical whitepapers? I don't see how an 800 page document is comical for something that works so well.

The USB standards are just... Comically overcomplicated. And almost everything about it is optional. They need a full revamp, making it simpler and mandatory on all future ports, devices and cables.

But they won't do that, will they.

Almost everything about it needs to be optional because sometimes USB is used to charge some cheap battery powered thing and sometimes it’s used to make a backup of a harddrive and sometimes it’s charging my laptop with enough power for it to be rendering video but still have a net charge increase to the battery while also providing Ethernet, video output, and keyboard/mouse input over the same one port.
EDIT to make it more clear why the variability of USB standards is what it is, compare a modern laptop to one from 10 years ago.
The older laptop has:
for video, an HDMI port (or the less common mini HDMI port), and perhaps a mini DP port
an Ethernet port
a charging plug
possibly some FireWire ports (may or may not be the same as the mini DP port)
USB A ports for keyboard/mouse and other random devices
The newer laptop has:
USBC ports that can do all of the above
The perhiperals, however, don’t support all of the features. They only support the features they actually use. As long as the laptop supports all of the optional features, you don’t need to worry about it.
The is especially helpful for less technical users who may not want to know what the difference between HDMI and DisplayPort is. With a fully USBC based laptop and USBC perhipals you can just plug it in and it will work.
Of course this is all dependent on the laptop implementing all of the extra features, which is still only really true of more expensive laptops.
- There should be a way to make it simpler.
  Idk, something like "for USB 4 you NEED all of these".
  Or maybe USB 4 with levels like bronze, silver, etc.
  Or make displaying data rate, display and charging capabilities all mandatory on all ports...
  I'm not sure what, but "it's a USB port; look in the manual and if you're lucky you might learn what it does exactly" ain't it.
- Maybe optional opt out? Like to say you are usb-4 you have to have this format and support all of these features. Other you are USB 4 W/O x,y,z,PD,Video,etc. I also think PD levels should be labeled on power sources and sinks.
Relevant XKCD.
I miss FireWire, too.
- I remember having a FireWire in one of the family desktops when I was a kid. Can't remember what we might have used it for, though.
  It resides in the same vague memory hole as the Zip drive that we had.
- Now that was a peripheral protocol standard.
  sigh
https://xkcd.com/927/

Thank God there's a standard for USB. And another one. And another one. And another one. And another one. And another one. And another one. And another one. And another one. And another one. And another one. And another one....

USB = Unintelligible Symbols of Bewilderment

My laptop has two USBC ports. No logos of any kind. They are Thunderbolt 4. ¯(ツ)_/¯

Here, you've lost an arm:
If you're trying to get Lemmy to print the backslash, you need to make it a double backslash since backslash is an "escape" character that means "ignore any special formatting meaning of the next character" (among other meanings)
- Reddit was the same exact way. I don't know how people are messing it up here too.

I have never seen one with SS, but maybe they removed that part in Germany.

Thank god that no one made a transfer speed standard of 88 Gb/s
I looked at two Dell laptops and a Geekom mini PC, all bought in Germany, and they all have the SS symbol.
I see them on the back of full size computer cases and on docks. They will often be one SS port on the top. I had no idea what it meant before now.

Also don't forget the dubious AliExpress devices that have all these symbols, no data lines, Vcc at 12V and ground attached to a loose M8 nut.

Additionally, USB 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2 labels provide no information on the speed. Rather, "Gen 1" means 5Gb/s, Gen 2 means 10 and Gen 2×2 means 20Gb/s. These "Gen" labels are seldom found on products however.

So for example USB 3.2 Gen 1 is 5Gb/s while USB 3.1 Gen 2 is 10Gb/s

The dear people at the USB Forum should be rewarded with the Nobel prize in namology for their clear, superior and non-confusing naming scheme and naming process that even the nerdiest of nerds can't follow.
- This has already been fixed by the forum FYI, the new spec is to just put clear text labels that denote the capability of the port. I can't find the article I read but this one has an example of the new user-facing branding.
  https://tidbits.com/2022/09/29/usb-simplifies-branding/
All so sales people can slap on a 3.2 sticker over the 3.1 that was on top of the 3.0 sticker...
Do people care? You just plug in your thing and it works, fast enough in most of the cases.
Additionally, USB 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2 labels provide no information on the speed
Correct.
USB X.X is the name of the technical whitepaper that describes the standard.
For a long time, USB had three transfer rates. The first legacy speed (slowest) was hardly ever used. The Second was called "Full Speed" and the fastest was called "Hi-speed". Because people could not remember which if these two were faster, they referred to the whitepapers in which they were introduced.
When later versions of USB were introduced people have tried to continue this mental "shortcut" and have caused themselves nothing but confusion.

Every device I have just has a couple of blue ones and a couple of black ones, perhaps some orange ones and some USB-C ports, and good luck figuring out what they all can do. No symbols anywhere.

It's cool, the colors are just for aesthetics. Internally they're all connected to the same USB controller chip anyway.
/s probably
Edit: it was a joke. I know blue means 3.
- If they're following the standard, which they often do but sometimes don't, white indicates 2.0 and blue indicates 3.0+. I think there are more but I don't remember the other colours.
Black is USB 2, blue is USB 3, and Orange or Yellow are usually "always on" and/or 2.4 amp or some other kind of thing like that.
- Not on all vendors tho - coloring was an optional part of the standard. Dell often uses grey for USB3

Most devices don't have theese symbols and basically say fuck you unless you know how to find the specs

Meanwhile my thumb drive:

The best I can do is 20Mbps with the curve xy = 1

Mine is worse, it says it can do way more than 20Mbps, but once the buffer is exhausted, it hangs frequently. And this isn't some random POS from AliExpress, I bought it retail at BestBuy.
- Like that guarantees quality.
- If you're ok with some bulk, go for an nvme enclosure. I have a sabrent one with a 256 GB crucial gen 3 drive in it, it's a slow cheap drive, still substantially better than any usb key and you can put one together for under $100 cad including a longer high speed cable.
  I just did a fresh install off of my usb key and wow, super slow compared to any time I've done off my enclosure

I just love that in a world with Power Delivery (PD) they decided that the best way to indicate Display Port (DP) was to have an ambiguous symbol involving a P and a D.

The P and D symbol is the DisplayPort logo. I'm not sure when it was first used, but the DisplayPort standard itself is quite a bit older than USB Power Delivery.
It's still confusing though regardless of which can lay the best claim to the letters P and D. I would have suggested Power Delivery could use some sort of lightning bolt symbol, but then I realised that would probably conflict with Thunderbolt, which also uses USB-C.
It's almost as if having all these different features would be easier to differentiate if they had different physical shapes.
- Yeah, Display Port is old, but I've never seen that P and D symbol before, or at least never noticed it. And, even if it existed before Display Port over USB, you'd think that that potential confusion was a good opportunity to come up with a new logo for something that would be put next to a USB port.
  It’s almost as if having all these different features would be easier to differentiate if they had different physical shapes.
  I think the goal was always that you'd only ever need one type of port and one type of cable and that that port and cable could do anything. Unfortunately, because there are so many revisions and so many features are optional, you've now got a situation where the port is the right shape, the cable fits into the port, but you can't get the thing to work without reading the fine print, or without decoding obscure logos.
- How about a monitor/TV for display.
  I like that battery for power, though a vertical battery would be clearer.
~~Also, giving anything the initials "DP" is weird and creepy as fuck, given that "DP" was already a well-established acronym in the porn industry years before DisplayPort was even conceptualized.~~
- If you're going to forbid any 2-letter initialism because it might have naughty connotations, you're not going to be left with many options.
- Given that there are engineers involved I wouldn't be at all surprised if that was deliberate. Trying to get potentially offensive or otherwise NSFW acronyms past marketing without them noticing is practically an industry-wide joke at this point, which is why they are so prevalent in the FOSS space. (no marketing staff to complain)
  If that's true in this case, though, hats off to whoever managed to get it though to official commercial standards
- person with the initials DP has left the chat crying
- Dungeon Party
I like how they (seem to) try to get away from Latin alphabet, just to go with DP for display port.

SuperSpeed is not a "legacy" name.

It's the name of a transfer rate.

I do not trust the maker of this infographic if they cannot understand some basic facts.

USB keeps changing their own standard every 2 years why bother learning it.

Pshh, speak for yourself. I'm ready for USB 3.2 gen 5 pro ultra max
- But will that be better or worse than USB 3.3 gen 2 extra super speed?
- Was that the first one that had M Bison as a playable character?
- We're not calling it that anymore. It's been rebranded to "SuperDuper Speed USB ]|[" now. Note that this is a different standard than the previous "SuperDuper Speed USB 3," and under no circumstances should you call it "SuperDuper Speed USB 3.0," because there was never any such spec and pedantic nerds will climb up your nose in the comments if you ever utter it.
- And Knuckles
I mean, they update the standard to add new things. Is that bad?
- They also change existing terms for no good reason.

Who the hell makes a type-c port that only runs at 2.0 speeds?

iPhone 15, Samsung A series phones and tablets, most Motorola devices, most oppo devices, most realme devices, most nothing devices, most xiaome devices, and many more
- I find it hilarious that Apple did that with the iPhone 15. Gave the current technology to only the pro models 😂
  They are such grimy bastards I swear, probably saved $1 just to make you pic the pro
My headphones have a USB c port and connects at USB 2 speeds.
You'd be surprised. My mouse only needs 2.0, but uses a C connector for compatibility. It provides an A to C cable with only 2.0 wiring, which is a decision I assume they made to allow the wire to be more flexible as it can be charged during use or used entirely wired.
- Same with my keyboard, and I appreciate the compatibility. If it doesn't need anything faster than 2.0 speeds, there's no reason to include more expensive parts.
USB Hi-speed transfer rate are just fine for devices that need to charge regularly but frequently transfer data wirelessly.
USB 2.0 stopped being a relevant whitepaper in late 2001.

A small correction on USB PD...

It's not just USB PD that supports power delivery: Standard USB from way back in 1.0 also supports power delivery to devices as standard, but it's only up to 100mA in USB 1.0, 500mA in USB 2.0 and 900mA in USB 3.0, all at 5V.

USB PD is a dedicated power delivery USB protocol that supports much higher currents (up to 5A) as well as dynamically configured voltages (so, not fixed as 5V anymore) though it's all negotiated so your 5V-only phones isn't going to just get burned with 20V from a USB PD charger.

Since Power = Current * Voltage USB PD can put out quite a lot of power for supporting devices (the maximum depending on what both sides support), which means much faster transmission of power via USB which for example means faster charging of chargeable devices via USB with USB PD.

Anyways, the point being that even really old USB 1.0 can charge your device (just really really slow, though you'll be hard pressed to find anything that doesn't support at least USB 2.0 which can send 5x the current of 1.0 hence charge 5x faster than it), and that standard charging speed goes up with each new Standard USB generation since each has a higher maximum current than the previous one, so for example a standard USB 3.1 charger without USB PD support can still push a nice amount of power down the line to charge devices. It's just that with USB PD things really take off (though only up to a shared maximum that both sides support) and it can push enough power to support larger devices such as full-blown monitors or even charging notebooks.

Also PD extended range or something goes up to 48V 5A

"Universal"

My dick fits into all of them
Seems pretty universal to me 😎

I legit have never seen the battery used at all. They often use a plug, a lightning bolt confusingly, or don't even label it at all.

Came here disappointed to see no one said anything about Black D inside white P

Edit: yes, I have the humour of a 16 yo

It's the other way around 😘
- I know, but it doesn't really work that way 😕

All they had to do was require stamped icons on the ends of the plugs in the spec, and instead we have the current cable mystery clusterfuck 🤦

That meme sucked

USB in 1996: Let's make one connector that handles everything

USB in 2024: Let's make one connector do thirty different incompatible combinations of things

To be fair, the goal is the same.
Not everyone needs the sheer CPU, power, and costs of a 40 GB/s connection.
Higher wattage chargers cost more
Not everyone needs a USB port that does video out (even if it should be standard now that virtually every new GPU should be compatible)
Even if the CPU and GPU support a feature, the OEM can use a cheaper controller
The controller firmware can lack support for a feature or be buggy
The USB forum can only solve points 4 and 5 without raising costs on the cheapest hardware.
While USB is now needlessly complicated and poorly labeled for consumer understanding, at least it succeeds in being backwards compatible so long as the physical connectors match (and all you need is a dumb adapter to convert any connector). If you have a 3.0 port on one device, a 2.0 port on the other device, and a 3.1 cable, you get 2.0 transfer speeds.
HDMI has the same kind of "issue". Whatever the specs on each component, throughput and features drop to the lowest common denominator when in use.
- If you have a 3.0 port on one device, a 2.0 port on the other device, and a 3.1 cable, you get 2.0 transfer speeds.
  USB ports are not labeled with numbers. You just made up numbers to name several different things.
  This is why you think things are "poorly labled". Your headcannon is broken, not the labeling.
USB in 1996: lets let you plug any device into the back of your computer.
USB in 2024: phones, tablets laptops are going to charge at crazy voltages and we're going to show you 8k video all over the same port and you can insert it in both directions and we're still going to connect any device to any device.

Handy guide, but this whole USB situation is a cock-up, since it needs the freakin guide in the first place.

Meh, while there really could be less. At least they are all physically compatible. And backwards protocol compatible to the lowest common denominator. Which is a huge step forward.
- Seriously, as an IT person, I still never know what most of my USB ports are capable of, but I'm glad they are backwards compatible. If something is slow, then I try a different cable and port.

What about red USB-A ports, and USB-C ports with no symbol by them at all (like on phones and desktop PCs)?

On desktop PCs, Depending upon the Motherboard manufacturer and model series, it could either mean nothing other than some gaming marketing jargon or...
When a motherboard has both red and blue ports, the Red ones could be those connected directly to the CPU lanes for USB, with the blue ones being routed through the PCH.
If there is just one red coloured USB A port, it might be designated for BIOS updates (unless they have another colour for that).
On gigabyte boards, red ports were/are signifying their "ON/OFF charge" and "3x power" gimmicks. Basically means that it's a usb 2.0, with 1.5A limit over normal 500mA, and remains powered when the PC is turned off.

Why not label the ports and cables with:

10Gb/s
2.1Amps
1080p at 60hz

It's future proof and doesn't need a decoder manual other than basic literacy. It can be in whatever language the fucking keyboard is. If you want to be redundant but even more clear:

Universal Serial Bus -> (this hole right here)
Speed: 40Gb/s
Power: 2.4Amps
Audio/Video: 4K at 120Hz or 8K at 30Hz

Amps are not power
- So do like they did for video and put 2A @ 5V on the label. Now you have power.
  Edit: clarity

The standard might be complicated if you want the specifics, but for everyday use it's incredibly simple, and I love it. The number of times I needed this information is 1, even though most of my devices, including an external monitor, are USB-C.

I can't imagine how you think it's incredibly simple. These things are hell to explain to pretty much any normal person who needs to know why there's no picture on the monitor or why their laptop/phone is not charging, or why the keyboard isn't working in BIOS (no USB 3 support so you gotta switch to a USB 2 port). Add to that the combinatorial complexity of different cables and hubs supporting different things, and no tools for troubleshooting what feature is missing (and where in the chain) or what is suboptimal.
Worse, sometimes it's my boss who thinks they can cheap out and get a USBC dock instead of a proper dock, forcing me to run at non-native lower resolutions or unable to use a second screen.
Yeah. I grew up in the days of serial ports and parallel ports, and USB in general is so much better for most purposes. (I recall plugging my first mouse into the serial port...but wait! Where will my Hayes Smartmodem modem plug into then? Also, don't plug and unplug things from the serial port while the computer is running.)
And USB-C is even better. My tablet needs a charge? Well my laptop charger is right here... My phone is low and needs a quick charge? Well my USB-C tablet charger will give it a decent boost very quickly. No worries about getting it plugged in the wrong way, either.
I have a docking station for my work laptop, so when I had to replace my personal laptop, a laptop that supported USB-C power delivery was mandatory. I don't use it with the docking station very often, but knowing I can without an issue is great. My wife also has a Macbook that works on the docking station, too, in case she ever wants to use my dual monitor setup. All three laptops, from three different brands, are just plug in and go.

Well, except all the legacy symbols on devices older than current gen.

I've literally never seen any of these except the top symbol.

I've never seen any of the SS 10gig or USB PD icons, but I've seen the rest. I've got Thunderbolt icons on at least 2 icons and SS USB 3.1 icons on many normal USB A ports.

Why use more words when less is easier.

white P inside a black D

Oh... Oh!

The superiority of german aryan ports proven once again.

(this is a joke, nazism is evil and I hate it)

I've never seen the one enclosed in a battery, but I've seen the rest.

It’s useful but it got me even more lost 😅

So many different standards my god.

yet all I needed is a "this side up" symbol ...

Honestly, I didn't really have an issue with USB type A ports. They worked fine, and it was only a minor inconvenience to orient them the right way. I cared far more about capabilities of the port (speed, power delivery, etc) than I did about the actual port.
That said, micro-USB sucks in every way. The awkward "is this the right way?" thing is way worse than with USB-A, it's not meaningfully smaller than mini-USB, the port is incredibly hard to clean (and it always gets dirty), and the connector seems to break all the time. I would've been totally fine with moving everything to mini-USB instead. The connector was less flimsy without being that much bigger, and it had room for more wires.
I do like USB-C though, I'm just not sure the added complexity is worth it.
Word
Typically, the side of the plug with the USB logo is "up". There are exceptions.
Also typically, if a USB port is vertical, up is to the left. Again, there are exceptions.

Those will legally do pretty much anything depending on what cable you use anyway. (and what cable you end up using is pretty much a surprise until you've tested it.)

All thanks to USB making our lives more simple. (yay)

Ok, I suppose it is more simple in quite a few ways.

Thanks for succinctly explaining what thunderbolt is

That is not what I'm suggesting. I'm not saying charging only cables shouldn't exist. I'm saying what everything does should be clearer.

Every computer store should have a poster about this.

some additional info about USB. If your cable/connector is old, idk how old is requred, the names and standards are actually completely different now than they used to be, but they're adopted into the new standards, so you have to keep this in mind when trying to recognize this stuff.

thanks USB forum, you guys are the best :)

ai generated lol

What's AI generated?
- Me. Sigh.
- The text. And probably images too (but the only mistake being the wrong port depiction (all c) says more human).

I can't even find a decent PCIE USB/Thunderbolt card (one that support VFIO would be nice and actually has a Linux kernel driver, so ASM and Renesas are both out..)

No symbol for power-only ports?

These are found almost exclusively on PC/laptops/tablets. Which I've never seen a power port only on.

Now do the cables 😈