This post summarizes some ways to determine the version of a USB stick.
Ways to determine the version of a USB stick
There are two main ways to determine the version of a USB stick:
- Identify USB stick version visually
- Using a Windows tool to identify USB port version
Identify USB Stick Version visually
Coming to USB 3.0 pen drives, you’ll see a prominent difference from the USB 2.0 and older drives, with USB 3.0, USB-SS or USB Super Speed usually written on the pen drives.
As a general rule, can identify USB stick version visually. Have a look at the inner part of the USB plug and look at the color. Depending on it, it may tell you the USB version:
- Blue: USB 3.0 (always)
- Black: USB 2.0 (not in all cases)
- White: USB 1.0 (not in all cases)
Using a Windows tool to Identify USB Port Version
There are different tools on Windows that can be used to identify the USB port version:
- Windows Device Manager
- Universal Serial Bus Viewer (USBView)
- USBTreeView
Using Windows Device Manager
Follow these instructions to check the USB version from Windows Device Manager:
- Open the Device Manager.
- In the “Device Manager” window, click the + (plus sign) next to Universal Serial Bus controllers. You will see a list of the USB ports installed on your computer.
- If your USB port name contains “Universal Host”, your port is version 1.1.
- If the port name contains both “Universal Host” and “Enhanced Host”, your port is version 2.0.
- If the port name contains “USB 3.0”, your port is version 3.0.
Using USBView
Universal Serial Bus Viewer (USBView) is a Windows app that you can use to browse all USB controllers and connected USB devices on your computer.
USBView is an open-source tool developed by American company Microsoft.
It is only available for Windows OS.
You can find the instructions about how to install it in the link to the official website below.
Using USBTreeViewer
USB Device Tree Viewer or USBTreeViewer is a free application by German developer Uwe Sieber.
It is based on USBView. It was developed with the aim of easing the installation process, as earlier versions of USBView lacked any installer.
External references
- “How do I identify a USB 1.0 or 2.0 or 3.0 pen drive?“; Quora
- “Determine the version of USB ports on your computer“; University Information Technology Services
- Antonio Vallejo; “Conoce infinidad de detalles de todos los dispositivos conectados en tu PC con USBTreeView“; GenBeta
This is not identifying the stick but the port.
Thanks for your feedback. I have updated the title of second part of the post to clarify that is about checking the USB port version of a computer.
Some USB 2.0 sticks come with a Blue plastic on the port conector, so color does not identify USB version, and what about Orange, Purple, Yellow and Fuchsia colors? I have seen a los of colors on the plastic were elecric USB 2.0 four pins are.