USB 3.0 recognized as 2.0

Wanted · Nov 21, 2021

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share some issues that I have with my USB Flash drive. When I put it in the USB port (I have two USB 3.0 Ports) it shows the following message:

Flash drive: BAR Plus USB 3.1 Flash Drive 256GB
What I've tested so far:

Updated my drivers/bios from the Lenovo's website
Updated my Windows 11 via the Windows Update
Reinstalled/Deinstalled the following driver under this section

Checked for faulty ports from the Lenovo Diagnostics
Checked the ports with usb port speed tool, which says I am capable of doing USB 3.0 speeds

Code:

=========================== USB Port3 ===========================

Connection Status        : 0x00 (No device is connected)
Port Chain               : 2-3
Properties               : 0x0F
IsUserConnectable       : yes
PortIsDebugCapable      : yes
PortHasMultiCompanions  : yes
PortConnectorIsTypeC    : yes
ConnectionIndex          : 0x03 (Port 3)
CompanionIndex           : 0
CompanionHubSymLnk      : USB#ROOT_HUB30#4&2e344c8f&2&0#{f18a0e88-c30c-11d0-8815-00a0c906bed8}
CompanionPortNumber     : 0x04 (Port 4)
-> CompanionPortChain   : 1-4

SupportedUsbProtocols    : 0x04
Usb110                  : 0 (no, port not supports USB 1.1) -> but Companion Port 1-4 does
Usb200                  : 0 (no, port not supports USB 2.0) -> but Companion Port 1-4 does
Usb300                  : 1 (yes, port supports USB 3.0)
ReservedMBZ             : 0x00

The report from USB Tree View:

Searched for similar issues in Google, but everything suggested so far it's not working. The funniest thing is that when I put the USB flash drive on another machine which is having Windows 11 Pro (the same version) - it works just fine and it gets the speed of the usb flash drive.

The only think that I've found as a difference between the USB RootHUB Drivers from the working PC and mine:

The PC that having USB Flash drive @ full speed

My Laptop that is limiting the USB to 2.0 speed only.

Can someone suggest me what it could be done in order to resolve this issue? I am really struggling as I've bought this usb flash drive for its speed specifically.

My laptop's Windows version:

Anibor_11 · Nov 21, 2021

I don´t know what the problem is.
I use several Samsung Bar UFDs, no problems.
In my Lenovo ThinkPad laptop with Windows 11 , the driver shows as 10.0.22000.1. Note that is is a 10G (10 gigabits/s port, Gen. 2). The driver for a USB 3.0 port (5 gigabits/s, Gen. 1) is 10.0.22000.65, in my case.

iko22 · Nov 21, 2021

Hello Wanted, welcome to Eleven Forums.

The answer is in the Summary section of your USB TreeView screenshot:
USB Stick made by Silicon Motion, Taiwan.
Device Max Speed is "SuperSpeed", which is USB 3.0
Port Maximum Speed is "High-Speed", which is USB 2.
So, according to USB TreeView, the USB Port is limiting the speed of the Flash Drive. This limitation is confirmed in your Flash Drive Plug n Play Message.

USB TreeView also Confirms your Computer's USB 2 Port supports USB 3.0.
There could be two reasons why the Port is not performing as USB 3.0:
1) Flash Memory stick could be plugged into wrong port. (USB 2 Ports are Black coloured plastic, USB 3 Ports are Blue coloured plastic.)
2) USB 3 support may not be switched on in BIOS.
So, it is likely that, you need to either switch the port that the device is plugged into, and/or you need to switch on USB 3.0 support in the Laptops BIOS.

Anibor_11 · Nov 21, 2021

The computer does not have USB 2.0 ports, which are obsolete.

Lenovo_P1_Captura de pantalla 2021-11-21 105505.jpg

iko22 · Nov 21, 2021

@Wanted , is the Flash Memory connected directly to the computer, or is it connected to an external USB Hub? Maybe you need to connect the device directly to the Computer Port to benefit.

Dru2 · Nov 21, 2021

@Wanted,

Based on the images you provided there are no issues in Device Manager, so all is good there. That said, are you plugging the drive directly into the USB port or are you using a hub or extension cable?

Edit: I see @iko22 asked the same question.

wordsworth · Nov 21, 2021

Wanted said:
The report from USB Tree View:

View attachment 14228

What stands out to me is in the Summary, "USB Version 2.10." Here is a Tenforums thread on something similar so the problem may go back to Win 10. See if you can find and update the driver for the device.

Try the idea in Post #22 of the above thread.

iko22 · Nov 21, 2021

wordsworth said:
Try the idea in Post #22 of the above thread.

Post ##22 of that link worth a try.

Post #16 from same link seems to indicate the problem exists on Ubuntu --> suggests H/W failure more likely than OS.

Wanted · Nov 21, 2021

Hi, guys,

Thank you for your replies. What I am about to do is to read the thread, that was shown to me. Regarding your questions:
There are NO usb 2.0 in this laptop
The USB Flash drive is connected directly to the laptop /without any extensions, HUBs, etc/
Those ports and the USB drive were working just fine on Windows 10, achieving speed of 100-104 MB/s. Now it won't go beyond 29-30MB/s. The most ironic thing is I didn't changed anything, but to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11. I am not sure what driver I need to search for in order to test ?
Should I look up for the generic one, which is regarding RootHUB, the Intel one, or something else?

Best Regards,

W.

Dru2 · Nov 21, 2021

Wanted said:
Hi, guys,

The USB Flash drive is connected directly to the laptop /without any extensions, HUBs, etc/
Those ports and the USB drive were working just fine on Windows 10, achieving speed of 100-104 MB/s. Now it won't go beyond 29-30MB/s. The most ironic thing is I didn't changed anything, but to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11. I am not sure what driver I need to search for in order to test ?

Please be aware that transfer/USB speeds can vary wildly depending on what's going on in the background of a machine, the file size and type. All sorts of things can influence USB/transfer speeds, and why manufacturers advertising USB/transfer speeds use the phrase "up to" instead of "guaranteed" speed.

The bottom line is there are too many variables that can influence transfer speeds, and not much you can do about it. One minute you might get 1000 meg per second, the next instance it might drop to 50-60 per second. That the nature of the beast.

That said, if you're getting that "can transfer faster on USB 3" message that's concerning. Just saying keep in mind transfer speeds aren't always consistent.

Wanted · Nov 21, 2021

Dru2 said:
Please be aware that transfer/USB speeds can vary wildly depending on what's going on in the background of a machine, the file size and type. All sorts of things can influence USB/transfer speeds, and why manufacturers advertising USB/transfer speeds use the phrase "up to" instead of "guaranteed" speed.

The bottom line is there are too many variables that can influence transfer speeds, and not much you can do about it. One minute you might get 1000 meg per second, the next instance it might drop to 50-60 per second. That the nature of the beast.

That said, if you're getting that "can transfer faster on USB 3" message that's concerning. Just saying keep in mind transfer speeds aren't always consistent.

I am fully aware of the speed could vary, nevertheless I am testing with the same file as always. I am getting always the same speed with that file on machine 1, however im getting slow speed on machine 2. Also, when I open the task manager on the marked spot below, when it comes to writing with 29MB it floods the channel with 100%, which means that the USB flash drive couldn't handle more than 29MB/s.
Well I know for sure that isn't true, as having the writing of the same file of other machines it writes is with 100MB/s and it's showing 100%, while writing with 100MB/s.
It doesn't matter if I hit 98/100/104 MB or less. It does matter to me, that same flash drive on two machines with the same OS - one is writing as much as the USB drive can, the other one caps it to 29, just because

wordsworth · Nov 21, 2021

Wanted said:
Hi, guys,

Thank you for your replies. What I am about to do is to read the thread, that was shown to me. Regarding your questions:
There are NO usb 2.0 in this laptop
The USB Flash drive is connected directly to the laptop /without any extensions, HUBs, etc/
Those ports and the USB drive were working just fine on Windows 10, achieving speed of 100-104 MB/s. Now it won't go beyond 29-30MB/s. The most ironic thing is I didn't changed anything, but to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11. I am not sure what driver I need to search for in order to test ?
Should I look up for the generic one, which is regarding RootHUB, the Intel one, or something else?

Best Regards,

W.

You can check your drivers in Device Manager and I'd probably select off the View menu to see Devices by connection; pretty much though Windows will likely, if you try to update the driver, inform you that the best driver is installed so likely not an avenue to take although you can look for Intel USB 3.0 extensible drivers.

Since this is a laptop are you running it plugged in, or off the battery? Try shutting it down and then running it plugged in.

glasskuter · Nov 21, 2021

Anibor_11 said:
he computer does not have USB 2.0 ports, which are obsolete.

Vendors disagree that 2.0 is obsolute, the reason being power, and power matters. The universal serial bus is not only a method of transferring data but power as well. Each type of port has different power output. Any increase in data rate comes with an increase in bus power. 2.0 ports are still being installed on new machines since things like mice, keyboards, and wired printers do not need additional power, whereas high speed data transfer devices do. On new laptops which have a limited number of usb ports, having only usb 3.0 ports is becoming the norm since they are backward compatible, but not so on PCs. I have a brand new Dell Optiplex which has both USB 3.2 and USB 2.0 ports, both front and back.

glasskuter · Nov 21, 2021

I forgot to add this to my previous post. Some time ago, I had an older PC that had usb 3.0 ports using Intel drivers and they worked good. Windows 10 20h2 removed all my Intel issued chipset and USB drivers and picked up Microsoft ones. After that, my usb 3.0 devices operated poorly. Like you I struggled with it for months. No matter what I tried, I could not install the Intel chipset driver package. Always got the cliche "best driver is already installed message." I sought help from folks on TenForum, trying multiple solutions along the way. I was finally given a solution that fixed my problem at the time. However, when 21H1 came out it again reverted back to the Microsoft drivers. My post regarding this is here
It is a lengthy thread with a lot of suggestions so maybe one will work for your problem. Read the entire thread as I acknowledge the one that worked for me farther down into the thread as well as warnings involved in the process. Good luck.

Dru2 · Nov 21, 2021

glasskuter said:
2.0 ports are still being installed on new machines since things like mice, keyboards, and wired printers do not need additional power, whereas high speed data transfer devices do.

There's also the fact that some older device can't run on USB 3 ports. Though USB 3.0 is backwards compatible, some old legacy devices have issues running on a USB 3.0 port. And the pin layouts are different between 2.0 and 3.0 ports.

That said, I expect to see 2.0 disappear the way of the dinosaurs did since the need for them is near none.

glasskuter · Nov 21, 2021

@Dru2 I completely agree, but I guess manufacturers don't think we're there quite yet. This new Dell has several powershare and smartpower ports. I don't know why but they are all usb 2.0 ports. Personally, I'd much rather my PC have all usb 3 ports, and for all to have powershare and smartpower capability even if it used more power. I'd pay a little extra on my electric bill every month rather than have to select a certain port for a certain function. But Dell didn't ask me.

Wanted · Nov 22, 2021

glasskuter said:
I forgot to add this to my previous post. Some time ago, I had an older PC that had usb 3.0 ports using Intel drivers and they worked good. Windows 10 20h2 removed all my Intel issued chipset and USB drivers and picked up Microsoft ones. After that, my usb 3.0 devices operated poorly. Like you I struggled with it for months. No matter what I tried, I could not install the Intel chipset driver package. Always got the cliche "best driver is already installed message." I sought help from folks on TenForum, trying multiple solutions along the way. I was finally given a solution that fixed my problem at the time. However, when 21H1 came out it again reverted back to the Microsoft drivers. My post regarding this is here
It is a lengthy thread with a lot of suggestions so maybe one will work for your problem. Read the entire thread as I acknowledge the one that worked for me farther down into the thread as well as warnings involved in the process. Good luck.

Tried the modded drivers for Intel USB 3.1 eXtensible, however I've failed with them too.

After that I've reverted them by selecting Update Driver for both and they went straight to Microsoft's ones:

I am starting to lose faith, that having USB 3.0 speeds is even possible with this version of Windows...

glasskuter · Nov 22, 2021

I don't think it's the OS, because when I upgraded Windows 8 to 10 on my old system it kept using the OEM Windows 8 Intel drivers. It started in later versions of Windows 10. I think it's the fact that MS is forcing their one size fits all drivers on us and won't accept the fact that while they may work fine for most, they break others. IMO, our computers belong to us and we should be able to run whatever driver we want as long as it works and we shouldn't have to jump through hoops to do it. FYI-Since I made that old post, I purchased a new computer which came with Dell released Intel drivers. When I upgraded it to 11, the same thing happened. All my chipset drivers are now MS ones. Luckily, on this system I'm not having issues....yet.
Question-What chipset does your computer have? What is the model of your Lenovo?

Anibor_11 · Nov 22, 2021

About power and USB 2.0 ports:
A device like a mouse will consume exactly the same power when connected to a USB 3.0 or to a USB 2.0 port.
The type of device determines the amount of current that is drawn for the port. A mouse, for example, does not consume more current than it needs because it´s connected to a USB 3.0 port.

About the original question, a USB 3.0 port is "recognized" as a USB 2.0 port: run CrystalDiskMark and post the results.

Wanted · Nov 23, 2021

Anibor_11 said:
About power and USB 2.0 ports:
A device like a mouse will consume exactly the same power when connected to a USB 3.0 or to a USB 2.0 port.
The type of device determines the amount of current that is drawn for the port. A mouse, for example, does not consume more current than it needs because it´s connected to a USB 3.0 port.

About the original question, a USB 3.0 port is "recognized" as a USB 2.0 port: run CrystalDiskMark and post the results.

I don't know how the report from CrystalDiskMark would be useful, but I've done it anyways. Noticed during the test from the machine with the capped USB speed that:

The report from the machine that is with capped USB speed

The same USB flash drive on another machine with Windows 11

The report with the USB 3.0 working drivers on other machine:

USB 3.0 recognized as 2.0

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