USB 3.0 Device is Recognized as USB 2.0 on a Dell system

When plugging in a USB 3.0 device you may be presented with an error or it may not be recognized at all.

The error may report 'This USB device can transfer information faster if you connect it to a Super-Speed USB 3.0 port', even though it is plugged into a 3.0 port.

USB 3.0 ports on Dell systems are usually identified by the Blue plastic insert in each port (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Illustration of USB 2.0 (black) and USB 3.0 (blue) ports on a computer.

Figure 2: Illustration of USB 3.0 super speed icon.

When a USB 3.0 device is plugged in 'slowly' to a USB 3.0 port, it is expected behavior of the hardware to recognize as USB 2.0.

If the above error is seen try the following steps to resolve:

1. Verify that the device that you are using supports USB 3.0. See the documentation of the USB device for more information.
2. Plug the USB 3.0 device again and avoid inserting the device slowly.
3. If the above steps does not resolve the issue, see the Dell knowledge base article How to Troubleshoot USB Port When it is Not Working.

Recommended Articles

Here are some recommended articles related to this topic that might be of interest to you.

• How to Troubleshoot a USB Port When it is Not Working
• USB 3.0 Overview