Show USB speed for all devices in Windows 7

I am using Windows 7 and would like to see which USB versions each attached USB device is using (1.1 or 2). How can I do this?

rlandster

Posted 2012-02-10T00:12:17.367

Reputation: 988

Speed and USB version are not the same thing. USB 3.0 supports 4 different speeds, for instance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Transmission_rates http://tr1.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/2009/12/22/1f048baf-c3b3-11e2-bc00-02911874f8c8/table_b_data_transfer_rate_types.jpg

– endolith – 2016-02-04T20:09:46.560

Answers

You can determine the USB specification that a device supports by examining its bcdUSB field. It is not stored in the registry, so you cannot just search or access it. It is stored on the device itself, so you need a way to query the device to retrieve it.

You can use the USB View utility from Microsoft. It is available on the installation CD of some versions of Windows (and possibly some old versions of the Resource Kit). I’m not sure if it's legal to distribute it, but it’s certainly easy enough to find a copy. You could also use the commercial program USBlyzer.

The bcdUSB field is a hexadecimal number that will indicate the highest USB version the device supports in a packed-decimal format:

0x0100 = USB 1.0
0x0110 = USB 1.1
0x0200 = USB 2.0
0x0300 = USB 3.0

In addition, you can view the actual speed the device supports in the Device Bus Speed field:

Low Speed  : <= 1.5 Mbps (USB 1.0+)
Full Speed : <= 12  Mbps (USB 1.0+)
High Speed : <= 480 Mbps (USB 2.0+)
SuperSpeed : <= 5.0 Gbps (USB 3.0+)

(Check your motherboard’s BIOS to determine what mode the USB controller is configured for.)

Figure 1: USB 1.1 device

enter image description here

Figure 2: USB 2.0 device

enter image description here

Synetech

Posted 2012-02-10T00:12:17.367

Reputation: 63 242

@Synetech: I have a device that reports 0x0300 but "High" speed... ideas? – user541686 – 2014-12-23T12:26:09.137

2http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtreeview_e.html is a bit better – endolith – 2016-02-04T20:12:08.760

I'm seeing 0x210 as well with a USB 3.0-capable video capture board connected to a USB 2.0 port. https://i.stack.imgur.com/cZ6UQ.png

– Nathan Osman – 2018-02-22T21:57:47.717

What 0x0210 means? – Soonts – 2013-02-05T15:30:15.383

@Soonts, no idea; there is no USB 2.1, and Googling it only finds Bluetooth (even when being even more restrictive). Are you actually seeing that on your system? If so, is it a third-party USB card or in your motherboard? If it’s the motherboard, what make/model is it?

– Synetech – 2013-02-05T20:51:51.493

the system is Asus N53SV laptop, USB card is Fresco Logic, device is USB3-SATA bridge built with Via VL700 chip. – Soonts – 2013-02-05T21:51:25.553

@Soonts, hmm, that system has three USB2.0 ports and an optional USB3.0 port. I checked the specs and the manual and it says nothing that would explain it. Pages 18 and 21 of the manual clearly say it supports USB 2.0 and 1.1. Which device is showing 0x0210? Is it on all ports of the device? A screenshot would help. – Synetech – 2013-02-06T01:59:02.553

my laptop has USB 3.0 (only one port), and the hard drive is plugged into it. Here's the screenshot: http://const.me/tmp/USB-View.png

– Soonts – 2013-02-06T12:30:09.153

@Soonts, Well the board supports USB3 and there’s no mention of USB 2 other than that it’s backwards compatible. It could be a bug in the firmware and should’ve been 0x0300. I see it’s using High Speed instead of SuperSpeed. Could the drive be slow (SATA 1) and the bridge be in a compatible mode to let it work on a USB3 port? If so, it might just be their way of indicating that it is in USB 2.0 mode (though I don’t see it). You could try asking them.

– Synetech – 2013-02-06T18:48:19.363

Disclaimer: Greg mentioned this utility in his answer, but as slm points out, his answer is a very sparse.

NirSoft has a free utility called USBDeview. This software will display lots of information about all USB devices currently and previously attached to the computer including the USB version:

USBDeview Screenshot 1 USBDeview Screenshot 2

Like most NirSoft utilities, it's a standalone executable that does not require installation. It also has command line options. It works extremely well and I have found it very useful. IMHO, it's easier to obtain than the MS USB View utility mentioned in the accepted answer. And USBDeview is less "cryptic" then USB View in the information it displays.

Javaru

Posted 2012-02-10T00:12:17.367

Reputation: 181

Also nice: for storage devices USBDeview has a quick integrated read/write test, just Ctrl+t to see what it's actually operating at right now. What it doesn't have but I wish for is to also show the connection details, e.g. usb device itself is v3.0 but is connected to a v2.0 port. – matt wilkie – 2016-02-03T17:22:42.743

I thought I would also add a reply because I found this tool which is based on the Microsoft USB View code but it adds a little bit to it:

http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtreeview_e.html

Moreover, unlike USB View this tool is freeware and you don't need to download a complete development kit to get it. I recommend.

jmbouffard

Posted 2012-02-10T00:12:17.367

Reputation: 374

I feel this is the best answer, since the software suggested here provides the most intuitive information (with clear hierarchical device tree), while also being very simple to download and execute (no installation needed). With NirSoft's USBDeview, not all devices are showing the USB version, and it's often hard to determine which actual USB device is being referred to by every line in the device list. – Sagie – 2020-02-20T08:49:30.770

If the device is using USB 1.0, windows will throw a message at you saying that there might be a problem with the device and that it is using a slower technology (in my experience).

Alternatively, you can write files to the drive and see how fast they get written/read. A USB 1.1 drive, while it has a theoretical speed of 12 MBit/S is usually far slower (<2 MBit). You will not see such speeds on a 2.0 drive unless there is something wrong with it or your computer.

soandos

Posted 2012-02-10T00:12:17.367

Reputation: 22 744

Thanks for the suggestions, but this seems rather roundabout. There is no way to interrogate Windows directly and ask? For example, what if you have a dozen devices that are already plugged in? What about devices that are not writable (mice, keyboards, printers)? – rlandster – 2012-02-10T02:32:23.980

1Few things. 1) most of the non-writable drives will probably be USB 1.1 as those devices generally don't need high bandwidth. 2) I don't think there is. The problem is that while you can get what the port is, knowing what protocol its using is buried somewhere (if at all visible, there is no reason why it should be) – soandos – 2012-02-10T02:42:30.280

@soandos: I'm not so sure about the first point. If a single USB 1.1 device is connected, all devices connected to the USB host controller are forced to downgrade to USB 1.1 speeds. – surfasb – 2012-02-11T02:13:03.043

@surfasb, soandos, you’re both close. Windows does indeed complain/warn when connecting a higher-speed device to a lower-speed USB port. And in my experience other devices do seem to get throttled to the USB spec of the device with the lowest support on the same hub, not the whole controller. As such, it will warn about a USB 2.0 device connected to a USB 2.0 port if there is a USB 1.1 device on the same hub (with a misleading message about the port being low-speed). – Synetech – 2012-02-11T04:09:42.377

1It gets more complicated than that. Some hubs will relegate full speed devices (1.1) to their own virtual bus. I just tell people to get rid of their old devices. – surfasb – 2012-02-11T16:33:51.187

@surfasb, do you also send them money to buy new ones? Just upgrading everything to the latest and greatest is not always an option (and frankly would lead to sloppy, lazy work like how developers have gotten spoiled with increasing storage sizes, which is why you see 25GB games now). – Synetech – 2012-04-01T19:51:12.580

-1

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html

USBDeview v2.22 - View all installed/Nir Sofer

Interrogate exiting and past USB devices

Greg

Posted 2012-02-10T00:12:17.367

Reputation: 1

Welcome to Super User! Generally we like answers on the site to be able to stand on their own - Links are great, but if that link ever breaks the answer should have enough information to still be helpful. Please consider editing your answer to include more detail. See the FAQ for more info.

– slm – 2013-05-18T10:05:13.517