USB Type-C

The 24-pin type-C plug
Type-C on MacBook

USB Type-C is a specification for a small 24-pin reversible-plug connector for USB devices and USB cabling.[1]

The USB Type-C Specification 1.0 was published by the USB Implementers Forum and was finalized in August 2014.[2] It was developed at roughly the same time as the USB 3.1 specification, but distinct from it.

Details

The type-C connectors connect to both hosts and devices, replacing various type-B and type-A connectors and cables with a standard meant to be future-proof.[3][4] The 24-pin double-sided connector is similar in size to the micro-B connector, with a type-C port measuring 8.4 millimetres (0.33 in) by 2.6 millimetres (0.10 in). The connector provides four power/ground pairs, two differential pairs for non-SuperSpeed data (though only one pair is populated in a type-C cable), four pairs for high-speed data bus, two "sideband use" pins, and two configuration pins for cable orientation detection, dedicated biphase mark code (BMC) configuration data channel, and VCONN +5 V power for active cables.[5][6][7] Connecting an older device to a host with a type-C receptacle requires a cable or adapter with a type-A or type-B plug or receptacle on one end and a type-C plug on the other end. Legacy adapters with a type-C receptacle are not allowed.[8]

Full-featured type-C cables are active, electronically marked cables that contain a chip with an ID function based on the configuration channel and vendor-defined messages (VDMs) from the USB Power Delivery 2.0 specification. Type-C devices may optionally support bus power currents of 1.5 A and 3.0 A (at 5 V) in addition to baseline bus power provision; power sources can either advertise increased USB current through the configuration channel, or they can support the full power delivery specification using both BMC-coded configuration line and legacy BFSK-coded VBUS line.

Alternate mode

Alternate modes dedicate some of the physical wires in the type-C cable for direct device-to-host transmission of alternate data protocols. The four high-speed lanes, two sideband pins, and (for dock, detachable device and permanent cable applications only) two non-SuperSpeed data pins and one configuration pin can be used for alternate mode transmission. The modes are configured using VDMs through the configuration channel.

Relation to other specifications

USB-C specifications

As outlined by the USB Type-C Cable and Connector Language Usage Guidelines,[9] if a product implements USB Type-C, it does not necessarily implement USB 3.1 or USB Power Delivery.

Alternate mode partner specifications

The USB IF is working with its Alternate Mode partners to make sure that ports are properly labelled.[10]

  1. DisplayPort Alternate Mode on USB Type-C Connector Standard - published in September 2014, supporting DisplayPort 1.3.[11]
  2. Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) Alternate Mode announced November 2014[12] supporting MHL 3.0.[6][13]
  3. Thunderbolt Alternate Mode[14] supporting Thunderbolt 3.[15][16][17]

Other serial protocols like PCI Express and Base-T Ethernet[18] are possible.

Connector pinouts and cable wiring

Connector pinouts

Type-C plug and receptacle pinouts
Pin Name Description Pin Name Description
A1 GND Ground return B12 GND Ground return
A2 SSTXp1 SuperSpeed differential pair #1, TX, positive B11 SSRXp1 SuperSpeed differential pair #1, RX, positive
A3 SSTXn1 SuperSpeed differential pair #1, TX, negative B10 SSRXn1 SuperSpeed differential pair #1, RX, negative
A4 VBUS Bus power B9 VBUS Bus power
A5 CC1 Configuration channel B8 SBU2 Sideband use (SBU)
A6 Dp1 Non-SuperSpeed differential pair, position 1, positive B7 Dn2 Non-SuperSpeed differential pair, position 2, negative[lower-alpha 1]
A7 Dn1 Non-SuperSpeed differential pair, position 1, negative B6 Dp2 Non-SuperSpeed differential pair, position 2, positive[lower-alpha 1]
A8 SBU1 Sideband use (SBU) B5 CC2 Configuration channel
A9 VBUS Bus power B4 VBUS Bus power
A10 SSRXn2 SuperSpeed differential pair #2, RX, negative B3 SSTXn2 SuperSpeed differential pair #2, TX, negative
A11 SSRXp2 SuperSpeed differential pair #2, RX, positive B2 SSTXp2 SuperSpeed differential pair #2, TX, positive
A12 GND Ground return B1 GND Ground return
  1. 1 2 There is only a single Non-SuperSpeed differential pair in the cable. This pin is not connected in the plug/cable.

Cable wiring

Full-featured USB 3.1 and 2.0 type-C cable wiring
Plug 1, type-C Type-C cable Plug 2, type-C
Pin Name Wire colour No Name Description 2.0[lower-alpha 1] Pin Name
Shell Shield Braid Braid Shield Cable external braid ✓ Shell Shield
A1, B12,
B1, A12		 GND Tin-plated 1 GND_PWRrt1 Ground for power return ✓ A1, B12,
B1, A12		 GND
16 GND_PWRrt2 ✗
A4, B9,
B4, A9		 VBUS Red 2 PWR_VBUS1 VBUS power ✓ A4, B9,
B4, A9		 VBUS
17 PWR_VBUS2 ✗
B5 VCONN Yellow
18 PWR_VCONN VCONN power, for active cables[lower-alpha 2] ✓ B5 VCONN
A5 CC Blue 3 CC Configuration channel ✓ A5 CC
A6 Dp1 White 4 UTP_Dp[lower-alpha 3] Unshielded twisted pair, positive ✓ A6 Dp1
A7 Dn1 Green 5 UTP_Dn[lower-alpha 3] Unshielded twisted pair, negative ✓ A7 Dn1
A8 SBU1 Red 14 SBU_A Sideband use A ✗ B8 SBU2
B8 SBU2 Black 15 SBU_B Sideband use B ✗ A8 SBU1
A2 SSTXp1 Yellow[lower-alpha 4] 6 SDPp1 Shielded differential pair #1, positive ✗ B11 SSRXp1
A3 SSTXn1 Brown[lower-alpha 4] 7 SDPn1 Shielded differential pair #1, negative ✗ B10 SSRXn1
B11 SSRXp1 Green[lower-alpha 4] 8 SDPp2 Shielded differential pair #2, positive ✗ A2 SSTXp1
B10 SSRXn1 Orange[lower-alpha 4] 9 SDPn2 Shielded differential pair #2, negative ✗ A3 SSTXn1
B2 SSTXp2 White[lower-alpha 4] 10 SDPp3 Shielded differential pair #3, positive ✗ A11 SSRXp2
B3 SSTXn2 Black[lower-alpha 4] 11 SDPn3 Shielded differential pair #3, negative ✗ A10 SSRXn2
A11 SSRXp2 Red[lower-alpha 4] 12 SDPp4 Shielded differential pair #4, positive ✗ B2 SSTXp2
A10 SSRXn2 Blue[lower-alpha 4] 13 SDPn4 Shielded differential pair #4, negative ✗ B3 SSTXn2
  1. ↑ USB 2.0 type-C cables do not include wires for SuperSpeed, sideband use, or as great power capacity.
  2. ↑ VCONN must not traverse end-to-end through the cable. Some isolation method must be used.
  3. 1 2 There is only a single differential pair for non-SuperSpeed data in the cable, which is connected on the A side of the plug.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Wire colours for differential pairs are not mandated.

Software and hardware support

Software support

Hardware support

Notebooks

First notebooks that support type-C:

As of 2016-03-13, Geizhals lists 399 USB 3.1 Type-C notebooks for Germany.[24]

Tablets

Smartphones

As of 2016-03-13, geizhals.de lists 51 phones sans contract that have type-C and are available in Germany.[38]

HDDs and SSDs

Flash drives

Monitors

Cables

Some noncompliant cables with a Type-C connector on one end and a legacy Standard-A plug or Micro-B receptacle on the other end incorrectly terminate the Configuration Channel (CC) with a 10kΩ pullup to VBUS instead of the specification mandated 56kΩ pullup, causing a device connected to the cable to incorrectly determine the amount of power it is permitted to draw from the cable. Cables with this issue may not work properly with certain products, including Apple and Google products, and may even damage power sources such as chargers, hubs, or PC USB ports.[43][44][45]

References

  1. 1 2 Hruska, Joel (2015-03-13). "USB-C vs. USB 3.1: What's the difference?". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  2. ↑ Howse, Brett (August 12, 2014). "USB Type-C Connector Specifications Finalized". Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  3. ↑ Ngo, Dong. "USB Type-C: One cable to connect them all". CNET. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  4. ↑ "USB Type-C Connector Specifications Finalized". AnandTech.com. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  5. ↑ "Technical Introduction of the New USB Type-C Connector". Intel.ActiveEvents.com. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  6. 1 2 "DisplayPort Alternate Mode for USB Type-C Announced - Video, Power, & Data All Over Type-C". AnandTech.com. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  7. ↑ "Introduction to USB Type-C" (PDF). Microchip.com. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  8. ↑ Universal Serial Bus Type-C Cable and Connector Specification Revision 1.1 (April 3, 2015), section 2.2, page 20
  9. ↑ "USB Type-C Cable and Connector : Language Usage Guidelines from USB-IF" (PDF). Usb.org. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  10. ↑ Cunningham, Andrew (2015-01-09). "USB 3.1 and Type-C: The only stuff at CES that everyone is going to use | Ars Technica UK". ArsTechnica.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  11. ↑ "VESA® Brings DisplayPort™ to New USB Type-C Connector". DisplayPort. 2014-09-22. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  12. ↑ "MHL® – Expand Your World". MHLTech.org. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  13. ↑ "MHL® – Expand Your World". MHLTech.org. 2014-11-17. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  14. ↑ "Thunderbolt 3 – The USB-C That Does It All | Thunderbolt Technology Community". Thunderbolttechnology.net. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  15. ↑ One port to rule them all: Thunderbolt 3 and USB Type-C join forces, retrieved 2015-06-02
  16. ↑ Thunderbolt 3 is twice as fast and uses reversible USB-C, retrieved 2015-06-02
  17. ↑ Thunderbolt 3 embraces USB Type-C connector, doubles bandwidth to 40Gbps, retrieved 2015-06-02
  18. ↑ "[802.3_DIALOG] USB-C Ethernet Alternate Mode". ieee. 2015-03-26.
  19. ↑ Microsoft. "Windows support for USB Type-C connectors". Microsoft MSDN. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  20. ↑ Microsoft. "Update for USB Type-C billboard support and Kingston thumb drive is enumerated incorrectly in Windows". Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  21. ↑ "Using the USB-C port and adapters on your MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015) - Apple Support". Support.Apple.com. 2015-05-28. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  22. ↑ "Android – Marshmallow". Retrieved 2015-10-12.
  23. ↑ "Charge your Chromebook Pixel (2015)". Retrieved 2015-10-31.
  24. ↑ https://geizhals.de/?cat=nb&xf=31_USB+3.1+(Typ-C)
  25. ↑ Vlad Savov (18 November 2014). "The Nokia N1 will be among the first devices with a reversible USB connector". The Verge. Vox Media.
  26. ↑ Brandon Chester (1 June 2015). "ASUS Announces Two New 8 Inch ZenPad Tablets". AnandTech. Purch.
  27. ↑ Hiroshi Lockheimer (29 September 2015). "S’more to love across all your screens".
  28. ↑ Boxall, Andy (2015-04-14). "Letv Le Superphone: Features, News, Release, Specs". Digitaltrends.com. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  29. ↑ Pei, Carl (2015-06-23). "OnePlus 2 - The First Flagship with USB Type-C". oneplus.net. Retrieved 2015-06-23.
  30. ↑ Hiroshi Lockheimer (29 September 2015). "S’more to love across all your screens".
  31. ↑ "Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL arrive with Windows 10 and USB Type-C".
  32. ↑ "Lenovo ZUK Z1 Snapdragon 5.5 Inch 4G LTE Dual SIM Android 5.1 Mobile Phone 64GB White".
  33. ↑ "LG G5 officially announced: release date, specs, and features".
  34. ↑ "BLU Vivo XL product page".
  35. ↑ "BLU Vivo 5 product page".
  36. ↑ "GSMArena.com BLU Vivo XL specs".
  37. ↑ "HTC Smartphones".
  38. ↑ http://geizhals.de/?cat=umtsover&xf=162_USB+Typ-C
  39. ↑ Ian Paul. "LaCie announces USB Type-C mobile drives to match Apple's 12-inch MacBook". Macworld. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  40. ↑ "Porsche Design". LaCie. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  41. ↑ "Computex 2015: 1.92TB Portable USB 3.1 SSD storage from Sandisk". Guru3d.com. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  42. ↑ "CalDigit unveils durable USB-C Tuff drive for the 12-inch MacBook, T4 nano RAID drive w/ HDMI & Thunderbolt 2". 9to5mac.com. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
  43. ↑ Kif Leswing (5 November 2015). "Google Engineer Reviews Defective USB Cables on Amazon - Fortune". Fortune.
  44. ↑ Universal Serial Bus Type-C Cable and Connector Specification Revision 1.1 (April 3, 2015), page 60, table 3-13, note 1
  45. ↑ "In response to the Type-C cable discussions".

External links

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