On 12/11/2018 2:08 AM, VanguardLH wrote:
cameo wrote:

That Plugable cable does not look USB2 when you look into its connector:
it's white, not blue. The only bridge cables I see with blue connectors
are all USB3. I wonder how they would work between two USB2 ports.

Seems conflicting. "Does not look USB2" because it has a white spacer
inside the USB connector. "Blue connectors are all USB3." Okay, so the
one candidate cable is not blue (USB3), but white (USB2), so it "should
look USB2".

Typically, USB2 connectors have a white-colored spacer and USB3
connectors have a blue-colored spacer. I have seen a black-colored
spacer in USB2 connectors. You can see the space in the type-A
connectors. Actually white was supposed to identify USB1 connectors, so
the color scheme should be:

- USB-1: white.
- USB-2: black.
- USB-3: blue.
- Orange: The connector does not power off during standby and may have a
higher current output, like 2.1A, to charge phones faster that will
take the higher load.

The small ones don't have spacer, so hopefully they put some color on
the cord, strain relief, connector shell, or printing on the shell or
cable sheath, like "USB3), to help identify the USB type.

Because the type-A USB connector is square and the connection PCB is in
the middle, I've seen unpolarized USB type-A connectors that simply left
out the spacer that fills one-half of the recess inside the connector.
there's only 4 signals: 5V, sig+, sig-, and ground. You'd think using a
non-spacer'ed connector would result in sending 5V to the device's
ground and ground the device's 5V line; however, the circuitry inside
the non-polarized connector detects which line should have 5V and
ground. Doesn't matter if the differential sig+ and sig- lines are
reversed as they present a differential signal between them (used to
cancel any induced RF). If that reversible connector's logic fails, you
could burn up your USB device.

I'm sorry and you're right, of course. I did not have to deal with USB
issues for quite a long time and I forgot about the USB3 connectors
having the blue spacer, not the USB2. So luckily that means my laptops
also have a USB3 port each that I could use for data transfer. Luckily
the choice of transfer cables is also bigger on Amazon.
Personally I've never seen type-A connectors without a spacer in them,
white or blue.