What the colors on the USB ports of your PC mean: a basic guide to improve its efficiency

It is likely that curiosity has led you to notice that the ports USB of your PC’s CPU have different colors on each connector.

Some are blue, others are black or white, and perhaps because of this you have wondered what the meaning of it is. Whether it is an indicator of some technical ability or whether the colors are merely an aesthetic decision.

Today we will finally clear all doubts about this situation, to reveal to you, dear reader, a whole world of possibilities that can positively impact your productivity.

Since there are actually different types of USB ports and each one has different qualities and speeds of data transfer, which can directly affect some of the tasks that we carry out.

With USB-C ports the story is somewhat different, but at the time we already explained its general details. So here we will focus on the traditional ports that have been in the computer market for decades.

What do the colors of the USB ports on your computer mean?

In general, as explained on the official website dedicated to this connector, the USB Implementers Forum Inc.There are different generations of this type of ticket and each one has its particular qualities.

But something that perhaps many were unaware of is that it is possible to distinguish the qualities and even the generation of a USB connector just by the color of its input.

This is how USB 2.0 ports are black or white in color and are found today only on older computers. They have a maximum data transfer speed of 480 Mbps, which makes them almost obsolete for the current pace of the industry and demand for speed.

However, it is possible to find them as complementary ports to connect accessories, such as keyboards or mice, in various low-end or mid-range laptops.

It should be noted that using a USB 2.0 port to transfer files to, for example, a hard drive, can be a real nightmare. So nowadays it is best to use this port to connect the mouse and no more.

For its part, the USB 3.0 ports are blue and are much faster thanks to their maximum data transfer speed of up to 5 Gbps.

In the same way, USB 3.0 cables and ports can be used to charge the battery of certain devices with greater efficiency and less time consumption.

It should also be noted that if the USB port is light blue, then we are dealing with a USB 3.1 connector, which can transmit data at up to 10 Gbps, double that of a USB 3.0 port.

In some more recent cases you will likely run into red colored connectors and these represent USB 3.2 ports, with speeds up to 20 Gbps.

This port is the basic one and most recommended when looking to transfer large files.