USB 3 Speeds... Not Equal?

[canonBoy]

Hey Jerry! I bought a 256GB 3.0 USB jump drive and was impressed at the transfer speeds in my desktop computer when transferring about 16gb of video files from the computer to the drive: average of about 150mb/s completing the task around 1.5 minutes. I was excited to see the same results when transferring those same 16gb of videos to my Moto Z Force via a OTG USB, but was let down by the 10-30mb/s speeds (external SD card vs internal storage respectively), taking more like 10 minutes to complete the task. The Moto Z has a USB C port, which I thought was USB 3.0, but it's clearly not performing the same as it did on my desktop. Am I confusing read and write speeds here or are some USB C actually USB 2.0?

Thanks in advance! I'm subscribing to this forum too! Looking forward to the chatter!

 

[afazel]

I'm not Jerry, but I Googled and this is what I found:

USB Type-C isn’t the same thing as USB 3.1. USB Type-C is just a connector shape, and the underlying technology could just be USB 2 or USB 3.0. In fact, Nokia’s N1 Android tablet uses a USB Type-C connector, but underneath it’s all USB 2.0 — not even USB 3.0. However, these technologies are closely related.
Source: http://www.howtogeek.com/211843/usb-type-c-explained-what-it-is-and-why-youll-want-it/
​

 

[canonBoy]

Gsmarena just says it's USB Type-C 1.0, which doesn't really help...

 

[canonBoy]

Phonearena isn't much more help either...

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

I'm not Jerry, but I Googled and this is what I found:

This. USB-C is a connector body and power transfer standard. It can use USB 2, USB 3 and USB 3.1 for data transfer. I'm not sure what the USB speeds are on the Z Force, but a quick check on Google shows me people claiming it's USB 2, USB 3 and USB 3.1 so somebody is lying

If your speeds were using a USB 3.x drive and a good cable (10 Gb/s and possibly a USB 3 or 3.1 label on it), it appears that the Z Force is a USB 2.0 device. I've never tested it so I can;t have much input here.

 

[canonBoy]

This. USB-C is a connector body and power transfer standard. It can use USB 2, USB 3 and USB 3.1 for data transfer. I'm not sure what the USB speeds are on the Z Force, but a quick check on Google shows me people claiming it's USB 2, USB 3 and USB 3.1 so somebody is lying

If your speeds were using a USB 3.x drive and a good cable (10 Gb/s and possibly a USB 3 or 3.1 label on it), it appears that the Z Force is a USB 2.0 device. I've never tested it so I can;t have much input here.

Gotcha... quick thought, could the OTG USB adapter have a say in the data transfer speeds? I used the one that came with the Note 7. But if a USB C OTG is only rated at 2.0 speeds (if that's even possible), that limit the performance of a 3.0 drive and a 3.0 phone, right? Or are OTG adapters a non factor when it comes to speeds?

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Yeah. they market USB 3.1 cables and adapters.

The difference is the quality of the parts used. You want a cable that can transfer 10 Gb/s to make the most of USB 3.1, and nobody ever needed that kind of bandwidth with USB 2 equipment.

A lot of cables use good components, but not good enough to deliver that much data without errors. Most companies will call those USB 3.1 cables because that's a term that people understand better.

Grab one from Amazon and try it. If it makes no difference, at least you'll have a spare otg cable

 

[canonBoy]

Yeah. they market USB 3.1 cables and adapters.

The difference is the quality of the parts used. You want a cable that can transfer 10 Gb/s to make the most of USB 3.1, and nobody ever needed that kind of bandwidth with USB 2 equipment.

A lot of cables use good components, but not good enough to deliver that much data without errors. Most companies will call those USB 3.1 cables because that's a term that people understand better.

Grab one from Amazon and try it. If it makes no difference, at least you'll have a spare otg cable

Come to think of it, I do have another OTG for USB C cable (from amazon in fact), right here at work! I'll check it out tonight and see if I get 2.0 or 3.0 speeds!

Thanks Jerry... I think I found my new favorite forum.

 

[canonBoy]

I was excited to see my other OTG cable having the blue tongue that is common on USB 3.0 devices or ports, thinking if my other samsung OTG adapter was the culprit, for sure I would see 100+MB/s on my phone. But alas, not the case, still in the 20-30 MB/s range. Must be that the Z Force is actually a USB 2.0 port... bummer.

 

[canonBoy]

On the other hand, I'm transferring video files from the same 3.0 jump drive to my Note 10.1 2014 via a micro USB OTG, which is definitely USB 2.0 and it's transferring at a peak of about 10mb/s... so I don't know if the Moto Z is a fast 2.0 or a slow 3.0 at 20-30mb/s.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

On the other hand, I'm transferring video files from the same 3.0 jump drive to my Note 10.1 2014 via a micro USB OTG, which is definitely USB 2.0 and it's transferring at a peak of about 10mb/s... so I don't know if the Moto Z is a fast 2.0 or a slow 3.0 at 20-30mb/s.

Exactly. This is about what everyone sees and why some people say it's 3.0 and others say 2.0

I'm thinking that it's 3, but the software and storage controller are just slow. I'll see if anyone here on the team knows someone at Moto well enough to just chat and get some non-PR person answers.