With USB 2.0, the black is power and data; the red's just power: Got it. But may just the black be used for USB 3.0 power and data (leaving the red out of the circuit altogether)?
237283
Yes that should work, though you would be limited to the power levels delivered by a single USB port.
237284
This cable does not meet USB 3 specifications. You will need a different cable altogether if your device requires USB 3.
237285
Yes. Even on USB 2.0, you may choose to use ONLY the black power/signal connector. It's really up to the component you are trying to power up, whether you need the added 0.5-ampere power boost afforded by having the red auxiliary power pigtail. Some circuits/devices just can't run on the low juice provided by one USB 2.0 hole, so for those, you add the extra "boost" line (red one).
237286
The reason for this is that the current draw of the external device over USB is more than most USB single ports allow. This gives the ability to add additional amperage to the USB device, therefore powering things like an external DVD drive without another power supply attached.
237287
Yes, you can use the black cable only. It is more reliable for data transfer to use both cables.
1934516
No, all USB ports on computers are essentially the same except for the power output. USB 2.0 ports output .5 Amps (500mA) while USB 3.0 ports output .9 Amps (900mA). USB ports that are on AC adapters and phone chargers are capable of outputting much more power.
378130
They don't have to be.The two black connectors are power and data, the white connector is power only.The purpose of this cable is to power a device that exceeds the limit for a single USB 2 port.Note that USB 3 ports have more power and shouldn't need a Y cable.It is possible to plug the white plug into a separate USB power adapter.This is chancy because it is possible for the power to feed back into the device the black plug is attached to and damage it.For some devices this is the only way to solve a power issue.
1127856
It is 3.0. I suspect the box image is from a previous model. Interesting note, the USB connection is split; 1 for USB 3 and 1 for power. If you plug into the USB 3.0 port you do not need to plug in the other connection for power. The USB 3.0 powers it just fine. The extra power connection is for 2.0 connections I believe.
238316
Mine came with a USB 2.0 cable. The difference is easily seen. USB 3.0 connectors have a Blue lip and USB 2.0/1.0 cables have a Black lip
189285
Mine came with a power brick, for what it's worth. I believe that this hub corrupted my external usb 3.0 hdd, and pretty much killed it. Don't know this for a fact but I don't use it anymore.
2064414
All previous answers are correct for TxD, RxD and ground. TxD and RxD operate at 3.3 volts. Paul Hardin is correct that red is 5 volts. It's a direct passthrough of the 5.0 volts @ 500 ma from the USB connector.
1128805
1) I do not know 2) Yes 3) Yes and No. It comes with 2 cables one for power, the other for Data. It will work in a single USB 3.0 4) Yes, provided you have the right connector and voltage, Radio Shack can help you out with that.
606776
The newer model is actually cheaper for some unknown reason. As far as I can tell that is the only difference since USB 3.0 is backwards compatable with USB 2.0 ports.
1034733
Depends on the computer/laptop a lot of manufactures like to make the connection blue, or have a special symbol. If you look in your computer management->Universal Serial Bus controller you should see one listed as USB 3.0.
1063720
USB 3.0 is backwards compatible with 2.0 so in theory it should still work. I can't speak from experience though so I'm not 100% sure it will work.
1609886
I know older models had a cable pass through to a back USB 3.0 port for that. I know there is a version that requires on-board USB headers for USB 3.0. This one? From one of the reviews, it looks like it has the internal headers. I'd like to know for certain though.
1695363
I'm surprised most people have not noticed this being USB 2.0. To achieve anything close to advertised AC speeds you need 3.0 at best.
1551324
USB 2.0 peripherals are backwards compatible with USB 3.0, so yes, it shouldn't be an issue.
1669893
No, one cable is for data, one only provides power. It will work at the same speed as any other usb cable.
640107
I have USB 3 version (backward compatible with USB 2) and the power supply has steady blue light on when it is plugged in.
512455
USB 3.0, the latest version of USB (Universal Serial Bus), provides better speed and more efficient power management than USB 2.0. USB 3.0 is backward compatible with USB 2.0 devices; however, data transfer speeds are limited to USB 2.0 levels when these devices inter-operate. The connection is the same.