But, a USB 3.0 drive will exhibit the same transfer rate as a USB 2.0 drive when connected to a USB 2.0 port.In other words, a USB 3.0 drive must be connected with a USB 3.0 port to be able to achieve the high data transfer rates USB 3.0 are known for.

It is important to note that a USB 3.0 drive is also compatible with a USB 2.0 port. This means when a USB 2.0 drive or earlier versions are connected to a USB 3.0 port, the drive will work normally. USB 3.0 ports are completely backward compatible. This is twice as fast as USB 3.0 and twenty times as fast as USB 2.0. More recently, USB 3.1 has also been released and has a data transfer rate of 10,000 Mbps. This means USB 3.0 is approximately 10 times faster than USB 2.0. USB 2.0 transfer speed is 480 megabits per second (Mbps), while USB 3.0 transfer speed is 4,800 Mbps. The more recent USB 3.1 port also differs visually in that the “block” inside the USB 3.1 port is red.In contrast, USB 3.0 has a blue “block” inside the USB port.USB 2.0 has a black “block” inside the USB port.The USB ports for USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 also differ visually. But, when a USB 3.0 device is connected to a USB 2.0 port, the data transfer speeds will be limited to USB 2.0 levels. Also, USB 3.0 ports are backward compatible. In terms of USB 2.0 vs 3.0 speed, USB 3.0 offers superior speed and a higher efficiency power management compared to the more common USB 2.0. When you’re done, go read our updated article on USB 3.0 vs 3.1 vs 3.2 by clicking here. Not only is there a difference in size, but also a handful of others (like transfer rate and bandwidth to name a few) that distinguish the different USB versions. There are six main differences between the universal serial bus (USB) 2.0 vs 3.0.

Usb 2 vs usb 3 transfer speeds