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Western Digital specifically states that certain of their external hard drives will work with USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 (such as this drive). Similarly, they state that some of their external hard drives will work with USB-C and USB 3.0.

My question is: Will drives only listed as USB-C and USB 3.0 compatible, such as this one also work with USB 2.0 ports (albeit slower than if connected to a USB-C or USB 3.0 port)?

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  • If you would check the User Manual for this WD drive, it also states that it is "backward compatible with USB 2.0.", see Page 3. However, read comments by Peter and fixer1234 below.
    – Ale..chenski
    Commented Jun 22, 2019 at 18:59

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Yes - devices with USB 3.0 should be backward compatible. You can read a little about it on Wikipedia. The second drive you listed has a USB-C connection, but comes with a USB 3.0 adapter. I was able to find a few answers on the Amazon listing confirming that this model worked on at least USB 2.0.

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    You forgot about the relevant difference between USB 2 and 3: power draw.
    – Peter
    Commented Jun 20, 2019 at 0:55
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    @RockPaperLizard, Peter is right. A small (single platter), 2.5", recent model drive has a good chance of working within USB 2.0 power limits, but a multi-platter drive may not. Check the drive's power requirements to ensure that its current requirement is less than 500 mA. If not, you could use it with a Y cable to steal power from a second port. Signal-wise, yes, its backwards compatible as per this answer.
    – fixer1234
    Commented Jun 20, 2019 at 1:22

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