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By the shield I mean the metal rectangular tube covering the connector pins.

Is this shield designed to take ESD shocks, and does it protect the internal circuitry from static electricity? What would happen if there was a static discharge from your body to the metal shield?

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There still needs to be a circuit to ground for the spark to happen, so a spark won't happen until the drive shield is plugged into something metal.

Once it is plugged in, it is as much part of the the metal that you could touch to discharge yourself as the system you plugged it into.

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  • Thanks for your reply. Even without a spark, would there be possibility of damage to the thumb drive if you touch the shield without grounding yourself?
    – utwentyseven
    Commented Feb 26, 2018 at 13:13
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    If there is no path for electricity to travel, there would be no possibility of damage.
    – Dave X
    Commented Feb 26, 2018 at 14:13
  • I'd be grateful if you would clarify: Does this mean the shield is isolated from the internal circuitry of the thumb drive, and isn't used, for example, as a ground connection for the flash drive PCB?
    – utwentyseven
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 10:07
  • There's lots of USB devices, and how they connect the shield/cable ground to the system ground inside the devices depends on the manufacturer. If the device is plugged in, the cable/shield ground is connected to the chassis ground of your computer and is as grounded as it is. If the device isn't plugged into anything, you should be able to toss it to a person touching a VanDeGraff generator since there is no circuit to ground.
    – Dave X
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 22:08
  • As far as I understand, a potential difference is all that is needed for ESD to occur rather than a full circuit to ground. Otherwise disconnected peripherals will be immune to ESD. I suspect the shields are isolated in some way from the internal circuitry given that it would be poor design to connect them directly to electrosensitive parts of the device, but I'd be grateful if someone could verify this.
    – utwentyseven
    Commented Mar 2, 2018 at 13:27

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