How to tell if my MacBook Air supports USB 3.0

Question

How do I tell if my MacBook Air supports USB 3.0. I found

About This Mac → More Info... → System Report... → Hardware → USB

But nothing there clearly states version 2.0 or 3.0. How can I know for sure? In particular, I want to know if I can use an external hard drive that requires a "USB 3.0-ready laptop".

Answer 1

USB 3.0 often has blue lining inside the port.

If you want to know specifically for your macbook air, go to apple support page http://support.apple.com/specs/ - Click on "Browse by Product" and enter your Macbook Air serial number. It will show you the Tech Spec specifically for your Macbook Air series, and the tech spec will tell you what USB you have.

Answer 2

You were looking in the right place, it does tell you there. Take a look at the highlighted part in my screenshot below.

A USB Hi-Speed bus is USB 2.0, A USB 'SuperSpeed' or USB '3.0 Hi-Speed' bus are both USB3.

Answer 3

Tap the black apple, then choose "About this Mac, followed by Support, then Specifications. Lots of info there, including number and type of USB port

Answer 4

(just updating an old question)

To cover all Mac's and the technology in general, USB 3.0 adds 5 pins and unique interfaces. Where the shape hasn't changed (like with type "A", the flat plain rectangle), just look for the extra 5 pads or contacts.

This should produce a positive ID across computers more reliably than manufacturer labeling, color preferences, or document accuracy.

This page has a nice set of comparison images. There are also a few singles down the right side of the Wikipedia USB 3.0 article.

Answer 5

Another approach, there are 3 things that confirm that you have only USB2:

1. USB High-Speed Bus
2. Driver: EHCI
3. Speed: 480Mb/s

USB 1.0   Low Speed (1.5 Mbit/s), Full Speed (12 Mbit/s)
USB 2.0   High Speed (480 Mbit/s)     
USB 3.0   SuperSpeed (5 Gbit/s)
USB 3.1   SuperSpeed+ (10 Gbit/s)

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB

Open Host Controller Interface

The OHCI standard for USB is similar to the OHCI standard for FireWire, but supports USB 1.1 (full and low speeds) only.

Universal Host Controller Interface

Universal Host Controller Interface (UHCI) is a proprietary interface created by Intel for USB 1.x (full and low speeds).

Enhanced Host Controller Interface

Enhanced Host Controller Interface (EHCI-SPECIFICATION) is a high-speed controller standard applicable to USB 2.0.

Extensible Host Controller Interface

Extensible Host Controller Interface (XHCI) is the newest host controller standard that improves speed, power efficiency and virtualization over its predecessors The goal was also to define a USB host controller to replace UHCI/OHCI/EHCI. It supports all USB device speeds (USB 3.1 SuperSpeed+, USB 3.0 SuperSpeed, USB 2.0 Low-, Full-, and High-speed, USB 1.1 Low- and Full-speed).

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Host_controller_interface_(USB,_Firewire)