Have you ever bought a USB cable that claimed to be 3.0, but you weren’t sure if it was genuine? Madison Total Motors Channel has a simple method to help you determine if your USB 3.0 cable is fake or not.
First, examine the cable and check if it has four or five connectors. USB 2.0 cables have four connectors, while USB 3.0 cables have five. However, to be safe, you should conduct a speed test to ensure that all the pins are connected.
To run a speed test, you need a USB 3 or higher compatible external hard drive or device that can write at USB 3.0 speed. Install Crystal Disk Mark 6 and plug in your external hard drive into a USB 3.0 connection. Launch Crystal Disk Mark 6 and select your external hard drive. Choose the amount of data you want to test and click “all.” Let the test run.
Once the test is complete, save the results. Disconnect your external hard drive and plug it into your USB 3.0 cable and connect the cable to your computer. Restart your computer and run the test again. If the results are the same, your USB 3.0 cable is real.
The real-life writing speed of USB 2.0 is usually between 45 and 50 megabits per second, while USB 3.0 should be over 100 megabits per second. Theoretically, USB 2.0 can clock in at 480 megabits per second, but this is rarely seen in real life. Madison Total Motors Channel’s test showed a writing speed of around 110 megabits per second, which confirms that the cable is genuine.
In conclusion, if you’ve bought a USB cable that claims to be 3.0, make sure to examine it and run a speed test to confirm its authenticity. Don’t forget to check your external hard drive’s USB compatibility as well. With these simple steps, you can determine if you got what you paid for.