USB 3.0 devices into a USB 2.0 port

[astay79]

Does a USB 3.0 Device work when plugged into a USB 2.0 port?
I ask since I plan to buy a harddisc With USB 3.0 and I have a comnputer With only USB 2.0 ports.

 

[xXDahChubChubXx]

year you can stick usb 3.0 in 2.0 and vis versa

note if you plug them 2.0 into 3.0 transfer speeds might be slower and vis versa

 

[Jaxem]

Heck, you can plug a USB 3.0 device into a USB 1.1 port and it will work, slowly, but it will work. There's a reason it's a universal serial bus. So, yes, it will work just fine.

 

[PyjamasCat]

year you can stick usb 3.0 in 2.0 and vis versa

note if you plug them 2.0 into 3.0 transfer speeds might be slower and vis versa

^This. The transfer speed will always be the speed of the slowest item. ie, if you have a 3.0 USB Drive in a 2.0 Port, it will run at "2.0 Speed" and a 2.0 USB Drive in a 3.0 Port will run at "2.0 Speed" so you won't get the benefit of that 3.0 Drive you are buying.

 

[Pyree]

Yes. Unless your USB 3.0 device draws more than 500mA that USB 2.0 specified. But I haven't encounter such 2.5" USB 3.0 portable HDD yet. And if you really do run into trouble powering up the device, you can use a Y split cable and draw current from another USB port.

 

[xXDahChubChubXx]

year you can stick usb 3.0 in 2.0 and vis versa

note if you plug them 2.0 into 3.0 transfer speeds might be slower and vis versa

^This. The transfer speed will always be the speed of the slowest item. ie, if you have a 3.0 USB Drive in a 2.0 Port, it will run at "2.0 Speed" and a 2.0 USB Drive in a 3.0 Port will run at "2.0 Speed" so you won't get the benefit of that 3.0 Drive you are buying.

i thought it would be slower cause i was transfering photos onto my nans laptop and it was a USB 3.0 port and i was using a USB 2.0 USB and it took ages compared to normal USB 2.0 transfer speeds

 

[PyjamasCat]

i thought it would be slower cause i was transfering photos onto my nans laptop and it was a USB 3.0 port and i was using a USB 2.0 USB and it took ages compared to normal USB 2.0 transfer speeds

Pretty sure it will only go as fast as the slowest device will allow for, so it might be that her laptop has a slow HDD. (Or it has fragmented data etc...)