Universal Serial Bus or simply USB is a popular computer interface that we use to connect a variety of peripherals and devices. Some of the things that we connect using USB are Mice, Keyboard, Printers, Game Controllers, Audio Devices, and many more. Apart from computing devices (laptops, tablets, mobile phones), you can find USBs in cars, bikes, power banks, LED Lights, chargers etc. Depending on the type of application and need, there are several USB ports (USB Type A, Type B, micro-USB, Mini-USB, Type-C etc.). If you are working on anything related to USB, then a knowledge of the USB Pinout is crucial.
In this guide, let us take a quick look at the popular USB Ports and their pinouts. If you are interested in learning about different types of computers ports, then take a look at this 16 Different Types of Computer Ports guide.
A Brief Note on USB
Before the development of USB, we had to deal with separate ports for different types of devices. For example, mice and keyboards had PS/2 Ports, Modems has Serial Ports, Printers had Parallel Ports to name a few.
But with the introduction of USB, this has changed completely. You just need a single port to connect all the aforementioned and many other peripherals and devices to a computer.
From an end-user’s perspective, USB is an easy-to-use interface that supports many devices, is hot pluggable and no fiddling with configuration or settings. You plug-in a device and it just works.
All is not good and positive about USB. There are some negatives as well. For example, the main problem with USB is the different types of connectors it has for different devices (USB A, B, C, Micro, Mini etc.).
This is now changing with the development of USB Type C. We can use USB-C for data transfer, power and charging, connecting to displays, docking stations, etc. with a variety of devices (laptops, smartphones, tablets, computers, cars, external drives, power banks etc.). We believe that USB is finally living up to its “Universal” name with USB Type C.
Different Types of USB Ports
We can divide USB connectors and ports into three types: Type A, Type B and Type C. In both Type A and Type B, there are again three different sizes of connectors intended for different classes of devices. They are: Regular, Mini and Micro.
The connectors are also different based on the version of the USB i.e., USB 1.1 and USN 2.0 have a similar connectors and ports but when it comes to USB3.0, they are completely different. USB Type C sorted this whole mess with a single connector.
Before looking at the USB pinout of different USB ports, here is an image of all the USB Connectors.
Image
USB Pinout
Let us now take a look at the pinouts of different USB Ports. We are mentioning the USB Pinout only for the female side of the connection. The pinout of the male side will be identical except that it will be a mirror image of the female side.
USB 2.0
Type A
Image
| Pin Number | Name | Description | Color |
| 1 | VBUS | +5V | Red or Orange |
| 2 | D– | Data – | White or Gold |
| 3 | D+ | Data + | Green |
| 4 | GND | Ground | Black or Blue |
Type B
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| Pin Number | Name | Description | Color |
| 1 | VBUS | +5V | Red or Orange |
| 2 | D– | Data – | White or Gold |
| 3 | D+ | Data + | Green |
| 4 | GND | Ground | Black or Blue |
Mini-A
Image
| Pin Number | Name | Description | Color |
| 1 | VBUS | +5V | Red |
| 2 | D– | Data – | White |
| 3 | D+ | Data + | Green |
| 4 | ID | OTG (On-the-Go) Identification
Connected to Ground on Mini-A Port (Host) |
No Wire |
| 5 | GND | Ground | Black |
Mini-B
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| Pin Number | Name | Description | Color |
| 1 | VBUS | +5V | Red |
| 2 | D– | Data – | White |
| 3 | D+ | Data + | Green |
| 4 | ID | OTG (On-the-Go) Identification
Not Connected on Mini-B Connector (Device) |
No Wire |
| 5 | GND | Ground | Black |
Micro-A
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| Pin Number | Name | Description | Color |
| 1 | VBUS | +5V | Red |
| 2 | D– | Data – | White |
| 3 | D+ | Data + | Green |
| 4 | ID | OTG (On-the-Go) Identification
Connected to Ground on Type A Port (Host) |
No Wire |
| 5 | GND | Ground | Black |
Micro-B
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| Pin Number | Name | Description | Color |
| 1 | VBUS | +5V | Red |
| 2 | D– | Data – | White |
| 3 | D+ | Data + | Green |
| 4 | ID | OTG (On-the-Go) Identification
Not Connected on Type B Connector (Device) |
No Wire |
| 5 | GND | Ground | Black |
Micro-AB
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| Pin Number | Name | Description | Color |
| 1 | VBUS | +5V | Red |
| 2 | D– | Data – | White |
| 3 | D+ | Data + | Green |
| 4 | ID | OTG (On-the-Go) Identification
Connected to Ground on Type A Port (Host) Not Connected on Type B Connector (Device) |
No Wire |
| 5 | GND | Ground | Black |
USB 3.0
Type A
Image
| Pin Number | Name | Description | Color |
| 1 | VBUS | +5V | Red |
| 2 | D– | Data – | White |
| 3 | D+ | Data + | Green |
| 4 | GND | Ground (Power Return) | Black |
| 5 | StdA_SSRX– | Super Speed Differential Pair for Receiving | Blue |
| 6 | StdA_SSRX+ | Yellow | |
| 7 | GND_DRAIN | Ground (Signal Return) | None |
| 8 | StdA_SSTX– | Super Speed Differential Pair for Transmitting | Purple |
| 9 | StdA_SSTX+ | Orange |
Type B
Image
| Pin Number | Name | Description | Color |
| 1 | VBUS | +5V | Red |
| 2 | D– | Data – | White |
| 3 | D+ | Data + | Green |
| 4 | GND | Ground (Power Return) | Black |
| 5 | StdA_SSTX– | Super Speed Differential Pair for Receiving | Blue |
| 6 | StdA_SSTX+ | Yellow | |
| 7 | GND_DRAIN | Ground (Signal Return) | None |
| 8 | StdA_SSRX– | Super Speed Differential Pair for Transmitting | Purple |
| 9 | StdA_SSRX+ | Orange |
Micro-A
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| Pin Number | Name | Description | Color |
| 1 | VBUS | +5V | Red |
| 2 | D– | Data – | White |
| 3 | D+ | Data + | Green |
| 4 | ID | OTG Mode Detect | Dark Blue |
| 5 | GND | Ground (Power Return) | Black |
| 6 | StdA_SSRX– | Super Speed Differential Pair for Receiving | Blue |
| 7 | StdA_SSRX+ | Yellow | |
| 8 | GND_DRAIN | Ground (Signal Return) | None |
| 9 | StdA_SSTX– | Super Speed Differential Pair for Transmitting | Purple |
| 10 | StdA_SSTX+ | Orange |
Micro-B
Image
| Pin Number | Name | Description | Color |
| 1 | VBUS | +5V | Red |
| 2 | D– | Data – | White |
| 3 | D+ | Data + | Green |
| 4 | ID | OTG Mode Detect | Dark Blue |
| 5 | GND | Ground (Power Return) | Black |
| 6 | StdA_SSTX– | Super Speed Differential Pair for Receiving | Blue |
| 7 | StdA_SSTX+ | Yellow | |
| 8 | GND_DRAIN | Ground (Signal Return) | None |
| 9 | StdA_SSRX– | Super Speed Differential Pair for Transmitting | Purple |
| 10 | StdA_SSRX+ | Orange |
USB Type C
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| Pin Number | Name | Description | Color |
| A1 | GND | Ground Return | Tin Plated (Gray) |
| A2 | SSTXP1 (TX1+) | Super Speed Differential Pair #1 TX Positive | Yellow |
| A3 | SSTXN1 (TX1–) | Super Speed Differential Pair #1 TX Negative | Brown |
| A4 | VBUS | Bus Power | Red |
| A5 | CC1 | Configuration Channel | Blue |
| A6 | DP1 | USB 2.0 Data + | Green |
| A7 | DN1 | USB 2.0 Data – | White |
| A8 | SBU1 | Sideband Use | Red |
| A9 | VBUS | Bus Power | Red |
| A10 | SSRXN2 (RX2–) | Super Speed Differential Pair #4 RX Negative | Blue |
| A11 | SSRXP2 (RX2+) | Super Speed Differential Pair #4 RX Positive | Red |
| A12 | GND | Ground Return | Tin Plated (Gray) |
| B1 | GND | Ground Return | Tin Plated (Gray) |
| B2 | SSTXP2 (TX2+) | Super Speed Differential Pair #3 TX Positive | White |
| B3 | SSTXN2 (TX2–) | Super Speed Differential Pair #3 TX Negative | Black |
| B4 | VBUS | Bus Power | Red |
| B5 | CC2 | Configuration Channel | Yellow |
| B6 | DP2 | USB 2.0 Data + | Green |
| B7 | DN2 | USB 2.0 Data – | White |
| B8 | SBU2 | Sideband Use | Black |
| B9 | VBUS | Bus Power | Red |
| B10 | SSRXN1 (RX1–) | Super Speed Differential Pair #2 RX Negative | Orange |
| B11 | SSRXP1 (RX1+) | Super Speed Differential Pair #2 RX Negative | Green |
| B12 | GND | Ground Return | Tin Plated (Gray) |
Conclusion
USB is the most popular type of connector at the moment. With USB Type C, it is very close to achieving the true “universal” stature for data, power display and many more. In this guide, we saw the basics of USB, different types of USB ports, USB Pinout of different connectors and receptacles.
