USBs have become a vital part of our day-to-day life. The wide range of applications includes interfacing, power delivery, data storage, and many more. USBs are available in numerous standards, types, and sizes to meet the varying requirements of the industry. USB C is in the top demand in this category. In this article, we will discuss the features and pinout of USB C.
Features of USB C
- It was launched in August 2004 by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF).
- It supports high-speed data transfer up to 10Gbps and can handle up to 5A current and 100W power.
- The greatest advantage of USB C is that it is a rotationally symmetric connector.
That is, we don’t need to bother about the direction of inserting it into the port. Hence it is more popular among devices for data transmission and power delivery.
Read also: 10 USB Pinout Explained- USB A, B, C(Male and Female)
USB C Pinout
USB C is a 24-pin connector with a size of 8.4×2.6 mm. It is rectangular in shape with rounded edges. The pinout diagram of the USB C connector is shown in the figure below.
Since USB C is rotationally symmetric, the pin allocation for the male and female connectors remains the same. The pinout description is listed in the table below.
| Pin | Description | Pin | Description |
| A1 | Ground | B12 | Ground |
| A2 | Superspeed differential pair 1, TX, positive | B11 | Superspeed differential pair 2, RX, positive |
| A3 | Superspeed differential pair 1, TX, negative | B10 | Superspeed differential pair 2, RX, negative |
| A4 | Bus power | B9 | Bus power |
| A5 | Configuration channel | B8 | Side Band Use (SBU) |
| A6 | Differential pair 1, positive | B7 | Differential pair 2, negative |
| A7 | Differential pair 1, negative | B6 | Differential pair 2, positive |
| A8 | Side Band Use (SBU) | B5 | Configuration channel |
| A9 | Bus power | B4 | Bus power |
| A10 | Superspeed differential pair 4, RX, negative | B3 | Superspeed differential pair 3, TX, negative |
| A11 | Superspeed differential pair 4, RX, positive | B2 | Superspeed differential pair 3, TX, positive |
| A12 | Ground | B1 | Ground |
Looking for some best USB-C Adapters?
Pin Description
Among the 24 pins, there are:
- two pairs of ground pins(GND)
- two pairs of power pins(VBUS)
- two differential pairs(D+ and D-)
- four shielded differential pairs(two sets of TX and RX).
- SBU and CC pins are two special-purpose pins in the connector.
Let’s understand it in a bit more detail.
VBUS and GND pins
One pair of GND pins are located at either end of the connector. VBUS pins allow power delivery with a voltage of up to 20V, but the default voltage of VBUS is 5V.
D+ and D- pins
D+ and D- pins are used from USB 2.0 standards for high-speed data transmission. There are two pairs of D+ and D- pins which are located at the center of the connector.
TX and RX pins
The two sets and TX and RX pins are meant for Enhanced Super Speed data transmission.
CC
CC stands for channel configuration. The single pair of channel configuration pins handle the functions such as plug orientation detection, current advertisement, cable attachment, and removal detection and also manages the communication between Power Delivery and Alternate Mode.
Related to USB: What is Micro USB Pinout and Types (FAQs)
SBU
The SBU pair is used at low-speed signal paths while working in Alternate Mode.
The Alternate mode is an enhanced feature employed by USB 2.0. It incorporates third-party protocols like DisplayPort and HDMI using USB C.
