Some of the USB Type-C ports on modern computers will let you charge your PC with up to a 240W power supply, transfer data at speeds as high as 80 Gbps, or connect multiple 4K displays. Others… do not.
That’s because some USB Type-C ports are USB 2.0 or USB 3.x ports, while others support USB4. And even within those categories, there’s some variation – the USB Implementers Forum doesn’t require every USB4 cable to support the fastest possible data or charging speeds, and video output is optional. But Microsoft is trying to clear up at least some of the confusion moving forward. The company has announced that it’s updating the Windows Hardware Compatibility Program (WHCP) to set minimum requirements for USB Type-C ports on mobile PCs (including laptops and tablets).
While Microsoft isn’t requiring every USB Type-C port to be support 40 Gbps+ speeds or 240W charging, the company is making many of the optional features mandatory.
In a nutshell, what you see in the table above is an explanation that in order to become a WHCP-certified computer, a mobile PC that has USB-C ports will have to let you charge your device with a USB-C cable and support USB DisplayPort Alt mode so you can connect at least one external display to your computer with a USB cable.
USB 3 ports that are labeled as supporting 5 Gbps or 10 Gbps speeds will also need to be able to supply at least 4.5 watts of power to connected peripherals, while 20 Gbps ports should be able to provide at least 7.5 watts. And USB 3 ports need to support video output to at least one external display.
USB4 ports, meanwhile, get a few extra features including Thunderbolt 3 compatibility, PCI Express tunneling support (for external graphics cards, NVMe drives, and other accessories), and support for at least two 4K/60 Hz displays. Ports labeled as supporting 40 Gbps or 80 Gbps speeds also need to be able to provide 15 watts of power or more to accessories… although that drops to 7.5 watts for tablets with USB4 ports.
While this is all good news for PC users moving forward, it’s not necessarily going to solve all the problems that are caused by the fact that the USB-C interface has become somewhat ubiquitous in recent years.
For one thing, this will apply to future WHCP-certified PCs, but there are already millions of PCs on the market that have USB-C ports that may not meet all of the new minimum standards.
For another, Microsoft has some influence over PC hardware – the company says “PC manufacturers are on track to achieve WHCP compliance across most systems in the coming years.” But having compliant ports only gets you so far – you may still have to sift through a bunch of cables that are lying around your home or office before you can find one that supports 240W charging or 4K/60Hz video output, for example.
