Windows 11 gets massive USB4 2.0 speed boost

Windows 11 has added support for a new USB4 standard that doubles the speed available to a rapid 80Gbits/sec.

The speed boost comes courtesy of the KB5034848 update, which should be available now to all Windows 11 users. It doubles the supported speed of USB4 from 40Gbits/sec to 80Gbits/sec. In fact, in certain scenarios it could shuttle data at 120Gbits/sec in one direction and 40Gbits/sec in the other, using asymmetrical transmission.

Of course, you’ll need the relevant USB4 2.0 ports on your PC before you’ll see any speed increase, not to mention peripherals that use the new standard. There’s precious little hardware on the market at the moment, but the hope is that full support in Windows 11 will trigger a flurry of product announcements in the next few months.

High-end storage and displays are most likely to take advantage of those ridiculous speeds first, and you can probably expect a range of new hubs for laptops that increasing only come with a smattering of USB or Thunderbolt ports.

Port confusion: USB4 2.0 vs Thunderbolt 5 vs 3.2 Gen 2

If you’re looking to take advantage of the new speeds, be careful when buying new hardware. USB4 2.0 shouldn’t be confused with the earlier USB 3.2 Gen 2, which only offers a top speed of 10Gbits/sec. USB3.2 Gen 2×2 doubles the number of lanes available to hit speeds of 20Gbits/sec, but that’s still only a quarter of the speed available from USB4 2.0.

To confuse matters, there’s a Thunderbolt 5 standard in the works, which will also offer a maximum speed of 80Gbits/sec. Both USB4 Gen 2 and Thunderbolt 5 use the same USB-C connector to further muddy the waters.

USB4 2.0 also offers power delivery of up to 240W, but you’ll need to take care when buying cables to ensure they can deliver that amount of power. Lesser cables are only capable of 60W of power delivery.