[RichardG] has observed a bizarre discrepancy – his Ryzen mainboard should have had fourteen USB3 ports, however in some way, solely uncovered 13 of them. Not like different mainboards on this lineup, it additionally occurs to have a USB-C port amongst these 13 ports. These two issues wouldn’t be associated in any means, would they? Seems, they’re, and [RichardG] exhibits us a grimy USB-C trick that producers pull on us for an unknown purpose.
On a USB-C port utilizing USB3, the USB3 TX and RX alerts need to be routed to 2 completely different pin teams, relying on the plugged-in cable orientation. In a correct design, you’d have a multiplexer chip detecting cable orientation, and routing the pins to at least one or the opposite. Seems, fairly just a few producers are selecting to wire up two separate ports to the USB-C connector as an alternative.
Within the intensive writeup on this drawback, [Richard] explains how the USB-C port should be wired, the way it’s wired as an alternative, exhibits telltale indicators of such a trick, and methods to verify if a USB-C port in your PC is miswired in the identical means. He additionally ponders on whether or not that is compliant with the USB-C specification, however can’t fairly discover a solution. There’s a stunning quantity of merchandise and adapters doing this actual factor, too, all of them desktop PC equipment – maybe, you purchased a tool with such a USB-C port and don’t comprehend it.
As a conclusion, he debates making an adapter to interrupt the stolen USB3 port out. This wouldn’t be the primary time we’re cheated in terms of USB ports – the USB2 units with blue connectors come to thoughts.
