One of the challenges of USB PD is that devices need to work correctly with any PD sources or sinks they might encounter. We frequently see shipped products that don't follow PD negotiations correctly. Testing your USB-powered device against a single charger is not enough!
For a format with "universal" in the name, USB can sometimes feel anything but with the variety of connectors and standards involved. Many in tech have hailed the recent shift towards USB-C as a standard connector as righting the ship and moving back towards simplicity.
But for those of us who use USB connections, we know that dream isn't quite a reality yet.
If you're looking for a guide to power delivery connector types, look no further. We're going to take a deep dive into the world of USB power delivery and explore different types of connectors. Different USB PD applications have different needs, so a USB-C PD connector will look a lot different from a USB 2 connector.
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) has become an essential component of modern computing, providing a standard interface for a wide range of devices. The latest iteration of USB technology, USB-C, offers several improvements over the previous generation of USB-A ports, including faster data transfer speeds, increased power delivery capabilities, and a reversible connector. Now being, one connector to rule them all, what happens when you plug in a USB-C cable or device? A key change with USB-C is the advent of a connection state machine.
USB Alternate Modes are a powerful feature of USB-C technology that allows for the transmission of video, audio, and other data formats outside standard USB across a USB-C connector. These alternate modes, such as Thunderbolt 4 and DisplayPort, are negotiated over the USB Power Delivery standard on the connectors configuration channel (CC line).
USB-C makes life easy for average consumers and users through two mechanisms: orientation agnostic connectors and automatic configuration. While these features are great for average users, they can make testing and validating USB systems complicated.