USB 2 and USB 1 .... Help!

mandricardmandricard
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
To the geniuses: My trusted epson printer 980 finally gave up the ghost and I am looking to buy a new printer. However, all the printers I see seem to be only USB 2 compatible (specifically, I am looking at a canon pixma printer.)



Now, I have a sawtooth with only an old usb port... Can I get them to attach somehow? Do I need an adapter? A hub? can I use my old cable? Am I screwed?



I am confused by this stuff, never having experience with USB2 devices.... could someone explain?



Thank you for your help. I am feeling overwhelmed and old!



Hope Springs Eternal,



Mandricard

AppleOutsider





P.s. Doing more spelunking on the net, it looks like everything is backwards compatible, but will I need a special cable/adapter?



Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    regreg Posts: 832member
    No need for new cables unless the new printer does not come wth one. Most are A / B usb cables so your old cable should be good enough. I constantly use USB 2 devices on my older PB which only has USB 1.1.



    reg
  • Reply 2 of 4
    kingofsomewherehotkingofsomewherehot Posts: 4,180member
    A USB2 printer will work on a USB1 port ... just at a lower (11 MBps) bandwidth.



    This really doesn't matter with a printer though, they use very little bandwidth and USB1 provides more than enough.
  • Reply 3 of 4
    skatmanskatman Posts: 609member
    Quote:

    USB 2 compatible



    If the printer is USB 2 compatible ("compatible" being the key word). The connection is actually a USB 1.1. It's a little dirty marketing gimmick.



    If you wan a true USB 2, you need to make sure there is a "hi-speed USB certified" sticker somewhere on the box.
  • Reply 4 of 4
    wingnutwingnut Posts: 197member
    Everyone above is correct, it will work anyway. I just wanted to reinforce their statements.
Sign In or Register to comment.