Microsoft adds USB4 dedicated settings interface to Windows 11
This week, Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25314 to the Canary Channel, and Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23403 to the Dev Channel. It appears that in Build 25314, Microsoft has added a dedicated settings interface for the USB4 protocol.
USB4 is a new generation USB standard introduced by USB-IF in 2019, but it is currently slow to gain popularity, and there are not many devices that support USB4. In September 2022, USB-IF released USB4 2.0, but USB4 has not yet become popular, and USB4 2.0 is even less prevalent.
Image: Albacore
However, Microsoft’s addition of the USB4 settings interface in Windows 11 seems to be aimed at promoting USB4. According to the protocol description, USB4 has a minimum speed of 20Gbps and a maximum speed of 40Gbps, while USB4 2.0 has a maximum speed of 80Gbps. USB4 and USB4 2.0 devices can theoretically be managed in Windows 11.
The addition of a dedicated settings page allows users to view devices that support the USB4 + protocol in Settings, Bluetooth and other devices, and USB. However, it is still unclear whether there are any other functions available because there are still few PCs and devices that support USB4 simultaneously.
Users can use third-party software ViveTool (vivetool /enable /id:39305332) to enable this feature for testing, but there is no need to test it if they do not have any USB4 devices.
