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USB Cable - how long

johnincrete

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Posted November 10, 2011 at 4:46PM

Is there a limit to how long a USB cable can be? Its for a web camera to laptop. Normally camera clipped to laptop lid but we want to use it in a classroom round a table.

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Ian in Northampton

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Posted November 10, 2011 at 4:54PM

I believe it's designed to be a maximum of 5 metres. Beyond that, performance may be adversely affected because of the length of time it takes signals to travel the length of the cable. It is possible to get 'repeater' cables, I think, that boost the signal part way along the cable length, but I can't speak to whether those work or not.

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Fruit Bat /\0/\

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Posted November 10, 2011 at 4:57PM

In practice, the USB specification limits the length of a cable between full speed devices to 5 meters (a little under 16 feet 5 inches). For a low speed device the limit is 3 meters (9 feet 10 inches).

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