USB-IF Compliance Updates

Number of Updates: 11

Table of Contents
ID Updated Subject Reason Mandate Effective Date
154 November, 2023 Radio Frequency Interference System Level Test Procedure Required for Certification Address RFI in USB 3.2 Gen 1 Capable End Products. Required August, 2022

159 August, 2023 Complex Product Connect Timing Relaxation Allow for Complex Products and non-consumer facing products additional time to Connect if needed Informational August, 2023

119 January, 2023 USB Automotive Product Certification Requirements Address hole in automotive product certificaiton Required July, 2018

118 October, 2022 USB Type-C ECN BC 1.2 Clarification Engineering Change Notice Required October, 2022

148 March, 2022 USB Type-C Power Banks Certification Requirements Removing unnecessary and potentially confusing configurations of Power Banks Required April, 2022

114 March, 2022 Testing Flip-Ability of USB Type-C Products Clarification for USB Type-C Flip-Ability (Orientation) Testing Required June, 2017

136 May, 2021 USB 2.0 and USB3.2 USB-C Products Operating as a Sink Must Billboard when Insufficient Power is Received to Power Up. The USB Type-C Specification makes clear that alternate mode products and USB4 products must billboard. This update extends this requirements to USB 2.0 and USB 3.2 sink capable products that implement a USB-C connector Required May, 2021

102 December, 2019 Proprietary Charging Methods over USB Type-C is Prohibited Enforcement of Section 4.8.2 of the USB Type-C Specification Required July, 2016

121 February, 2019 USB-C(tm) Hubs without PD must run Bridge Class CV tests Bridge Class failures are warning when run on USB-C(tm) Hubs without PD Required February, 2019

106 January, 2019 Certified Connectors Required for Products Using the USB Type-C Connector Silicon and End-products must use certified connectors Required August, 2016

108 January, 2019 Gen 1 USB Type-C to USB Type-C must use an Emarker Gen 1 USB Type-C to USB Type-C must use an Emarker as stated in Table 3-1 of the USB Type-C Specification Required January, 2017

Proprietary Charging Methods over USB Type-C is Prohibited
Mandate: Required
Effective Date: July, 2016
As stated in section 4.8.2 of the USB Type-C specification, products implementing proprietary charging methods are not eligible for certification. Section 4.8.2 of the USB Type-C specification is restated below.

4.8.2 Non-USB Charging Methods

A product (Source and/or Sink) with a USB Type-C connector shall only employ signaling

methods defined in USB specifications to negotiate power over its USB Type-C connector(s).

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Certified Connectors Required for Products Using the USB Type-C Connector
Mandate: Required
Effective Date: August, 2016

All products implementing a USB Type-C connector must use certified USB connectors.

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Gen 1 USB Type-C to USB Type-C must use an Emarker
Mandate: Required
Effective Date: January, 2017

Table 3-1 of the USB Type-C Specification states that a Gen 1 USB Type-C  to USB Type-C cable must implement an Emarker. The initial certifications of Gen 1 USB Type-C to USB Type-C did not require Emarkers as Emarkers were not readily available in the market place. Now that Emarkers are readily available, the USB-IF is enforcing the requirement that Gen 1 USB Type-C to USB Type-C cables must implement an Emarker.

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Testing Flip-Ability of USB Type-C Products
Mandate: Required
Effective Date: June, 2017

The below test specifications reqruie testing in all orientations:

  • USB Type-C Functional Test Specification
  • USB 2.0, USB 3.2, and USB4 Electrical Compliance Test Specification

 

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USB Type-C ECN BC 1.2 Clarification
Mandate: Required
Effective Date: October, 2022

All USB Type-C Chargers shall advertise USB Type-C current of at least 1.5A and shall short D+ and D- together with a resistance less than 200ohms.

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USB Automotive Product Certification Requirements
Mandate: Required
Effective Date: July, 2018

All USB Type-C Car Chargers seeking certification, as well as automotive specific USB products which are directly connected to a 12V car battery (such as a cigarette lighter charger), must be tested at 3 different input voltages to simulate the wide range of input voltages that occur in an automotive setting. These voltages are 9V, 12.5V and 16V. This means that the compliance program must be run 3 times, 1 per input voltage.

Automotive specific USB products designed for use with regulated voltage sources are only required to pass at their defined input voltage.

At this time the USB-IF defines a USB Car Charger as a USB peripheral which interfaces specifically with a cigarette lighter receptacle.

 

 

 

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USB-C(tm) Hubs without PD must run Bridge Class CV tests
Mandate: Required
Effective Date: February, 2019

USB Hubs with USB Type-C(tm) downstream facing ports are required to run Bridge Class tests using USBCV. Any failures found are considered warnings when hubs do not implement USB Power Delivery on their downstream facing ports.

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USB 2.0 and USB3.2 USB-C Products Operating as a Sink Must Billboard when Insufficient Power is Received to Power Up.
Mandate: Required
Effective Date: May, 2021

USB 2.0 and USB 3.2 USB-C sink capable products must billboard if insufficient power is received to power-on.

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USB Type-C Power Banks Certification Requirements
Mandate: Required
Effective Date: April, 2022

 

A USB Type-C Power Bank is defined as an end-product rechargeable battery containing one or more USB Type-CŪ ports used only for the purposes of sourcing and sinking power.

 

The Table below summarizes the requirements surrounding USB Type-C Power Bank configurations:

 

 

DRP port(s)

Sink-only port

Source-only port(s)

Notes

A

1

0

1 or more

DRP port or Proprietary connector is clearly identified as the Sink port

B

0

1

1 or more

Sink port is clearly identified

C

1 or more

0

0

All ports can either Sink or Source power

D

0

0

1 or more

No USB Type-C sink-capable port.

 

 

Power Banks seeking USB-IF certification must adhere to the following requirements:

  • If a Power Bank Implements zero or one USB Type-C DRP capable ports, then the Power Bank may implement any number of dedicated USB Type-C Source ports
  • If a Power Bank implements more than one USB Type-C DRP capable ports, then all USB Type-C ports on the Power Bank must be DRP capable.
  • If a USB Type-C DRP port is not implemented, a Power Bank can have up to one dedicated USB Type-C Sink-only port and all remaining USB Type-C ports shall be Source-only ports.
  • A power bank may also contain Legacy USB connectors, such as a USB Standard-A connector, USB Standard-B connector, or USB Micro-B connectors. These ports will be tested based on their connector type.
  • A power bank may also use proprietary connectors for the purpose of charging, such as a barrel jack.
  • All ports must be clearly labeled to indicate their power capabilities. This is especially important if the power bank has multiple USB Type-C ports with a mixture of capabilities.

 

These requirements are defined to decrease user confusion by eliminating unnecessary configurations, such as a power bank with multiple USB Type-C Sink-only ports or a power bank that mixes multiple DRPs with source-only capable ports.

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Radio Frequency Interference System Level Test Procedure Required for Certification
Mandate: Required
Effective Date: August, 2022

Effective Immediately, the RFI System Level Test Procedure is required for all certifications of USB Type-C Gen 1 Host End Products and USB Type-C Gen2 Host End Products. At this current time the test is not applicable to USB Hubs and USB Peripherals.

 

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Complex Product Connect Timing Relaxation
Mandate: Informational
Effective Date: August, 2023

USB-IF allows complex products to take additional time to Connect (Connect refers to the USB defined electrical state). The USB 2.0 specification defines a maximum connection time of 1 second. This is extended up to 5 seconds for products that the USB-IF determines are complex products. During this 5 second period, products are allowed to pull up to 500mA. This includes both USB 3.2 capable products and USB 2.0 capable products.

 

To determine if your product is considered by the USB-IF as a complex product please email techadmin@usb.org.

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