“Finished confusion”: on Windows 11, Microsoft finally banished the USB-C ports
USB-C ports of a Huawei Matebook X Pro. © Numériques
The days when a cable was plugged in USB-C Hopefully that it hopes that it manages the load, display or error -free data are counted. Microsoft has just announced that it will now impose a clear functional base on laptop manufacturers under Windows 11.
Objective: to end the jungle of connectors to blurring features. In a post published on its official blog, the Redmond firm details the new rules that will soon come into force via its hardware certification program.
Windows 11: Microsoft finally requires clear standards for USB-C and USB4
In a post published on May 29, 2025 entitled Ending USB-C Port ConfusionMicrosoft throws a pavement in the pond: 27 % of equipped PCs of USB 4 ports still display limited usage notifications. The reason? Features such as display or fast load are not activated by manufacturers, despite a USB-C port which, visually, promises everything.
Five minutes before a customer demo, I connect a 4K screen to a brand new PC. The screen remains black. The cable is compatible. The port too, apparently. But nothing works.
It is not an isolated error: it is the direct consequence of the absence of a strict standard in the implementation of USB-C ports. Two ports identical to the naked eye can, in reality, offer radically different capacities – from the simple USB 2.0 transfer to the complete management of a double 4K + diet + Thunderbolt display. This blur, Microsoft wants to eliminate it.
USB-C ports of a Dell XPS 14. © Numériques
With the 24 -hour update of Windows 11 and the new WHCP (Windows Hardware compatibility program) rules, the Redmond firm affirms two simple commitments:
- Any USB-C port on a certified PC must allow the load, data transfers and the connection of a screen.
- Any port announced as USB 40 GBPS will also have to manage the USB4, the PCIE, the Thunderbolt 3 docks, and the 4K double display at 60 Hz.
Table of features required by WHCP for mobile Windows systems. © Microsoft
For USB 3.0, the bar is a little lower, but remains demanding: between 4.5 and 15 W of load, and the native support of an external screen.
Each PC must pass a series of automated tests via the Hardware Lab Kit (HLK): signal, bandwidth, load, display, standby, recovery … The slightest failure blocks certification. Microsoft no longer leaves anything to chance: the pilots must be native, the certified chips, and the whole of the material compliant with the requirements of the USB implements forum (USB-IF).
Microsoft wants the consumer to be able to connect a screen, a dock or a battery without wondering if it will work. The idea is to transform the “USB universal” marketing promise in tangible reality.
With this new executive, the USB-C ports will gradually disappear from the market. The consumer can finally connect a screen, a dock, a charger … without wondering if it will work. The promise of a universal port finally becomes reality. Ultimately, this could even homogenize the experiences between machines, without you needing to search the technical sheets to understand whether a port manages the display or not.
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