{"id":3822,"date":"2019-06-14T20:08:06","date_gmt":"2019-06-15T03:08:06","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-03-11T13:33:34","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T20:33:34","slug":"3822","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/3822","title":{"rendered":"How do I use Vernier USB products with a computer or Chromebook having only USB-C ports?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some computers and Chromebooks only have USB-C or Thunderbolt ports and no USB-A ports. Such devices include all Apple MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models, as well as some Dell, HP, and Lenovo laptops. Many Chromebooks also have only USB-C ports.<\/p>\n

A USB-A port is rectangular and has been used for about 25 years. A USB-C port is much smaller than a USB-A and is distinct from a mini or micro USB port. Thunderbolt 3 ports are physically the same as USB-C and are compatible with USB-C, but they have additional capabilities.<\/p>\n

Computers and Chromebooks with only USB-C ports will require either an adapter or a native USB-C cable to use Vernier USB products. Whenever possible, we recommend using a native USB-C cable rather than an adapter.<\/p>\n

Vernier products come with cables utilizing USB-A for connection to computers and Chromebooks and, in some instances, charging. USB-C cables are sold separately. We offer the following USB-C cables for use with our products USB products:
\u25cf Mini USB-C Cable<\/a> (CB-USB-C-MINI<\/nobr>)
\u25cf Micro USB to USB-C Cable<\/a> (CB-USB-C-MICRO<\/nobr>)<\/p>\n

Which cable you need depends on the type of USB connector the Vernier product uses. Some products use a mini-USB connector, some use a micro-USB connector, and some use a standard USB connector. The table below identifies which cable will work for a particular Vernier product.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Product Type<\/th>\nVernier Products<\/th>\nAppropriate
USB-C Cable<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Sensor Interfaces<\/td>\nLabQuest 2<\/a> (LABQ2<\/nobr>), LabQuest Stream<\/a> (LQ-STREAM<\/nobr>), Original LabQuest Mini<\/a>1<\/sup><\/strong>, LabQuest<\/a> (LABQ<\/nobr>)<\/td>\nMini USB-C Cable<\/a> (CB-USB-C-MINI<\/nobr>)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LabQuest 3<\/a> (LABQ3<\/nobr>), LabQuest Mini (Model 2)<\/a>1<\/strong><\/sup> (LQ-MINI)<\/td>\nMicro USB to USB-C Cable<\/a> (CB-USB-C-MICRO<\/nobr>)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LabPro<\/a> (LABPRO<\/nobr>)<\/td>\nFull-size USB-B Cable<\/a> not sold by Vernier<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Go! Link<\/a> (GO-LINK<\/nobr>), EasyLink<\/a> (EZ-LINK<\/nobr>)2<\/strong><\/sup><\/td>\nUSB-A to USB-C Adapter<\/a> not sold by Vernier<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
USB-only
Motion Detectors<\/td>\n		Go! Motion<\/a> (GO-MOT<\/nobr>), CBR 2<\/a> (CBR2<\/nobr>)<\/td>\nFull-size USB-B Cable<\/a> not sold by Vernier<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
USB-only
Temperature Probes<\/td>\n		Go!Temp<\/a> (GO-TEMP<\/nobr>), EasyTemp<\/a> (EZ-TMP<\/nobr>)2<\/strong><\/sup><\/td>\nUSB-A to USB-C Adapter<\/a> not sold by Vernier<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spectrometers<\/td>\nGo Direct®<\/sup> SpectroVis®<\/sup> Plus Spectrophotometer<\/a> (GDX-SVISPL<\/nobr>), Go Direct\u00ae Emissions Spectrometer<\/a> (GDX-SPEC-EM<\/nobr>), Go Direct®<\/sup> Fluorescence\/UV-VIS Spectrophotometer<\/a> (GDX-SPEC-FUV<\/nobr>), Go Direct®<\/sup> UV-VIS Spectrophotometer<\/a> (GDX-SPEC-UV<\/nobr>), Go Direct®<\/sup> Visible Spectrophotometer<\/a> (GDX-SPEC-VIS<\/nobr>), Vernier UV-VIS Spectrophotometer<\/a> (VSP-UV<\/nobr>), Vernier Fluorescence\/UV-VIS Spectrophotometer<\/a> (VSP-FUV<\/nobr>), Vernier Emissions Spectrometer<\/a> (VSP-EM<\/nobr>)<\/td>\nMini USB-C Cable<\/a> (CB-USB-C-MINI<\/nobr>)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Original SpectroVis and SpectroVis Plus, Vernier Spectrometer and other Ocean Optics Spectrometers, Vernier Flash Photolysis Spectrometer<\/td>\nFull-size USB-B Cable<\/a> not sold by Vernier<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gas Chromatographs<\/td>\nGo Direct®<\/sup> Mini GC™<\/sup><\/a> (GDX-GC<\/nobr>), Mini Gas Chromatograph 2, Mini Gas Chromatograph<\/td>\nMini USB-C Cable<\/a> (CB-USB-C-MINI<\/nobr>)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Balances<\/td>\nOHAUS Balances (all models – OHAUS USB adapter cable also required, sold separately)<\/td>\nUSB-A to USB-C Adapter<\/a> not sold by Vernier<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Go Direct Sensors<\/td>\nAll Go Direct Sensors<\/a> (except Spectrometer and Mini GC)<\/td>\nMicro USB to USB-C Cable<\/a> (CB-USB-C-MICRO<\/nobr>)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

1<\/strong><\/sup>Which LabQuest Mini model do I have?<\/a><\/p>\n

2<\/strong><\/sup>EasyLink and EasyTemp require an additional Easy to Go! Adapter<\/a> (MINI-USB<\/nobr>) USB adapter to work with computers or Chromebooks.<\/p>\n

\n

For an overview of USB-C connections, see
http:\/\/arstechnica.com\/apple\/2016\/11\/the-complete-guide-to-living-a-new-fangled-usb-c-and-thunderbolt-3-lifestyle\/<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some computers and Chromebooks only have USB-C or Thunderbolt ports and no USB-A ports. Such devices include all Apple MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1252,6467,6167,6466,6465,6464],"class_list":["post-3822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-adapter","tag-mac-book","tag-macbook","tag-pixel-chromebook","tag-thunderbolt-3","tag-usb-c-usbc-usb-c"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3822\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}