USB-A data transfer rate slow

Hello,

It is likely that your speed is limited by the drives you are transferring data on. The data speeds you mentioned seem about right for a USB 2.0 device, such as a 16GB USB-A thumb drive.

You may want to consider getting a device that supports USB 3 or newer if you are looking for faster speeds.

-Drake

Drake is correct, rather than using what you are get a dock that has a SD card reader or something that supports USB B or even better USB C.

You have a super quick iMac and a dog of storage device, the storage device is the problem.

rkaufmann87 wrote:

Drake is correct, rather than using what you are get a dock that has a SD card reader or something that supports USB B or even better USB C.

USB-B and USB-C are just different types of physical connectors, they are not versions of USB and while certain connectors are designed for certain USB applications, in and of theselves they don't determine USB transfer speed.

• USB-A connectors typically carry USB 2.0/1.1 signals but there are USB-A connectors that suppport USB 3.0
• USB-B connectors typically carry USB 2.0/1.1 signals but there are USB-B connectors that suppport USB 3.0. They are commonly used with printers and audio interfaces.
• USB-C connectors can carry USB 4, Thunderbolt 5, 4 and 3, USB 3.2, USB 3.1, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, and USB 1.1