How to fix USB 3.0 bandwidth and connection issues

Last updated: October 23, 2026

The USB stereo cameras (ZED 2i and ZED Mini) are UVC-compatible USB 3.0 cameras. They are automatically recognized by Windows and Linux, which ship with a built-in UVC driver.

If your system does not recognize the camera, or if the camera feed appears choppy or drops frames, try the following methods.

Check the connection with ZED Diagnostic

Run the ZED Diagnostic tool, installed with the ZED SDK: it checks the camera connection, the USB link speed, and the system configuration. On Linux, you can also run lsusb -t and verify that the camera is connected at 5000M (USB 3.0) and not at 480M (USB 2.0).

Try different rear ports

Plug the camera into another rear USB 3.0 port of your computer. Make sure that it is a USB 3.0-capable port; otherwise, the camera works in USB 2.0 backward-compatible mode with reduced resolution and frame rate. USB 3.0 Type-A ports can usually be recognized by a blue receptacle.

USB ports on the rear panel of a computer

Tips:

  • Avoid front panel USB ports. They usually provide less power and bandwidth than the rear USB ports soldered to the motherboard.

  • Prefer ports wired directly to the main USB host controller of the motherboard; ports driven by additional repeaters or third-party controllers may not deliver the full bandwidth.

  • Connect keyboard, mouse, and other low-bandwidth devices to USB 2.0 ports, so they do not share the bandwidth with the camera.

Remove hubs and extension cables

Remove any USB hub or extension cable, and plug the camera directly into the computer. Remove other USB devices that may be sharing the USB bandwidth. If you need a longer connection, use the ZED 2i USB 3.0 cables with locking screws (up to 10 m), or active cables and hubs with their own external power supply; see Can I use the ZED camera with a USB 3 extension cable?

Check the USB bandwidth of your system

If the camera is not detected or drops frames, the available bandwidth of your USB 3.0 ports may be insufficient. Multiple ports can share the same controller and bandwidth: disconnect all the other devices from your USB ports to diagnose bandwidth bottlenecks. When using multiple cameras, connect each camera to a different USB controller.

Add a USB 3.0 expansion card

You can add full-bandwidth USB 3.0 ports to your desktop computer with a PCI Express USB 3.0 host controller card, preferably with a dedicated controller for each port.

ZED camera connected to a PCI Express USB 3.0 expansion card

Check your OS

The ZED SDK supports Windows 10 and 11, Ubuntu LTS, and NVIDIA® Jetson™ Linux (L4T). See the ZED SDK release page for the list of supported versions.

Update drivers

If possible, download and install the newest chipset driver for your motherboard. If you have an Intel processor, the easiest way to update your drivers is to use the Intel Driver & Support Assistant.

Scan for hardware changes (Windows)

On Windows, use Device Manager to scan for hardware changes. After the scan, the camera connected to your USB port may be recognized.

  1. Open Device Manager.

  2. Click your computer name so that it is highlighted.

  3. Click Action, and then click Scan for hardware changes.

  4. Check if the camera is now detected.

Scan for hardware changes in Windows Device Manager

Power management (Windows)

Skipped frames may result from USB power saving. If none of the methods above solved the issue, you can disable the power saving of the USB root hubs. When this feature is disabled, USB devices continue to use power while connected to the computer.

  1. Open Device Manager.

  2. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.

  3. Right-click each USB Root Hub entry and select Properties.

  4. Open the Power Management tab.

  5. Uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.

  6. Press OK.

  7. Repeat for each USB Root Hub entry.

  8. Reboot the computer.

Windows privacy settings

On Windows 10 and 11, the camera privacy settings can prevent the camera from being opened by any program. Open Settings, go to Privacy & security (Windows 11) or Privacy (Windows 10), select Camera, and enable the camera access for the apps.

Windows camera privacy settings

Allow the camera in your antivirus software

Some antivirus software blocks access to the cameras for privacy reasons, which can also prevent the ZED SDK from opening the camera. Temporarily disable the antivirus to verify; if this solves the issue, re-enable it and add an exception for the camera in its settings.

If the issue persists, generate a diagnostic report and send it to support@stereolabs.com; see How to create a diagnostic file.