HID Over I2C

[This documentation is preliminary and is subject to change.]

The HID protocol originally targeted human interface devices like: keyboards, mice, and joysticks. It was originally developed to run over USB. For Windows 8 Release Preview, Microsoft created a new HID miniport driver that allows devices to communicate over an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C bus).

The new HID miniport solution extends the HID protocol, beyond USB and Bluetooth, to support I2C devices. I2C is a simple but efficient protocol and has been used for over a decade in phone and embedded platforms. This protocol is supported in Windows 8 by an in-box KMDF driver named HIDI2C.sys.

This combined support for I2C over HID in the inbox driver, allows hardware manufactures to get their devices running quickly on windows without imposing the need to create a driver.

As Microsoft designs new versions of Windows which leverage system on a chip (SoC) architecture, the I2C bus plays a fundamental role for scenarios around these new HID devices.

Send comments about this topic to Microsoft

Build date: 4/28/2012