diff --git a/can/interfaces/gs_usb.py b/can/interfaces/gs_usb.py
index 6297fc1f5..2169ded7a 100644
--- a/can/interfaces/gs_usb.py
+++ b/can/interfaces/gs_usb.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import logging
+from typing import Any
 
 import usb
 from gs_usb.constants import CAN_EFF_FLAG, CAN_ERR_FLAG, CAN_MAX_DLC, CAN_RTR_FLAG
@@ -12,17 +13,46 @@
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
+def _find_gs_usb_devices(
+    bus: int | None = None, address: int | None = None
+) -> list[usb.core.Device]:
+    """Find raw USB devices for gs_usb using auto-detected backend.
+
+    Unlike :meth:`GsUsb.scan`, this does not force the ``libusb1`` backend,
+    allowing ``pyusb`` to auto-detect the best available backend. This enables
+    support for WinUSB on Windows in addition to libusbK.
+
+    :param bus: number of the bus that the device is connected to
+    :param address: address of the device on the bus it is connected to
+    :return: a list of found raw USB devices
+    """
+    kwargs = {}
+    if bus is not None:
+        kwargs["bus"] = bus
+    if address is not None:
+        kwargs["address"] = address
+
+    return list(
+        usb.core.find(
+            find_all=True,
+            custom_match=GsUsb.is_gs_usb_device,
+            **kwargs,
+        )
+        or []
+    )
+
+
 class GsUsbBus(can.BusABC):
     def __init__(
         self,
-        channel,
+        channel: can.typechecking.Channel,
         bitrate: int = 500_000,
-        index=None,
-        bus=None,
-        address=None,
-        can_filters=None,
-        **kwargs,
-    ):
+        index: int | None = None,
+        bus: int | None = None,
+        address: int | None = None,
+        can_filters: can.typechecking.CanFilters | None = None,
+        **kwargs: Any,
+    ) -> None:
         """
         :param channel: usb device name
         :param index: device number if using automatic scan, starting from 0.
@@ -32,31 +62,41 @@ def __init__(
         :param can_filters: not supported
         :param bitrate: CAN network bandwidth (bits/s)
         """
-        self._is_shutdown = False
         if (index is not None) and ((bus or address) is not None):
             raise CanInitializationError(
                 "index and bus/address cannot be used simultaneously"
             )
 
         if index is None and address is None and bus is None:
-            index = channel
+            _index: Any = channel
+        else:
+            _index = index
 
-        self._index = None
-        if index is not None:
-            devs = GsUsb.scan()
-            if len(devs) <= index:
+        self._index: int | None = None
+        if _index is not None:
+            if not isinstance(_index, int):
+                try:
+                    _index = int(_index)
+                except (ValueError, TypeError):
+                    raise CanInitializationError(
+                        f"index must be an integer, but got {type(_index).__name__} ({_index})"
+                    ) from None
+
+            devs = _find_gs_usb_devices()
+            if len(devs) <= _index:
                 raise CanInitializationError(
-                    f"Cannot find device {index}. Devices found: {len(devs)}"
+                    f"Cannot find device {_index}. Devices found: {len(devs)}"
                 )
-            gs_usb = devs[index]
-            self._index = index
+            gs_usb_dev = devs[_index]
+            self._index = _index
         else:
-            gs_usb = GsUsb.find(bus=bus, address=address)
-            if not gs_usb:
+            devs = _find_gs_usb_devices(bus=bus, address=address)
+            if not devs:
                 raise CanInitializationError(f"Cannot find device {channel}")
+            gs_usb_dev = devs[0]
 
-        self.gs_usb = gs_usb
-        self.channel_info = channel
+        self.gs_usb = GsUsb(gs_usb_dev)
+        self.channel_info = str(channel)
         self._can_protocol = can.CanProtocol.CAN_20
 
         bit_timing = can.BitTiming.from_sample_point(
@@ -81,7 +121,7 @@ def __init__(
             **kwargs,
         )
 
-    def send(self, msg: can.Message, timeout: float | None = None):
+    def send(self, msg: can.Message, timeout: float | None = None) -> None:
         """Transmit a message to the CAN bus.
 
         :param Message msg: A message object.
@@ -139,7 +179,7 @@ def _recv_internal(self, timeout: float | None) -> tuple[can.Message | None, boo
         frame = GsUsbFrame()
 
         # Do not set timeout as None or zero here to avoid blocking
-        timeout_ms = round(timeout * 1000) if timeout else 1
+        timeout_ms = round(timeout * 1000) if timeout else 0
         if not self.gs_usb.read(frame=frame, timeout_ms=timeout_ms):
             return None, False
 
@@ -158,21 +198,22 @@ def _recv_internal(self, timeout: float | None) -> tuple[can.Message | None, boo
         return msg, False
 
     def shutdown(self):
-        if self._is_shutdown:
+        already_shutdown = self._is_shutdown
+        super().shutdown()
+        if already_shutdown:
             return
 
-        super().shutdown()
         self.gs_usb.stop()
         if self._index is not None:
-            # Avoid errors on subsequent __init() by repeating the .scan() and .start() that would otherwise fail
-            # the next time the device is opened in __init__()
-            devs = GsUsb.scan()
+            # Avoid errors on subsequent __init() by repeating the .scan() and
+            # .start() that would otherwise fail the next time the device is
+            # opened in __init__()
+            devs = _find_gs_usb_devices()
             if self._index < len(devs):
-                gs_usb = devs[self._index]
+                gs_usb = GsUsb(devs[self._index])
                 try:
                     gs_usb.set_bitrate(self._bitrate)
                     gs_usb.start()
                     gs_usb.stop()
                 except usb.core.USBError:
                     pass
-        self._is_shutdown = True
diff --git a/doc/changelog.d/2031.changed.md b/doc/changelog.d/2031.changed.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9d6bf79aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/changelog.d/2031.changed.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+make gs_usb use pyusb (allows WinUSB instead of requiring libusbK on windows) also timeout=None means foreever
diff --git a/doc/interfaces/gs_usb.rst b/doc/interfaces/gs_usb.rst
index 8bab07c6f..580a994fc 100755
--- a/doc/interfaces/gs_usb.rst
+++ b/doc/interfaces/gs_usb.rst
@@ -52,8 +52,10 @@ Windows, Linux and Mac.
    The backend driver depends on `pyusb <https://pyusb.github.io/pyusb/>`_ so a ``pyusb`` backend driver library such as
    ``libusb`` must be installed.
 
-   On Windows a tool such as `Zadig <https://zadig.akeo.ie/>`_ can be used to set the USB device driver to
-   ``libusbK``.
+   On Windows, WinUSB and libusbK are both supported. Devices with WCID (Windows Compatible ID) descriptors,
+   such as candleLight firmware, will automatically use WinUSB without any additional driver installation.
+   Alternatively, a tool such as `Zadig <https://zadig.akeo.ie/>`_ can be used to set the USB device driver to
+   either ``WinUSB`` or ``libusbK``.
 
 
 Supplementary Info
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 9eb4a41cd..8ed86e611 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ neovi = ["filelock", "python-ics>=2.12"]
 canalystii = ["canalystii>=0.1.0"]
 cantact = ["cantact>=0.0.7"]
 cvector = ["python-can-cvector"]
-gs-usb = ["gs-usb>=0.2.1"]
+gs-usb = ["gs-usb>=0.2.1", "pyusb>=1.0.2"]
 nixnet = ["nixnet>=0.3.2"]
 pcan = ["uptime~=3.0.1"]
 remote = ["python-can-remote"]
diff --git a/test/test_interface_gs_usb.py b/test/test_interface_gs_usb.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9f0e35534
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test_interface_gs_usb.py
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+"""Tests for the gs_usb interface."""
+
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+
+import pytest
+
+from can.interfaces.gs_usb import (
+    GsUsbBus,
+    _find_gs_usb_devices,
+)
+
+
+@patch("can.interfaces.gs_usb.usb.core.find")
+def test_find_devices_does_not_force_backend(mock_find):
+    """Verify that _find_gs_usb_devices does not pass a backend argument,
+    allowing pyusb to auto-detect the best available backend (WinUSB, libusbK, etc.)."""
+    mock_find.return_value = []
+
+    _find_gs_usb_devices()
+
+    mock_find.assert_called_once()
+    call_kwargs = mock_find.call_args[1]
+    assert (
+        "backend" not in call_kwargs
+    ), "backend should not be specified so pyusb can auto-detect"
+    assert call_kwargs["find_all"] is True
+
+
+@patch("can.interfaces.gs_usb.usb.core.find")
+def test_find_devices_with_args_does_not_force_backend(mock_find):
+    """Verify that _find_gs_usb_devices with bus/address does not pass a backend argument."""
+    mock_find.return_value = []
+
+    _find_gs_usb_devices(bus=1, address=2)
+
+    mock_find.assert_called_once()
+    call_kwargs = mock_find.call_args[1]
+    assert (
+        "backend" not in call_kwargs
+    ), "backend should not be specified so pyusb can auto-detect"
+    assert call_kwargs["bus"] == 1
+    assert call_kwargs["address"] == 2
+    assert call_kwargs["find_all"] is True
+
+
+@patch("can.interfaces.gs_usb.usb.core.find")
+def test_find_devices_returns_raw_usb_devices(mock_find):
+    """Verify that _find_gs_usb_devices returns the raw USB devices."""
+    mock_dev1 = MagicMock()
+    mock_dev2 = MagicMock()
+    mock_find.return_value = [mock_dev1, mock_dev2]
+
+    devices = _find_gs_usb_devices()
+
+    assert len(devices) == 2
+    assert devices[0] is mock_dev1
+    assert devices[1] is mock_dev2
+
+
+@patch("can.interfaces.gs_usb.usb.core.find")
+def test_find_devices_returns_empty_list_when_no_devices(mock_find):
+    """Verify that _find_gs_usb_devices returns an empty list when no devices are found."""
+    mock_find.return_value = []
+
+    devices = _find_gs_usb_devices()
+
+    assert devices == []
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index e635ec000..2e695f9e4 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ dependency_groups =
     test
 extras =
     canalystii
+    gs-usb
     mf4
     multicast
     pywin32
@@ -27,6 +28,8 @@ extras =
     canalystii
     mf4
     multicast
+    gs-usb
+    serial
     pywin32
     serial
     # still no windows-curses for py314
@@ -34,6 +37,7 @@ extras =
 [testenv:{py313t,py314t,pypy310,pypy311}]
 extras =
     canalystii
+    gs-usb
     serial
 
 [testenv:docs]