Is it just me or do others also have problems with USB type C cables?

[Blantyre]

They tend to last me a month or two at most before I have to get new ones. Either they break or the charging comes painfully slow (to the point that the battery will even get weaker when you charge and use your device at the same time). I've tried getting more expensive cables (ones for R100 and more) and the same thing occurs.

Is it just me or is it the quality of the cables these days?

 

[Dave]

There were lots of problems with USB-C cables when they first launched, as in some actually being dangerous to use (for example, due to missing a 56k ohm resistor installed).

Lots of articles if you Google “dangerous usb-c cables”.
For example

Amazon clamps down on dangerous, laptop-destroying USB-C cables

USB-C cables that do not comply with the required specifications, which have been known to fry computers, smartphones and tablets, are now banned

www.theguardian.com

I still don’t wholly trust anything other than manufacturer cables and those from reputable firms like Belkin and Anker.

 

[Blantyre]

There were lots of problems with USB-C cables when they first launched, as in some actually being dangerous to use (for example, due to missing a 56k ohm resistor installed).

Lots of articles if you Google “dangerous usb-c cables”.
For example

Amazon clamps down on dangerous, laptop-destroying USB-C cables

USB-C cables that do not comply with the required specifications, which have been known to fry computers, smartphones and tablets, are now banned

www.theguardian.com

I still don’t wholly trust anything other than manufacturer cables and those from reputable firms like Belkin and Anker.

I had a lot of USB 2.0 cables but the problem with the phone battery decreasing even with the charging cable plugged in seems to have only started with USB-C.

 

[Dave]

I had a lot of USB 2.0 cables but the problem with the phone battery decreasing even with the charging cable plugged in seems to have only started with USB-C.

Maybe buy a branded cable from a reputable seller? Converting from GBP I’d expect it to cost you at least around R200. Be aware there’s a LOT of counterfeit cables eg Samsung out there. USB-C is a lot more complicated for power management than the older versions.

 

[Johnatan56]

Never had an issue, only cable I can think of is the old 10 pin apple one for iPad that the cable near the head frayed after 4 years, and then lightning from Apple, that one lasted two years, replacement is still fine now 2 years later but the tablet has way less usage than it used to have.


The charge decreasing can be brick at wall, cable or port on the phone damaged, or battery issue.

Note brown outs can also damage electronics like that, those happen most often when the power comes back after load shedding, it's when the voltage is too low. Keep the power off for 5/10 minutes after load shedding to avoid.

 

[Smuggy]

I hate them too... they just fall out if you look at them too long..

 

[Blantyre]

Issue resolved.

I bought a braided cable in December which is still going strong. It turns out braided cables are the way to go.

The R50 ones last about a month before breaking.

 

[SauRoN]

Between my four MacBooks, hand vacuum cleaner, portable compressor and a couple of HomePod never had any issue with USB-C anything.

It’s been quite the miracle actually.

But if you want a reliable brand of all things cable I’ve found the Ugreen products to be very good at a reasonable price.


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[Blantyre]

Between my four MacBooks, hand vacuum cleaner, portable compressor and a couple of HomePod never had any issue with USB-C anything.

It’s been quite the miracle actually.

But if you want a reliable brand of all things cable I’ve found the Ugreen products to be very good at a reasonable price.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I have a habit of breaking the rubber cords. The braided ones seem to be much more durable.

I've even broken original rubber cords so I don't think it will make a difference regardless of the brand.

 

[SauRoN]

I have a habit of breaking the rubber cords. The braided ones seem to be much more durable.

I've even broken original rubber cords so I don't think it will make a difference regardless of the brand.

Sounds like you are pulling them out by the cord instead of using the purposely designed strain relief area designed for the purpose.

I often see this complaint from people with Apple cables that apparently are terrible and fall apart all by themselves and yet in 20+ years of using Apple products I’ve never managed to do this.

You need to disconnect all cables using the strain relief, not by pulling on the cord itself.

Literally every cable is designed like this and will fail if you simply pull the cord, because by design it will then pull out of the socket connector. If you’ve ever put a cable together yourself or dismantled an existing one you’ll see how this works and why it would fail.

Even changing a simple 2-prong power connector to a 3-prong plug it’s obvious how it’s manufactured and would fail in time when just pulled on the cord instead of removed holding the connector section.

Braided ones I’ve not dismantled, but would imagine are bonded to the connector instead of the cable inside and therefore would put leverage on the connector itself and have a much lower change of failing. Purely going by assumption though.


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[DA-LION-619]

Issue resolved.

I bought a braided cable in December which is still going strong. It turns out braided cables are the way to go.

The R50 ones last about a month before breaking.

It’s simply, buy the cable with a lightning bolt on it.

 

[Johnatan56]

I often see this complaint from people with Apple cables that apparently are terrible and fall apart all by themselves and yet in 20+ years of using Apple products I’ve never managed to do this.

Disagree with your Apple comment there, it's really a luck of the draw there. I've had a lightning cable that is still from the original iPad Air that is still fine, but the one with the iPad 8th gen I think it was broke pretty quick with same person using it.

Apple's cabling really isn't that great though in regards to fraying due to bending, and I'd consider it a pretty normal use case where they went with form over function.

Have two after market ones that work fine as replacements that can handle the bending, issue is more you need to go through a lot of reviews and hope you didn't miss one with people complaining about it, with product having had to be old enough, and that manufacturing hasn't changed to cut costs.

Going off topic, I do wonder if steam deck will have an impact on tablet sales, since iPad as a mobile gaming device is actually great for e.g. Plane/ transit, will be minimal, just interesting.

 

[SauRoN]

Disagree with your Apple comment there, it's really a luck of the draw there. I've had a lightning cable that is still from the original iPad Air that is still fine, but the one with the iPad 8th gen I think it was broke pretty quick with same person using it.

Apple's cabling really isn't that great though in regards to fraying due to bending, and I'd consider it a pretty normal use case where they went with form over function.

Have two after market ones that work fine as replacements that can handle the bending, issue is more you need to go through a lot of reviews and hope you didn't miss one with people complaining about it, with product having had to be old enough, and that manufacturing hasn't changed to cut costs.

Oh I do agree the Apple cables are certainly more prone to wear than most if man handled a bit.

And they don’t like bending much as you say, the most worn one I have is in my car for use with CarPlay and the nature of it bending does make it seem to wear more, but that’s a bit different than the general issue of it breaking out at the connector because people pull on the cord rather than the strain protector.

Going off topic, I do wonder if steam deck will have an impact on tablet sales, since iPad as a mobile gaming device is actually great for e.g. Plane/ transit, will be minimal, just interesting.

I don’t think so.

People don’t buy iPads for games first, it’s rather a byproduct of already having one and then playing some games on it.

The Steamdeck is much more of a hardcore gaming device and I see it hurting something like the Switch more.


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[Johnatan56]

People don’t buy iPads for games first, it’s rather a byproduct of already having one and then playing some games on it.

I don't think you know some of the younger market, I know some who specifically got an iPad for playing games on while on the road to entertain kids. That's probably a few percent of iPad sales.

 

[SauRoN]

I don't think you know some of the younger market, I know some who specifically got an iPad for playing games on while on the road to entertain kids. That's probably a few percent of iPad sales.

I’m not saying nobody does it, just that it’s a very small part of the market buying it for that primary goal.

I think the Steamdeck is for the more hardcore gamer and work cannibalise that market in any way.


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[Paul Hjul]

The steamdeck might slice a fraction of net market share from the iPad but I don't think Apple are overly concerned. There is a fairly large market for whom the iPad is considered as a portable entertainment device and so the Steamdeck cuts in as another option, but this audience has also long considered android tablets and various phones in their mix. But let's say 5% of total potential iPad sales fall off the wagon to steamdeck, now you have to consider marketplace effect: tablet sales as a device class took a knock when Android failed to keep momentum in the device type and other forms of Linux tablets evaporated and Windows shifted. What the steamdeck does is it breathes life into the form factor, but it also shows the limitations. The iPad Pro is a different beast to their cheapest entry level iPad and there will be a class of users buying the steamdeck and a mac who wouldn't be buying an iPad anyway. Honestly I see the steamdeck therefore causing a class of people to consider the upgrade on the iPad that has been postponed, I also see a large number of parents whose kids want a steamdeck deciding to get them the "more versatile, more educational" iPad - the same thing happened at various points of console booms, Jnr's friends are getting a PS2 and his parents decide to get a new family PC. Added up the net effect is that while a group of entertainment users might be lost sales new groups are marketed to for cheap by the competitor. My money is that Apple marketing around iPad over next 12 months will focus on unique game opportunities and the versatility and family value of the device.

Where I would be very concerned if I was Apple is in making sure enough people get M1 macs paired with an Xbox or PS5 and steamdeck rather than decide to go full on Microsoft and exit the Apple ecosystem.

 

[Johnatan56]

this audience has also long considered android tablets and various phones in their mix.

Generally no, Apple has the best performance there, an iPad the best battery life for it. You can basically go iPhone, want a slightly larger screen, iPad Mini, else full iPad. Up until now, your choice was flagship Android, iPhone which was better for the price, iPads, and a switch. There is pretty much nothing else outside of extreme niche at high price tags.

 

[Paul Hjul]

Generally no, Apple has the best performance there, an iPad the best battery life for it. You can basically go iPhone, want a slightly larger screen, iPad Mini, else full iPad. Up until now, your choice was flagship Android, iPhone which was better for the price, iPads, and a switch. There is pretty much nothing else outside of extreme niche at high price tags.

My point is on the lower end - e.g. where the person buying is for a child or elderly relative, or where somebody is picking up a cheap extra device for media consumption.

 

[Moosedrool]

Running a Clarett 4 pre audio interface via usb 3 type C and haven't had any issues.

 

[Blantyre]

The Xiaomi braided USB C cables off Takealot are really good value for money replacements. They never fail to run fast charge.