USBC has done something truly amazing. You used to be able to tell within reason what the capabilities of USB were by the connector or the color of the port. Now there’s dozens of options and there’s hardly anyway for you to tell what cable and port support what features.
Maybe your port and charger can throw out 20 volts at 3 and 1/2 amps. Maybe you can throw out 20 volts at 6 amps (dell) maybe your device doesn’t negotiate correctly and they say to only use an a-c cable
Don’t get me wrong, I love the port. Multidirectional, doesn’t really wear out, does have a tendency to get a little dirty though. Lightning was a little more forgiving on dirt.
Labeling on the ports are all vague labeling on the cables is non-uniform or not existent.
But, truth is they probably come up with half a dozen specs for USBC that half your it doesn’t support. And they’ll probably come out with God knows how many more before they Make a new connector.
Would have been nice for some kind of forethought on a labeling system.
But there’s so many combinations now of power, data, audio, and video, and sup glasses of thunderbolt, display port, HDMI. Even if you put a 4-digit code on every cable listing exactly what they support people would never be able to understand and track down backward compatibility.
I’d be surprised in the next port change if we don’t end up with some fiber optic in there.
What bothers me is all these testers assume you are a USB hardware wizard and know which pin combo supports which USB standard.
I want something that tells you how fast and how much power the wire can handle.
The newer cables have chips to talk to chargers to not exceed the power ratings. Why can’t these chips or testers also tell you how fast the wire can handle?
I thought I was smart going back to a video that featured two USB C cable testers. I onky watched the video and didnt check or paid attention what the brand was.
I don’t agree with the good ol’ days, beyond the blue connectors of USB3, there was no way of telling if a cable was charge only or data+charge. No way to tell if it was USB 1 or 2. If it was standard 0.5 amp or “fast charge”, up to 3 amps. There was a lot of different plugs, regular, mini, micro, A and B types.
It was extremely easy to determine if a cable carried data. If there were four wires/metal strips at the end it had data. If it was only the two fat ones it was power only.
Well, that covers my phone, but then 45 watts won’t run my laptop, and if I plug in my phone and my laptop, they only get 22 watts each.
Then the cable: Can it be used for data transmission? What speeds does it cover? Will it transmit data through a DisplayPort or HDMI? If I unplug it from the power and plug it into the USB-C on my monitor, will I get video?
There are so many features, and it’s not like you can just go ohh I’ll get this USB-4_g cable and know what it does. Even the webpage for the Rundhult has no mention of what features are supported other than 100w.
The whole spec is complicated AF. You could spend $100 on a brick/cable that can do either 100W or high speed, but if you only need part of the equation, you can spend $30 on a brick and cable. What they support is almost never enumerated, even on the packaging.
If I ever need a new one for such an extremely specific task, I´ll make sure to spend a few minutes to make sure I buy the right one. Takes a minute, but easy!
The Ikea one says it only supports 480Mbps, so that´s a no-no for video. Sad, but easy!
lol, no it’s not easy. You saying “easy” doesn’t mean it is in any sense of the word. Like the person you’ve been responding to before said, usb c can support many things and not support others. For example, USB C cables can literally be unidirectional! That sure isn’t listed because it’s assumed to work bidirectionally, but it’s not a requirement. I literally have a unidirectional usb c cable in fact.
Just cause it says 480 doesn’t mean jack when
You weren’t talking about this cable originally, you were making a claim about a cable that literally wasn’t mentioned in the article. I gave an example of a cable that directly disproved your comment in a facetious manner.
No consumer should be expected to know usb c standards (that’s literally the point of this conversation)
I was the one that mentioned the 100W Ikea cable as a cheap example to combine with that charger
Too bad if someone doesn´t want to know the tiniest bit about standards. They´ll have to get help if they don´t want to read the packaging or symbology. Meanwhile the rest of us can enjoy hooking up our phones to our laptop chargers or monitors without having to waste resources on unnecessarily complex cables
If you want to do something fancy like hooking up to your monitor, you´ll have to use the unusually sturdy cable that came with it or take 2 minutes to read about which cable you need
People can hate all they want on USB-C with all these details that may be technically true, but the only issue I’ve had in years is with chargers varying in power output and occasionally that means I try to charge something that either takes forever or never charges. It’s an edge case and I consider it a charger issue, not a cable one…
Life is definitely simpler now with USB-C being pretty standard, and Lightning cables can burn in hell. Those anti-standard bullshits have caused me to buy a dozen of them for friends and test devices (I’m a web dev) and yet I’ve never owned a mobile Apple product and never would. Fuck Lightning – cannot possibly say it enough. I’m glad the EU agrees.
that means I try to charge something that either takes forever or never charges.
That’s a pretty significant failure IMO.
I don’t want to go back, but I want shit be labeled and work. You go to bed and wake up to a 7yo on a trip with a dead device, you’re going to have a bad day.
But it’s not really a failure of the cable (typically, I know there are edge cases but I don’t think I’ve run into them recently). In a perfect world, it possibly plugging in means it works as expected I guess, but I think it’s a better tradeoff to expect users to know that some devices require a bit more power, and have a plug that still works universally. “This charger doesn’t have enough power” is easy enough to be understood by a 90 yo I would think.
Chargers should be labelled with the output they provide (mine are), but you are right, devices probably should be labelled better with what they require.
Did you know that USB C cables can be unidirectional? As in, they only work plugged in in one direction. You know how I know that? Cause I’ve soldered usb-c cables myself. I own one that only plugs in in one direction (and works)! I’m honestly very surprised you’ve only had issues with charging, do you not need them for data? So many of my cables are charging only, they literally do not function for data at all. It’s a nightmare.
USBC has done something truly amazing. You used to be able to tell within reason what the capabilities of USB were by the connector or the color of the port. Now there’s dozens of options and there’s hardly anyway for you to tell what cable and port support what features.
Maybe your port and charger can throw out 20 volts at 3 and 1/2 amps. Maybe you can throw out 20 volts at 6 amps (dell) maybe your device doesn’t negotiate correctly and they say to only use an a-c cable
Don’t get me wrong, I love the port. Multidirectional, doesn’t really wear out, does have a tendency to get a little dirty though. Lightning was a little more forgiving on dirt.
Labeling on the ports are all vague labeling on the cables is non-uniform or not existent.
But, truth is they probably come up with half a dozen specs for USBC that half your it doesn’t support. And they’ll probably come out with God knows how many more before they Make a new connector.
One day usb-C will be able to do my taxes and walk my dog
To solve the issue of identifying the capabilities of the cable: CaberQ.
Though a bit expensive for what it is.
Would have been nice for some kind of forethought on a labeling system.
But there’s so many combinations now of power, data, audio, and video, and sup glasses of thunderbolt, display port, HDMI. Even if you put a 4-digit code on every cable listing exactly what they support people would never be able to understand and track down backward compatibility.
I’d be surprised in the next port change if we don’t end up with some fiber optic in there.
https://caberqu.com/home/20-43-c2c-caberqu-746052578813.html#/27-with_or_without_case-with_case It’s not awful for price but there are more complete testers like treedix: https://treedix.com/
What bothers me is all these testers assume you are a USB hardware wizard and know which pin combo supports which USB standard.
I want something that tells you how fast and how much power the wire can handle.
The newer cables have chips to talk to chargers to not exceed the power ratings. Why can’t these chips or testers also tell you how fast the wire can handle?
I thought I was smart going back to a video that featured two USB C cable testers. I onky watched the video and didnt check or paid attention what the brand was.
They are, in fact, these exact two brands.
The CaberQ can do exactly that.
https://caberqu.com/home/39-61-ble-caberqu-0611816327412.html#/31-hard_shell_case-with_case/32-screen_protector-with_screen_protector/34-240w_40gbit_s_usb4_cable-with_usb4_cable
I’d buy one but they are sold out.
Turn out there’s even an app for Android and iOS. I was wondering how you got all that information in one screen shot.
I don’t agree with the good ol’ days, beyond the blue connectors of USB3, there was no way of telling if a cable was charge only or data+charge. No way to tell if it was USB 1 or 2. If it was standard 0.5 amp or “fast charge”, up to 3 amps. There was a lot of different plugs, regular, mini, micro, A and B types.
I agree with everything you say about USB-C tho.
It wasn’t better, but it was readable. I don’t want to go back, I want them to fix what we have now to be readable.
Here’s an idea, all C cables supporting any level of PD must have the specs stamped on both plugs.
I’m down with it, but it’s a lot
Wattage/transferspeed/displayport/thunderbolt/PD
Even the current icons don’t tell you more than speed these days
It was extremely easy to determine if a cable carried data. If there were four wires/metal strips at the end it had data. If it was only the two fat ones it was power only.
Ikea PD-PPS charger + Ikea 100W labeled cable = done.
Well, that covers my phone, but then 45 watts won’t run my laptop, and if I plug in my phone and my laptop, they only get 22 watts each.
Then the cable: Can it be used for data transmission? What speeds does it cover? Will it transmit data through a DisplayPort or HDMI? If I unplug it from the power and plug it into the USB-C on my monitor, will I get video?
There are so many features, and it’s not like you can just go ohh I’ll get this USB-4_g cable and know what it does. Even the webpage for the Rundhult has no mention of what features are supported other than 100w.
The whole spec is complicated AF. You could spend $100 on a brick/cable that can do either 100W or high speed, but if you only need part of the equation, you can spend $30 on a brick and cable. What they support is almost never enumerated, even on the packaging.
Your laptop will charge at 22 or 45W. Easy!
Cable will work for data at usb 2.0, as it says on the packaging. So it won´t work for video alt modes. Easy!
My monitor has an input cable that allows for maximum video resolution and maximum power delivery. I never need to take it out. Easy!
Which cable are you talking about? This one supports data and mentions nothing about alt modes. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/rundhult-usb-c-to-usb-c-black-white-20581106/
The one that came with my monitor. Easy!
If I ever need a new one for such an extremely specific task, I´ll make sure to spend a few minutes to make sure I buy the right one. Takes a minute, but easy!
The Ikea one says it only supports 480Mbps, so that´s a no-no for video. Sad, but easy!
lol, no it’s not easy. You saying “easy” doesn’t mean it is in any sense of the word. Like the person you’ve been responding to before said, usb c can support many things and not support others. For example, USB C cables can literally be unidirectional! That sure isn’t listed because it’s assumed to work bidirectionally, but it’s not a requirement. I literally have a unidirectional usb c cable in fact.
Just cause it says 480 doesn’t mean jack when
You weren’t talking about this cable originally, you were making a claim about a cable that literally wasn’t mentioned in the article. I gave an example of a cable that directly disproved your comment in a facetious manner.
No consumer should be expected to know usb c standards (that’s literally the point of this conversation)
480 Mbps has nothing to do with supporting video. This Reddit thread explains it way better than I can, but support for a feature in the cable has absolutely nothing to do with data transfer rate. https://www.reddit.com/r/UsbCHardware/comments/ji87mc/usb_32_gen_2_typec_monitor_compatibility/j5dohy5/
I was the one that mentioned the 100W Ikea cable as a cheap example to combine with that charger
Too bad if someone doesn´t want to know the tiniest bit about standards. They´ll have to get help if they don´t want to read the packaging or symbology. Meanwhile the rest of us can enjoy hooking up our phones to our laptop chargers or monitors without having to waste resources on unnecessarily complex cables
If you want to do something fancy like hooking up to your monitor, you´ll have to use the unusually sturdy cable that came with it or take 2 minutes to read about which cable you need
People can hate all they want on USB-C with all these details that may be technically true, but the only issue I’ve had in years is with chargers varying in power output and occasionally that means I try to charge something that either takes forever or never charges. It’s an edge case and I consider it a charger issue, not a cable one…
Life is definitely simpler now with USB-C being pretty standard, and Lightning cables can burn in hell. Those anti-standard bullshits have caused me to buy a dozen of them for friends and test devices (I’m a web dev) and yet I’ve never owned a mobile Apple product and never would. Fuck Lightning – cannot possibly say it enough. I’m glad the EU agrees.
That’s a pretty significant failure IMO.
I don’t want to go back, but I want shit be labeled and work. You go to bed and wake up to a 7yo on a trip with a dead device, you’re going to have a bad day.
But it’s not really a failure of the cable (typically, I know there are edge cases but I don’t think I’ve run into them recently). In a perfect world, it possibly plugging in means it works as expected I guess, but I think it’s a better tradeoff to expect users to know that some devices require a bit more power, and have a plug that still works universally. “This charger doesn’t have enough power” is easy enough to be understood by a 90 yo I would think.
Chargers should be labelled with the output they provide (mine are), but you are right, devices probably should be labelled better with what they require.
Did you know that USB C cables can be unidirectional? As in, they only work plugged in in one direction. You know how I know that? Cause I’ve soldered usb-c cables myself. I own one that only plugs in in one direction (and works)! I’m honestly very surprised you’ve only had issues with charging, do you not need them for data? So many of my cables are charging only, they literally do not function for data at all. It’s a nightmare.