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Since I got over the hurdle of buying cables and adapters, I've been mostly happy with USB-C. The one lingering concern is actually mechanical. Many of the cab

Since I got over the hurdle of buying cables and adapters, I've been mostly happy with USB-C. The one lingering concern is actually mechanical. Many of the cables/dongles are long and skinny relative to the tiny metal connector, placing a fair amount of torque on the port. A number of the cables I've used are poorly fitting as well, exacerbating the mechanical strain. A good example of this problem is the Yubi-4C. The connector protrudes about half a mm from the port and it has enough play to wiggle up/down/left/right. Having had to replace the logic board and I/O boards on my 2016 MBP 15 within 3 months due to port damage, I get a bit nervous when I notice fit problems like this. Aside from outright damaging the ports, poorly built cables seem to wreak havoc on the mechanism that grips cables on Apple machines. Prior to the board replacement, the Apple power cables would gradually come loose by their own weight. Fortunately, the Geniuses did agree that this was a problem and replaced the top case along with the guts of my computer.

ohazi 9y ago
We'll probably have to wait a while to see how it fares longer term, but so far I actually prefer the USB-C physical connector to Micro USB. I'm not entirely sure whether I prefer it over USB-A, but I also prefer it over an HDMI or full-size DisplayPort connector.
mchahn 9y ago
I've broken several motherboards and many cables over the years. It drives me crazy. The USB-C is the worst. I'm on my third cable now. At least I finally figured out to make sure I get USB-C chargers with removable cables. Now I only have to replace the cable, which I've done twice in the last month. The Dell XPS 13, which I'm getting in a week or so, has both a proprietary power jack and supports USB-C charging. I'm very happy that I won't be breaking many more USB-C cables.
- KitDuncan 9y ago
  Dells proprietary charger is the worst. They have a cable dedicated to insuring the use of original chargers, which appears to be especially prone to breakage. If it does, your XPS won't charge anymore, but it still gets power. I managed to repair my charger, but it was a real clusterfuck.
  - Namidairo 9y ago
    My oldish XPS and charger is a tad tempermental now in that it detects it as non genuine on occasion.
- basicplus2 9y ago
  Your problem is not with USB-C its with Dell, everything they sell that i have seen was rubbish, we had to replace the majority of screens and keyboards year after year and now we dont touch them with a barge pole now, i cant imagine they have improved.
  - lightedman 9y ago
    No clue why you're being downvoted. When I worked for Solectron Global, Dell and HP's repair departments were the absolute worst. Always backed up, always short on parts, always breaking mid-repair. Most frustrating job I've ever had, and a real eye opener as to the truly garbage nature of their products.
    - bittercynic 9y ago
      I've had a couple of recent XPS 13 laptops, and they seem pretty solid to me. I've seen plenty of crappy HP and Dell machines, but the good ones are pretty good.
packetized 9y ago
This doesn’t address your issues, but the Yubikey 4C Nano is absolutely stellar. Zero wiggle, and (so far) no fitment issues.
- smartbit 9y ago
  The Yubikey 4C Nano fits tight in the ports of a 2017 MBP. On the left ports it sticks out about half a mm, on the right ports it goes in all the way.
axaxs 9y ago
I definitely agree...but also with material wear. One thing I've never quite understood is the connectors of USB aren't made of a softer material than the ports. Even cars got this right in places many years ago on metal parts that touch one another. As is, i've already noticed a 'loosening' on a phone only a few months old.
- aidenn0 9y ago
  This was a major improvement of micro USB over mini-USB; the retention-clips on the male connector are sacrificial; this is why micro-USB cables die regularly, but micro-USB jacks rarely do. I don't have any USB-c devices yet, so I don't know how those will fare.
  - Ndymium 9y ago
    Not so sure about that. I've heard of so many problems with MicroUSB jacks on phones. It was a frequent issue with the Nokia N900 for example.
    - kpil 9y ago
      Yes. The proprietary connectors used by Nokia, Ericsson, etc, before USB where all "better" in the sense that the contacts were just pressed against each other, just like what used to be (?) on Ipads and Macs. I've killed a number of USB ports by walking away with or dropping the phone while it's connected.
    - akx 9y ago
      Oof, tell me about it. I still have a N900 that's otherwise in decent condition, but the MicroUSB charging jack is rattling merrily around inside the case...
metafunctor 9y ago
I have no idea what you're talking about. With my 2016 MBP, the USB-C connectors have had no mechanical problems. I plug in various dongles, connectors, and USB drives every day. I'm left wondering what one needs to do to physically break the ports – I'm not very careful!
zenojevski 9y ago
That's why I'd have loved for Thunderbolt to take off. It looks to be a much simpler and sturdier connector.
- photojosh 9y ago
  I've had a ton of problems with the TB2/miniDP port. I still use it for my display connection and GigE to both a 15" and 13" MBP, but it can be intermittent and flakey.
  - zenojevski 9y ago
    Sorry for the confusion. I meant the lightning connector (ie. the one being used on iPhones).
    - photojosh 9y ago
      Oh yeah, I agree with you there. I do have a few Lightning cables that have died, but I treat them as consumables anyway. I know it supports some form of USB3, but the display out is handled by having a h264 decoding dongle (!). It unfortunately doesn't have enough pins to really support the range of alternate modes and high data speeds of USB3.
ece 9y ago
I think this means reducing the size of USB for phones to mini, then micro, now Type-C shouldn't be applied to desktop and laptop systems where size isn't at a premium. If I'm connecting a 10TB USB HD or a Printer to my desktop, I want USB 3.1 Gen2 and a Type A/B connectors are just fine. If I'm charging my phone, I can be wireless or Type-C. Glad I didn't bother with Type-C on my desktop, or laptop (but did get USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A ports). And just got these connectors for when I need to transfer some data. https://www.amazon.com/TechMatte-Connector-Resistor-Approved-Standard/dp/B0151RKYBG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1508197875&sr=8-3&keywords=techmatte%2Btype%2Bc&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/TechMatte-Connector-Resistor-Approved...

ohazi 9y ago

We'll probably have to wait a while to see how it fares longer term, but so far I actually prefer the USB-C physical connector to Micro USB. I'm not entirely sure whether I prefer it over USB-A, but I also prefer it over an HDMI or full-size DisplayPort connector.

mchahn 9y ago

I've broken several motherboards and many cables over the years. It drives me crazy. The USB-C is the worst. I'm on my third cable now. At least I finally figured out to make sure I get USB-C chargers with removable cables. Now I only have to replace the cable, which I've done twice in the last month. The Dell XPS 13, which I'm getting in a week or so, has both a proprietary power jack and supports USB-C charging. I'm very happy that I won't be breaking many more USB-C cables.

KitDuncan 9y ago
Dells proprietary charger is the worst. They have a cable dedicated to insuring the use of original chargers, which appears to be especially prone to breakage. If it does, your XPS won't charge anymore, but it still gets power. I managed to repair my charger, but it was a real clusterfuck.
- Namidairo 9y ago
  My oldish XPS and charger is a tad tempermental now in that it detects it as non genuine on occasion.
basicplus2 9y ago
Your problem is not with USB-C its with Dell, everything they sell that i have seen was rubbish, we had to replace the majority of screens and keyboards year after year and now we dont touch them with a barge pole now, i cant imagine they have improved.
- lightedman 9y ago
  No clue why you're being downvoted. When I worked for Solectron Global, Dell and HP's repair departments were the absolute worst. Always backed up, always short on parts, always breaking mid-repair. Most frustrating job I've ever had, and a real eye opener as to the truly garbage nature of their products.
  - bittercynic 9y ago
    I've had a couple of recent XPS 13 laptops, and they seem pretty solid to me. I've seen plenty of crappy HP and Dell machines, but the good ones are pretty good.

packetized 9y ago

This doesn’t address your issues, but the Yubikey 4C Nano is absolutely stellar. Zero wiggle, and (so far) no fitment issues.

smartbit 9y ago
The Yubikey 4C Nano fits tight in the ports of a 2017 MBP. On the left ports it sticks out about half a mm, on the right ports it goes in all the way.

axaxs 9y ago

I definitely agree...but also with material wear. One thing I've never quite understood is the connectors of USB aren't made of a softer material than the ports. Even cars got this right in places many years ago on metal parts that touch one another. As is, i've already noticed a 'loosening' on a phone only a few months old.

aidenn0 9y ago
This was a major improvement of micro USB over mini-USB; the retention-clips on the male connector are sacrificial; this is why micro-USB cables die regularly, but micro-USB jacks rarely do. I don't have any USB-c devices yet, so I don't know how those will fare.
- Ndymium 9y ago
  Not so sure about that. I've heard of so many problems with MicroUSB jacks on phones. It was a frequent issue with the Nokia N900 for example.
  - kpil 9y ago
    Yes. The proprietary connectors used by Nokia, Ericsson, etc, before USB where all "better" in the sense that the contacts were just pressed against each other, just like what used to be (?) on Ipads and Macs. I've killed a number of USB ports by walking away with or dropping the phone while it's connected.
  - akx 9y ago
    Oof, tell me about it. I still have a N900 that's otherwise in decent condition, but the MicroUSB charging jack is rattling merrily around inside the case...

metafunctor 9y ago

I have no idea what you're talking about. With my 2016 MBP, the USB-C connectors have had no mechanical problems. I plug in various dongles, connectors, and USB drives every day. I'm left wondering what one needs to do to physically break the ports – I'm not very careful!

zenojevski 9y ago

That's why I'd have loved for Thunderbolt to take off. It looks to be a much simpler and sturdier connector.

photojosh 9y ago
I've had a ton of problems with the TB2/miniDP port. I still use it for my display connection and GigE to both a 15" and 13" MBP, but it can be intermittent and flakey.
- zenojevski 9y ago
  Sorry for the confusion. I meant the lightning connector (ie. the one being used on iPhones).
  - photojosh 9y ago
    Oh yeah, I agree with you there. I do have a few Lightning cables that have died, but I treat them as consumables anyway. I know it supports some form of USB3, but the display out is handled by having a h264 decoding dongle (!). It unfortunately doesn't have enough pins to really support the range of alternate modes and high data speeds of USB3.

ece 9y ago

I think this means reducing the size of USB for phones to mini, then micro, now Type-C shouldn't be applied to desktop and laptop systems where size isn't at a premium. If I'm connecting a 10TB USB HD or a Printer to my desktop, I want USB 3.1 Gen2 and a Type A/B connectors are just fine. If I'm charging my phone, I can be wireless or Type-C. Glad I didn't bother with Type-C on my desktop, or laptop (but did get USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A ports). And just got these connectors for when I need to transfer some data. https://www.amazon.com/TechMatte-Connector-Resistor-Approved-Standard/dp/B0151RKYBG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1508197875&sr=8-3&keywords=techmatte%2Btype%2Bc&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/TechMatte-Connector-Resistor-Approved...