3 ms·

- USB-C charger. I don't want yet another charger/adapter This for me is a downside as the USB-C landscape is a disaster of poorly-implemented designs. I'm les

- USB-C charger. I don't want yet another charger/adapter This for me is a downside as the USB-C landscape is a disaster of poorly-implemented designs. I'm less inclined to trust a USB-C adapter than a dumb USB adapter, and I would never plug a laptop charger into my phone. At least with dumb USB and micro-USB, you know you're getting 5 volts (excluding serious hardware failures). - my phone will still work in 5 years. No "oh the home button is broken" scandal. I'd argue the opposite, many Android phones are built to be as cheap as possible and their longevity is really hit and miss. If you want build quality, you need to buy flagship phones - my Galaxy S5 is still working after 5 years, sure, but many cheaper phones are just disposable; I'd have smashed several screens by now if I'd bought something cheaper. There's also the issue that most manufacturers give up on Android updates after 18 months; my S5 officially maxxed out at Android 6, but I'm running 9 via LineageOS. This means I get security updates to the OS, at least, but the low-level firmware has been abandoned by Samsung and if there are serious vulnerabilities, they won't be patched.

lytedev 7y ago
I use my laptop charger for my phone all the time. May I ask what has you scared to do so, because you have me concerned now.
- gargravarr 7y ago
  USB-C charging relies on negotiation between both sides. A laptop charger can supply 20+V if it determines there's a high-power device on the other end. I'm not particularly trusting that a cheaply-made power supply won't hit the wrong condition on a case statement and supply 20V to my phone. Implementing USB-C wrong seems to be a passtime of all major manufacturers now. Nintendo got it almost completely wrong with the Switch. The RPi 4 is also wrong, as it bridges two connectors that shouldn't be and identifies itself as an audio device to some adapters. The whole ecosystem is a farce and I wouldn't trust it as far as I could throw it.
  - mceachen 7y ago
    It's worse. Both sides need to negotiate properly, and the cable needs to follow specs, which many don't. Where micro USB has QC and QC2, there's a whole suite of PD (power delivery) and data protocols that cables may or may not support. https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/5/9674462/usb-type-c-google-engineer-third-party-cables https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/5/9674462/usb-type-c-google... is dated coverage of a Google engineer testing for out-of-spec cables. See also: https://twitter.com/laughing_man https://twitter.com/laughing_man.
    - Yizahi 7y ago
      I already encountered such cable. Red cables from Oneplus phones rated for dash charge tech (5V, 4A) won't charge regular phones (e.g. Samsung A8), despite being rated for higher current.
  - avian 7y ago
    > The RPi 4 is also wrong, as it bridges two connectors that shouldn't be Do you have a link or some more info on that?
    - gargravarr 7y ago
      https://www.scorpia.co.uk/2019/06/28/pi4-not-working-with-some-chargers-or-why-you-need-two-cc-resistors/ https://www.scorpia.co.uk/2019/06/28/pi4-not-working-with-so...
      - avian 7y ago
        Nice. Thanks a lot!

lytedev 7y ago

I use my laptop charger for my phone all the time. May I ask what has you scared to do so, because you have me concerned now.

gargravarr 7y ago
USB-C charging relies on negotiation between both sides. A laptop charger can supply 20+V if it determines there's a high-power device on the other end. I'm not particularly trusting that a cheaply-made power supply won't hit the wrong condition on a case statement and supply 20V to my phone. Implementing USB-C wrong seems to be a passtime of all major manufacturers now. Nintendo got it almost completely wrong with the Switch. The RPi 4 is also wrong, as it bridges two connectors that shouldn't be and identifies itself as an audio device to some adapters. The whole ecosystem is a farce and I wouldn't trust it as far as I could throw it.
- mceachen 7y ago
  It's worse. Both sides need to negotiate properly, and the cable needs to follow specs, which many don't. Where micro USB has QC and QC2, there's a whole suite of PD (power delivery) and data protocols that cables may or may not support. https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/5/9674462/usb-type-c-google-engineer-third-party-cables https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/5/9674462/usb-type-c-google... is dated coverage of a Google engineer testing for out-of-spec cables. See also: https://twitter.com/laughing_man https://twitter.com/laughing_man.
  - Yizahi 7y ago
    I already encountered such cable. Red cables from Oneplus phones rated for dash charge tech (5V, 4A) won't charge regular phones (e.g. Samsung A8), despite being rated for higher current.
- avian 7y ago
  > The RPi 4 is also wrong, as it bridges two connectors that shouldn't be Do you have a link or some more info on that?
  - gargravarr 7y ago
    https://www.scorpia.co.uk/2019/06/28/pi4-not-working-with-some-chargers-or-why-you-need-two-cc-resistors/ https://www.scorpia.co.uk/2019/06/28/pi4-not-working-with-so...
    - avian 7y ago
      Nice. Thanks a lot!