4 ms·
There are "charge only" micro usb cables too; I hate them.
by mikepurvis 5y ago
There are "charge only" micro usb cables too; I hate them.
- myself248 5y agoI'd be fine with charge-only cables if there was a distinctive, mandatory, universally-honored way of indicating that. I deliberately carry charge-only cables when I anticipate encountering untrusted chargers, and I've designated all mine with a band of red heatshrink on both ends.
- Phrodo_00 5y agoThese are useful for charging in no security situations. You can connect your device to an untrusted port in a wall with a charge-only cable.
- gumby 5y agoIf they have an A connector at the other end they are easily identified by just looking how many contacts it has. These were made to save money but I found them handy for security reasons (no need for a USB condom).
- silasdavis 5y agoUSB condom. And now I know. Where can I buy a trustable one of these?
- mikepurvis 5y agoPretty easy to validate— you plug your device into a trusted computer first and it doesn't recognize it.
- gumby 5y agoFor Type A chargers they are readily available online and can be testing using the approach mikepurvis wrote in a comment parallel to this. Or you can make yourself a clunky one as it’s just two wires. I have seen them called “data blocker” or “secure charging cable” but what you want is one that is a female-to-male device so you can attach it to charging cables not just bricks. Type C is harder. I have one from the early days of Type C that doesn’t do PD so in the end it’s only useful for phones. I haven’t seen one that does Power Delivery.