4 ms·

> USB-C is annoying and I don't like having to worry about about my cable frying my device. Yikes. I've never worried about that until reading this comment.

charwalker 4y ago
It hasn't been a major issue since the first few years of general use. Some people got burned and remember but not the other 99 cables that were fine. You should still by from a trusted or well reviewed source/manufacturer. My issue is the cheaper long cables I have all work but charging is not fast, just normal speed.
rektide 4y ago
You should not fear the FUD. There's incredibly miniscule danger. People buy shitty uncertified ultra-cheap USB cables by the millions & there's been next to no problems. Your devices will be fine. Almost all devices & chargers have quite good safety measures built in, so at worst, stuff doesn't charge. USB-C has such a loud hate-mob after it. And it's really just not bad. It really mostly is great.
- CubsFan1060 4y ago
  My two biggest complaints: 1). If I have 4 USBC devices, and 1 USBC port, how do I connect them? With previous versions I buy a $10 hub. There are literally zero options to accomplish this with Usbc ( if I am wrong I would love to know about it, this is actually a problem I have) 2). The cables. Some cables support certain data. Some certain power. There are no markings to give me any of this information at all.
  - kemayo 4y ago
    I think you can use something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Satechi-4-Port-USB-C-Hub-Compatible/dp/B09BNXMHSL https://www.amazon.com/Satechi-4-Port-USB-C-Hub-Compatible/d... ...albeit it'll only do data, and won't let you do P/D or video. My impression is that the cheap-hub product got a lot harder to make because of how much more USB-C supports, such that you need to caveat any cheap product (as I had to there), and the products that do support all the USB-C features wind up being full dock-type hubs that start at around $70.
  - mohaine 4y ago
    Have you done a google search for a usbc hub? The first result is 25$ but will solve your problem.
  - scott_s 4y ago
    It’s not cheap, but I’m happy with the OWC Thunderbolt Hub: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-hub https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-hub It has its own power supply. I have a USBC 14 inch monitor and a webcam plugged into the hub, and the hub plugs into my MacBook. The hub can power my external monitor, webcam and the MacBook.
- lamontcg 4y ago
  > Almost all devices & chargers have quite good safety measures built in Even chargers from ALLCAPS manufacturers on amazon?
  - rektide 4y ago
    Most of them will be incredibly fine, not harm a fly, and offer like 2x+ more value than where we were before with charging which also had lots of no-name replacement brands & hard to get $100 OEM chargers. While being completely intercompatible. It's just absurdly epic, in my book. Pick a completely random no-name brand it and there's like 98% chance it'll do the job fine, if you want a $30 100w charger for ex. In most cases, I would not be afraid to plug it in and find out. I expect some cheap chargers indeed probably won't be able to sustain full load, but I also expect they'll shutdown fine & not harm anything. It just seems unfair to try to reach into the absolute bottom-most reaches we can find to judge, and even if we do, I think most people would be impressed & shocked how little harm is done here. But more so, there's so many perfectly fine all-caps brands that do have thousands of reviews that seem either quite legit or mostly legit. Nekteck has a 100w gan charger you absolutely can do fine with for $40. PPS and multiport capabilities abundantly available at under $50? Can we not be impressed a bit here? Making 20V 5A & not messing causing damage is not the worlds wildest problem, even if you are cutting every corner you can.
    - lamontcg 4y ago
      I've definitely bought a charger off Amazon that later shit the bed and the NAS device it was powering wouldn't boot. I wound up buying a whole new enclosure off of ebay before determining that the power supply went just slightly bad enough to make it power up but not successfully spin up the drives or whatever and boot. It didn't burn down my house, but it caused me way more hassle and economic cost than its price was worth.
      - Zetobal 4y ago
        Nas enclosure from a shitty off-brand, powersupply from a shitty off-brand. User = that usb-c standard really sucks.
- eyelidlessness 4y ago
  I bought a garbage USBC cable and while it didn’t fry my device, it damn near got me in several car accidents. It was faulty and continually disconnected and reconnected for no apparent reason while I was driving. This meant losing navigation at total random, even when I needed information to make turns. I have no idea why a brand new cable would behave like this but after several scary interactions on the road I stopped trusting the standard and bought a better cable.
klodolph 4y ago
There were some devices that got bricked by USB-C cables a few years back. https://www.pcmag.com/news/poorly-designed-usb-c-cable-kills-google-engineers-laptop https://www.pcmag.com/news/poorly-designed-usb-c-cable-kills... > Leung, who has been testing USB-C cables and posting about them on Amazon(Opens in a new window), posted a one-star review(Opens in a new window) of Surjtech's 3M USB A-to-C cable. Why did it earn such low marks? It "seriously damaged the laptop computer I am using for these reviews, a Chromebook Pixel 2015, and two USB PD Sniffer devices (Twinkie)," he said. https://www.destructoid.com/after-the-mass-bricked-switch-situation-nintendo-explains-which-usb-c-cables-are-safe/ https://www.destructoid.com/after-the-mass-bricked-switch-si... > To further quell that fear Nintendo has provided a landing page that explains what’s safe — and it basically boils down to USB-A to USB-C with 56K OHM resistors. Bottom line? Don’t get cheap bargain bin cables and you “should” be okay according to Nintendo. Or you can just opt for USB-C to USB-C to be safe.
- bastard_op 4y ago
  Nintendo is a good example of vendors gone wild when it comes to usb-c and how to do it wrong, but so are raspberry pi's and many other vendors initially. Apple adding yet some another abomination to the mix after the dust almost settled, simply just to maintain some market relevance when it comes to selling overpriced dongles and power supplies. It is unwelcome in the current mess of usb-c as staying just the own bastard thing externally with lightning. Did the EU really change any of the waste or spend? No, just filled whole new landfills with lightning accessories. Everyone is still going to have to re-buy 4x $60-100 power adapters, a $50 headphone jack for usb-c, and most anything else the want to connect to it. If you share a household with (gasp!) android, then you still gotta keep a bin for the apple vs android/everyone else crap and/or label them.
  - ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
    > Everyone is still going to have to re-buy 4x $60-100 power adapters Belkin 65W 2-port PPS is like $50, and that is not going to fry your devices. > a $50 headphone jack for usb-c Even the Apple one is $10, and audiophiles have said the DAC in it is quite good. > If you share a household with (gasp!) android, then you still gotta keep a bin for the apple vs android/everyone else crap and/or label them. Not as of this fall.

charwalker 4y ago

It hasn't been a major issue since the first few years of general use. Some people got burned and remember but not the other 99 cables that were fine. You should still by from a trusted or well reviewed source/manufacturer. My issue is the cheaper long cables I have all work but charging is not fast, just normal speed.

rektide 4y ago

You should not fear the FUD. There's incredibly miniscule danger. People buy shitty uncertified ultra-cheap USB cables by the millions & there's been next to no problems. Your devices will be fine. Almost all devices & chargers have quite good safety measures built in, so at worst, stuff doesn't charge. USB-C has such a loud hate-mob after it. And it's really just not bad. It really mostly is great.

CubsFan1060 4y ago
My two biggest complaints: 1). If I have 4 USBC devices, and 1 USBC port, how do I connect them? With previous versions I buy a $10 hub. There are literally zero options to accomplish this with Usbc ( if I am wrong I would love to know about it, this is actually a problem I have) 2). The cables. Some cables support certain data. Some certain power. There are no markings to give me any of this information at all.
- kemayo 4y ago
  I think you can use something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Satechi-4-Port-USB-C-Hub-Compatible/dp/B09BNXMHSL https://www.amazon.com/Satechi-4-Port-USB-C-Hub-Compatible/d... ...albeit it'll only do data, and won't let you do P/D or video. My impression is that the cheap-hub product got a lot harder to make because of how much more USB-C supports, such that you need to caveat any cheap product (as I had to there), and the products that do support all the USB-C features wind up being full dock-type hubs that start at around $70.
- mohaine 4y ago
  Have you done a google search for a usbc hub? The first result is 25$ but will solve your problem.
- scott_s 4y ago
  It’s not cheap, but I’m happy with the OWC Thunderbolt Hub: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-hub https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-hub It has its own power supply. I have a USBC 14 inch monitor and a webcam plugged into the hub, and the hub plugs into my MacBook. The hub can power my external monitor, webcam and the MacBook.
lamontcg 4y ago
> Almost all devices & chargers have quite good safety measures built in Even chargers from ALLCAPS manufacturers on amazon?
- rektide 4y ago
  Most of them will be incredibly fine, not harm a fly, and offer like 2x+ more value than where we were before with charging which also had lots of no-name replacement brands & hard to get $100 OEM chargers. While being completely intercompatible. It's just absurdly epic, in my book. Pick a completely random no-name brand it and there's like 98% chance it'll do the job fine, if you want a $30 100w charger for ex. In most cases, I would not be afraid to plug it in and find out. I expect some cheap chargers indeed probably won't be able to sustain full load, but I also expect they'll shutdown fine & not harm anything. It just seems unfair to try to reach into the absolute bottom-most reaches we can find to judge, and even if we do, I think most people would be impressed & shocked how little harm is done here. But more so, there's so many perfectly fine all-caps brands that do have thousands of reviews that seem either quite legit or mostly legit. Nekteck has a 100w gan charger you absolutely can do fine with for $40. PPS and multiport capabilities abundantly available at under $50? Can we not be impressed a bit here? Making 20V 5A & not messing causing damage is not the worlds wildest problem, even if you are cutting every corner you can.
  - lamontcg 4y ago
    I've definitely bought a charger off Amazon that later shit the bed and the NAS device it was powering wouldn't boot. I wound up buying a whole new enclosure off of ebay before determining that the power supply went just slightly bad enough to make it power up but not successfully spin up the drives or whatever and boot. It didn't burn down my house, but it caused me way more hassle and economic cost than its price was worth.
    - Zetobal 4y ago
      Nas enclosure from a shitty off-brand, powersupply from a shitty off-brand. User = that usb-c standard really sucks.
eyelidlessness 4y ago
I bought a garbage USBC cable and while it didn’t fry my device, it damn near got me in several car accidents. It was faulty and continually disconnected and reconnected for no apparent reason while I was driving. This meant losing navigation at total random, even when I needed information to make turns. I have no idea why a brand new cable would behave like this but after several scary interactions on the road I stopped trusting the standard and bought a better cable.

klodolph 4y ago

There were some devices that got bricked by USB-C cables a few years back. https://www.pcmag.com/news/poorly-designed-usb-c-cable-kills-google-engineers-laptop https://www.pcmag.com/news/poorly-designed-usb-c-cable-kills... > Leung, who has been testing USB-C cables and posting about them on Amazon(Opens in a new window), posted a one-star review(Opens in a new window) of Surjtech's 3M USB A-to-C cable. Why did it earn such low marks? It "seriously damaged the laptop computer I am using for these reviews, a Chromebook Pixel 2015, and two USB PD Sniffer devices (Twinkie)," he said. https://www.destructoid.com/after-the-mass-bricked-switch-situation-nintendo-explains-which-usb-c-cables-are-safe/ https://www.destructoid.com/after-the-mass-bricked-switch-si... > To further quell that fear Nintendo has provided a landing page that explains what’s safe — and it basically boils down to USB-A to USB-C with 56K OHM resistors. Bottom line? Don’t get cheap bargain bin cables and you “should” be okay according to Nintendo. Or you can just opt for USB-C to USB-C to be safe.

bastard_op 4y ago
Nintendo is a good example of vendors gone wild when it comes to usb-c and how to do it wrong, but so are raspberry pi's and many other vendors initially. Apple adding yet some another abomination to the mix after the dust almost settled, simply just to maintain some market relevance when it comes to selling overpriced dongles and power supplies. It is unwelcome in the current mess of usb-c as staying just the own bastard thing externally with lightning. Did the EU really change any of the waste or spend? No, just filled whole new landfills with lightning accessories. Everyone is still going to have to re-buy 4x $60-100 power adapters, a $50 headphone jack for usb-c, and most anything else the want to connect to it. If you share a household with (gasp!) android, then you still gotta keep a bin for the apple vs android/everyone else crap and/or label them.
- ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
  > Everyone is still going to have to re-buy 4x $60-100 power adapters Belkin 65W 2-port PPS is like $50, and that is not going to fry your devices. > a $50 headphone jack for usb-c Even the Apple one is $10, and audiophiles have said the DAC in it is quite good. > If you share a household with (gasp!) android, then you still gotta keep a bin for the apple vs android/everyone else crap and/or label them. Not as of this fall.