That might not have been a symmetry problem per-say. It could be that the phone correct determined the orientation but a pin was dirty/broken so it couldn't be

That might not have been a symmetry problem per-say. It could be that the phone correct determined the orientation but a pin was dirty/broken so it couldn't be used. When flipping the cable around the pin in use changes to one that isn't dirty/broken and so it works fine. USB-C may have a ton of pins but that doesn't mean all of them are needed to charge so flipping it can move a broken pin into the unused pins.