4 ms·

I have USB-C cables that look the same, but some of them carry video and some don't. I have USB-C charging devices that will charge off of some cables, but not

I have USB-C cables that look the same, but some of them carry video and some don't. I have USB-C charging devices that will charge off of some cables, but not off the one that will charge my laptop. I now have a box of weird crappy cheap USB-C cables with taped-on notes that say which toys they'll charge. I never had this problem with previous USBs. If the cable fit in the port, it would charge and transfer data. Sometimes you needed a different cable or port or something to go faster, but they all basically worked.

smolder 3y ago
I don't own any Apple devices myself and don't even have a MBP through work anymore, but I do have a couple of Apple USB-C cables and a spare laptop charger, still. They conveniently seem to work with every kind of device for any use. Data, video, fast charging. However, I do have one other cable that won't do data. I think it came with a cheap charger I bought while travelling. I would certainly like it if there was a label saying charge only or something to that effect, on the incomplete cable.
joshstrange 3y ago
Yep, I've got USB-C cables that only operate at USB 2.0 speeds, drives me nuts. Though USB-A suffered from this same issue, even once we got USB 3.0 it was hard to tell what speeds it supported (3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.2 gen 2).
nucleardog 3y ago
Yeah, I don’t know how anyone can say this is not a problem. I’m sure there’s some deep technical reason why each cable does or doesn’t work, but as a user I have no idea why it’s the case or how I can figure out which cable will work where. I thought I was being smart ordering some decent Anker cables until I found out when trying to connect a display that they apparently they only support charging? And maybe USB 2.0 transfer speeds? So I went back looking to try and figure out what I needed instead. Depending on what the various devices involved support, I needed some variation of a thunderbolt cable (2, 3, or 4?) or a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type C or a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C. But then I’m supposed to know something about thunderbolt versus DP alt mode versus god knows what else none of which is clearly labeled or explained anywhere on the devices I’m trying to connect. But then there’s this handy table from Adafruit that says maybe not? https://learn.adafruit.com/assets/85323 https://learn.adafruit.com/assets/85323 — apparently only Thunderbolt supports video, or DisplayPort? And USB-C “full featured” cables are only for higher speed charging, not displays? Find 10 sites, get 10 different answers. Anyway, turns out a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C cable worked for this specific display. Why? No idea. Will it work elsewhere? No idea. I’ve been in the industry professionally for about 25 years now and I have no idea what cable I need to purchase and have no idea how to tell before I purchase whether it will work for a specific use case. I have no idea what non-technical people are expected to do with this besides try every cable they own and pray.
- shiroiuma 3y ago
  I have a Thunderbolt docking station for my laptop. There's no confusion about the cable, because the cable is permanently attached to the docking station. I just plug it into the laptop in the correct port (designated by the Thunderbolt logo). Are other docking stations not like this?

smolder 3y ago

I don't own any Apple devices myself and don't even have a MBP through work anymore, but I do have a couple of Apple USB-C cables and a spare laptop charger, still. They conveniently seem to work with every kind of device for any use. Data, video, fast charging. However, I do have one other cable that won't do data. I think it came with a cheap charger I bought while travelling. I would certainly like it if there was a label saying charge only or something to that effect, on the incomplete cable.

joshstrange 3y ago

Yep, I've got USB-C cables that only operate at USB 2.0 speeds, drives me nuts. Though USB-A suffered from this same issue, even once we got USB 3.0 it was hard to tell what speeds it supported (3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.2 gen 2).

nucleardog 3y ago

Yeah, I don’t know how anyone can say this is not a problem. I’m sure there’s some deep technical reason why each cable does or doesn’t work, but as a user I have no idea why it’s the case or how I can figure out which cable will work where. I thought I was being smart ordering some decent Anker cables until I found out when trying to connect a display that they apparently they only support charging? And maybe USB 2.0 transfer speeds? So I went back looking to try and figure out what I needed instead. Depending on what the various devices involved support, I needed some variation of a thunderbolt cable (2, 3, or 4?) or a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type C or a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C. But then I’m supposed to know something about thunderbolt versus DP alt mode versus god knows what else none of which is clearly labeled or explained anywhere on the devices I’m trying to connect. But then there’s this handy table from Adafruit that says maybe not? https://learn.adafruit.com/assets/85323 https://learn.adafruit.com/assets/85323 — apparently only Thunderbolt supports video, or DisplayPort? And USB-C “full featured” cables are only for higher speed charging, not displays? Find 10 sites, get 10 different answers. Anyway, turns out a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C cable worked for this specific display. Why? No idea. Will it work elsewhere? No idea. I’ve been in the industry professionally for about 25 years now and I have no idea what cable I need to purchase and have no idea how to tell before I purchase whether it will work for a specific use case. I have no idea what non-technical people are expected to do with this besides try every cable they own and pray.

shiroiuma 3y ago
I have a Thunderbolt docking station for my laptop. There's no confusion about the cable, because the cable is permanently attached to the docking station. I just plug it into the laptop in the correct port (designated by the Thunderbolt logo). Are other docking stations not like this?