4 ms·

Are there often problems with these connectors? Asking because I bought a "broken" thinkpad very cheap and the only thing that doesn't work is the USB ports th

Are there often problems with these connectors? Asking because I bought a "broken" thinkpad very cheap and the only thing that doesn't work is the USB ports that occasionally stop working.

cjk2 3y ago
Yes very regularly. Also on Dell machines from experience. Yubikey wore out both USB-C ports on a dell 5550 in under a year.
- baq 3y ago
  Is it USB-C fault in general or a peculiarity of the Dell? I'd be rather pissed if that happened to any laptop and wonder what the precautions should be.
  - cjk2 3y ago
    I think it's a bit of both. The USB-C connector design isn't great. And some vendors have worse connector shells then others. Dell and Lenovo seem to have terrible ones. I haven't had any problem with Apple USB-C connectors or anything on Anker or Google Pixel devices. I really wish they did design USB-C in a way like lightning. It was very difficult to screw up a lightning port unless you were really determined. At most the connector blade would snap off in the device thus breaking the cheap end of the connector, not the expensive end.
    - baq 3y ago
      Thanks, feeling slightly better. Actually I really don't like lightning cables but thinking about it now what I actually don't like is how the cables themselves break. I had only slight issues with lint in ports which I needed to pick out with a toothpick, never had a connector snap off or anything like that, but the cables failed all the time regardless. Maybe if Apple weren't so stubborn about cable thinness we'd be in a different place right now.
      - cjk2 3y ago
        The cables were crap yes I agree there. But case in point my mother has my 2015 phone 6s. It’s been through me and two of my kids already. We are all violent simian creatures who spend a lot of time doing silly things outdoors. But the port is still fine. I don’t think this will be the case for my iPhone 15 with USB-C
- arkh 3y ago
  > Also on Dell machines from experience. Yup, current personal laptop: had to send it back for a motherboard change due to the USB-C not charging anything. One year later almost the same problem but this time one of the port is still working. Work latptop: exact same problem. USB port dead which necessitated a motherboard change. Dell makes really poor quality laptops nowadays.
PennRobotics 3y ago
I don't know your particular model or situation and what the root cause would even be, but I have had issues with the USB ports that were later fixed in firmware, or one port that would stop working after a BIOS update until I disconnect the battery and wait a few minutes. Others on the Lenovo forums have identical/similar issues and resolutions. I also had a functional laptop where they switched out the mainboard due to USB connector issues (which never showed up in BIOS tests). Lenovo's approach to USB is a mystery.

Are there often problems with these connectors? Asking because I bought a "broken" thinkpad very cheap and the only thing that doesn't work is the USB ports that occasionally stop working.

cjk2 3y ago

Yes very regularly. Also on Dell machines from experience. Yubikey wore out both USB-C ports on a dell 5550 in under a year.

baq 3y ago
Is it USB-C fault in general or a peculiarity of the Dell? I'd be rather pissed if that happened to any laptop and wonder what the precautions should be.
- cjk2 3y ago
  I think it's a bit of both. The USB-C connector design isn't great. And some vendors have worse connector shells then others. Dell and Lenovo seem to have terrible ones. I haven't had any problem with Apple USB-C connectors or anything on Anker or Google Pixel devices. I really wish they did design USB-C in a way like lightning. It was very difficult to screw up a lightning port unless you were really determined. At most the connector blade would snap off in the device thus breaking the cheap end of the connector, not the expensive end.
  - baq 3y ago
    Thanks, feeling slightly better. Actually I really don't like lightning cables but thinking about it now what I actually don't like is how the cables themselves break. I had only slight issues with lint in ports which I needed to pick out with a toothpick, never had a connector snap off or anything like that, but the cables failed all the time regardless. Maybe if Apple weren't so stubborn about cable thinness we'd be in a different place right now.
    - cjk2 3y ago
      The cables were crap yes I agree there. But case in point my mother has my 2015 phone 6s. It’s been through me and two of my kids already. We are all violent simian creatures who spend a lot of time doing silly things outdoors. But the port is still fine. I don’t think this will be the case for my iPhone 15 with USB-C
arkh 3y ago
> Also on Dell machines from experience. Yup, current personal laptop: had to send it back for a motherboard change due to the USB-C not charging anything. One year later almost the same problem but this time one of the port is still working. Work latptop: exact same problem. USB port dead which necessitated a motherboard change. Dell makes really poor quality laptops nowadays.

PennRobotics 3y ago

I don't know your particular model or situation and what the root cause would even be, but I have had issues with the USB ports that were later fixed in firmware, or one port that would stop working after a BIOS update until I disconnect the battery and wait a few minutes. Others on the Lenovo forums have identical/similar issues and resolutions. I also had a functional laptop where they switched out the mainboard due to USB connector issues (which never showed up in BIOS tests). Lenovo's approach to USB is a mystery.