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The biggest problem with all this is that it's very nearly impossible to tell what kind of cable you have most of the time. If you're lucky (or purchased wisel
by eitally 2y ago
The biggest problem with all this is that it's very nearly impossible to tell what kind of cable you have most of the time. If you're lucky (or purchased wisely), the cable will have it's type and class printed on it, but most don't -- certainly not OEM cables that ship with devices. And by now, most of us probably have a dozen or more USB-C cables of various sorts. Some of these may be TB cables. Some may even be TB4 cables. Some may even be data-only cables. But it's hard to keep track, and it's stupidly expensive to just replace everything every time a new standard is available [on one specific device].
- gyomu 2y agoHas no one made a nifty app that shows you what cable is plugged in to what port? Or is that not even technically feasible?
- benoau 2y agoThat's an interesting proposition, I'd love to see what a USB-C port is without a cable too instead of googling specs.
- sirn 2y agoNot an app, but some USB testers (e.g. POWER-Z KM003) can do this by reading an e-Marker chip on the cable. I'm not sure if there's a way to access eMarker purely through software without some sort of driver support, though.
- miahi 2y agoThe problem is that a cable saying that it's something does not mean that it actually conforms to the standard and can deliver that speed/power. And proper testing requires complex hardware.
- saurik 2y agoThat's true of every cable that has ever existed, including basic electrical wiring, and so feels like a separate problem than merely identifying what kind of cable a cable even intends/claims to be in a world where they all have the same shape connector: don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
- radicality 2y agoJust bought that tester two weeks ago! Labelling my cables now with type / speed / max power
- fnueiwfg923 2y agoThe ones I hate most are those cursed only-charging/no-data usb-c cables. Otherwise I just assume everything is USB2 unless it looks expensive. And all my thunderbolt cables right the thunderbolt version, not sure if that is universal though.
- crote 2y agoThe most annoying part is that there is actually a perfectly fine standard for labeling USB-C cables.[0] If a cable can transfer 80Gbps of data and 240W of power, it's supposed to simply have "80Gbps / 240W" written right on the connector. Some rare cables actually do this[1], but the vast majority of manufacturers just can't be bothered with it. [0]: https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/usb_type-c_cable_logo_usage_guidelines_20240903.pdf https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/usb_type-c_cable_log... [1]: https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Supports-Display-Transfer-Charging/dp/B09YM3V7NX https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Supports-Display-Transfer-Charg...
- HowardStark 2y agoIs there a robust library for good quality cables somewhere? I remember a few blog posts that did larger tear downs, but I’d love to just be able to go to a site that has validated cables and know with some confidence “this is a real TB5 cable”