this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2025
71 points (92.8% liked)

Ask Lemmy

27941 readers
913 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Apologies if the wrong community, if there's a better suited one, please point me to it!

But, I figure we all buy USB-C cables, and being a progressive group of folks maybe someone has a suggestion so I cause slightly less waste pollution and waste? Here's hoping!

Edit: Allrighty, apparently I'm just rough on all my usb cables OR you have all teamed up to prank me.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] remon@ani.social 23 points 5 days ago (2 children)

I don't think I've ever had to replace an usb-c cable, what are you doing with them?

Also since everything ships with either an usb-c-to-c or c-to-a cable (sometimes both), I have quite the stockpile of them.

[–] nek0d3r@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The cable in my car for Android Auto goes bad after a few months of use from the weather, I've gone through quite a few like that

[–] remon@ani.social 2 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Yeah, I've seen a couple of people mention that. Kind of makes sense with the big temperature differences in cars. But I don't drive, so no expirence with that.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 5 days ago

Yeah, they're like lighters... I will lose it before it actually breaks, 100% of the time.

[–] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 36 points 6 days ago (5 children)

I buy Anker cables and they hold up really well to my kid's cable abuse. They have a braided sheath around them.

[–] Empricorn@feddit.nl 15 points 5 days ago

Plenty of companies make solid cables now and Anker's Eufy camera controversy made me look to other options for cables and battery banks. Truly scummy while sacrificing their own users' privacy (and lying about it).

https://www.theverge.com/23573362/anker-eufy-security-camera-answers-encryption

[–] Death_Equity@lemmy.world 11 points 6 days ago

I also love my Anker cables. I have cables from them that are like 10 years old and I would still be using them if they were USBC

[–] KingJalopy@lemm.ee 7 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I bought my kid the magnetic kind where the but stays in your phone and the cable magnetically connects to it and it also rotates and whatnot. Doesn't charge fast but it's hella capable of her shit. Last phone port failed because she ripped the cord out all the time but now the important but just stays in the phone.

[–] Lauchs@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Ooooooh, this seems like a game changer. Apparently I am a middle aged child when it comes to cord removal.

[–] KingJalopy@lemm.ee 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

If you don't care about fast charge or data transfer they really are. Here's a link to the ones I bought

https://a.co/d/dwlnFQn

Highly recommend if you wear out cables. I'm guilty as well but I use Android Auto for work everyday so these do me no good but help my daughter immensely.

[–] Empricorn@feddit.nl 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

They can't transfer data? That's AUFU. But seriously, I use Android Auto every day as well, but the new work vehicle works with it wirelessly. Usually...

[–] KingJalopy@lemm.ee 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

They can prolly do some data transfer but won't make Android Auto work. I wish our trucks had wireless. Surprised they didn't honestly, they're all 2024 Mavericks. I need to get another wireless dongle thingy.

I know some of those magnetic cables can do it but they're much pricier than the ones I got for my kid.

[–] Empricorn@feddit.nl 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

My old work vehicle (Silverado) also only worked with wired Android Auto, but this one is a Ford Transit van.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Pretty sure I've got Anker cables from when they were the "no name generic" option.

They're probably the most recommended brand now for all types of cables and battery banks. It's kind of crazy

[–] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

Get in the game with inexpensive options, grow the business and reinvest profits to both expand and increase quality. The exact opposite of what we see with large companies once they hit the top of their respective markets.

Their charging and cable products are awesome and still a decent price. That's not to say Anker is perfect. They straight up lied about their Eufy security cameras. Sending unencrypted streams back to Eufy despite claims of offline local data storage.

[–] Lauchs@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

I think I'll try some of these braided cables with the magnetic bit someone was talking about. Thanks!

[–] aturtlesdream@lemmy.world 7 points 4 days ago

Anker! They are super good quality and have a phenomenal warranty/replacement program that's so easy to deal with

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 21 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I think the lesson to be learned from these comments is if all of your cords keep breaking, they probably aren't the problem.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] IDKWhatUsernametoPutHereLolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Anker branded cables

Get the braided ones

Edit: Lol someone else already said the same thing 😅

[–] gnomesaiyan@lemmy.world 8 points 5 days ago

Braided cables... swoon

[–] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 4 days ago

I used to think all my cables were broken and flakey but turns out my phone's port was failing :(

[–] 01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 16 points 6 days ago (4 children)

I don't think I've ever purchased one. The ones that came with my phones have always outlasted my phones, and I keep my phones for years. I may no longer have those old phones, but I still have those cables in my cable box (even those pesky USB micro-b). Maybe I'm too gentle with them haha

[–] Lauchs@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago (2 children)

That legit blows my mind. I'm not sure I've had a phone charging cable be effective for more than a year before I started having to jiggle it while standing on one leg facing East.

[–] dai@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

Cables tend to go bad if they are being bent at the point where the connector sheath meets the cable.

My wife is great at destroying cables - charging her phone while being in bed. I feel the next cable I'll buy her will be have a 90° connector.

[–] Interstellar_1@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

It might also be partially due to a buildup of dust inside of the phone's port. You can try carefully scraping in there with the end of a paperclip dipped in a little bit of rubbing alcohol when the phone is shut down. It takes a while but it really helped for me.

[–] Tywele@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 4 days ago

A wooden toothpick works just as well and you run less risk damaging anything.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] viking@infosec.pub 12 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I have cables that are 15 years old and still work. Not USB-C obviously, but A-A and A-B, but also some USB-C cables that are close to 10 years old now and came bundled with some OnePlus phone (the 3 I think?).

The key to not breaking cables is to not roll them up tightly. If you need to transport them, put them very loosely into a bag or something, and everything should be fine.

I'm using the cheapest 2m long cables I could find online, they don't fail if treated correctly.

load more comments (1 replies)

UGreen cables for charging (switched from Anker after Eufy shit)

CablesMatter for everything else (HDMI, Display port, usb for data, etc).

As with anything, you have to take care of it. Cables are fragile. If you're wadding them up in a ball, letting the cable bend at the connector funny or ripping the cable out, the cable will break eventually. Braided cables are more resistant to abuse, but not invincible.

xkcd: How to Coil A Cable

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 8 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I've never had one go bad?

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 5 points 5 days ago

I take that back, I had some cheap chinesium ones I got off Amazon die now that I think about it.

[–] Kaiyoto@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

I buy cables that have a braided wrap around them if I buy them at all. I've had so many come with phones and other crap. The only reason why I've bought a couple of others is because I needed some long ones.

[–] LucidNightmare@lemm.ee 6 points 5 days ago

Anker. Still have cables I got in 2018. I’m not rough with my stuff though, so take it as you will.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 6 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I'm not sure what you mean.

I haven't had a USB cable fail that I can recall.

Old USB cables won't support newer data rates and power transfer rates. But I don't think that you can do much about that, short of getting the highest-spec one at the time of purchase.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I guess it depends on what you mean by "reasonable". :)

The last batch of cables I bought were a) braided and b) had right angle connectors.

They've lasted long enough that I can't remember when I bought them.

[–] Lauchs@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

Ha, totally fair. Right angle connector, never thought about that...

I don't think I've had any wear out yet, but I also am gentle on them.

[–] Shadow@lemmy.ca 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I like the silicone ones. They're soft, super flexible and seem to hold up well.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] jakemehoff11@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

I got some VOLTME cables and a charging brick on aliexpress about 4 years ago that have been sturdy as a rock. They actually deliver 100W according to my laptop's charging icon.

They're braided and basically impossible to twist the wrong way. Here they are on amazon if you don't want to wait the 20-odd days for shipping from China.

https://www.amazon.com/VOLTME-Premium-Charging-MacBook-More-Blue/dp/B0C14CTC6M

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

IKEA cables. Been using the same one for over a decade.

[–] GBU_28@lemm.ee 4 points 5 days ago

I have usb c cables in daily rotation for years. Usba for a decade or more, I think they're structural parts of the house now

[–] Max_P@lemmy.max-p.me 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

The only USB-C cable that has failed me is the one for Android Auto in the car and it's never worked quite right in the first place. That's what I get for being impatient and buying overpriced cheap cables from Microcenter.

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I found a USB dongle that enables wireless Android Auto even if your radio doesn't support it. Huge game changer.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 4 points 6 days ago

I got some cheap shit in a bundle that actually meets the spec requirements I wanted and they are sturdy as fuck too. They don't have a brand name on them, and came without any packaging. They've been better than any other USB-C cables I've ever owned. I wish I knew who made them so I could get more if I ever needed. 😮‍💨

[–] BudgetBandit@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 days ago

I got that Microsoft Nokia Lumia dock back in the days. It came with 2 thunderbolt 3 USB C to USB C cables. I still use them. They are the best cables I ever owned. I love these cables. They are the best cables in the world. They are so good, they make other cables look like waste products. [Trump mode off] they even are bitter coated.

BUT: I’ve also owned iPhones since the X and the very first cable still looks new despite being the only source of internet my gaming PC has.

[–] QuarterSwede@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

JSAUX makes the most durable. I have 3 kids that are hard on them. Nothing else has lasted as long as those.

[–] Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

https://www.cablecreation.com/collections/cable

I've had a pair of 6ft braided USB-C to USB-C cables from these guys that have lasted me 5+ years of daily use.

One of the 4 connections has gotten a little loose, but other than that they've held up great.

[–] Gerudo@lemm.ee 3 points 5 days ago

I've never had an issue with any usb cables I use inside. I have, however, had many problems with USB cables used in my vehicles. It's got to be something with the extreme heat in the summer.

[–] Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 days ago

As others have said: Anker. Tried and tested.

load more comments
view more: next ›