Google engineer finds most USB Type-C cables aren't built to spec

[HEXUS]

Many of the USB Type-C cables sold on Amazon could potentially damage your device.

Read more.

[Tabbykatze]

The white knights of the technology world!

[ik9000]

and altogether now, 1-2-3 "pay peanuts get monkeys" "you get what you pay for" "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is" "you don't get a rolls royce for the price of a corsa" etc etc.

Who'd have guessed that the cheapo cables aren't up to scratch? I mean that cheap camera lens was perfect wasn't it. No? That cheap lens cap. Yeah it broke. And that cheap card reader, and that cheap memory stick, and that cheap microphone and that cheap pair of shoes...

Cost vs quality choose which you want.

[DemonHighwayman]

Cost vs quality choose which you want.

I understand what your saying but spending more doesn't always get you a quality item these days. Just look at Apple, their computers price suggests they are the best product in the category but when compared to a similarly specced PC you quickly discover apple have thrown a few hundred extra on to the price for no better quality, just a plastic apple badge !

[Millennium]

I've had many micro USB cables that were out of spec, this doesn't surprise me. Good on this guy for calling it out on Amazon.

[ik9000]

I understand what your saying but spending more doesn't always get you a quality item these days. Just look at Apple, their computers price suggests they are the best product in the category but when compared to a similarly specced PC you quickly discover apple have thrown a few hundred extra on to the price for no better quality, just a plastic apple badge !

don't disagree, but on cables? Do you really expect that 99p HDMI from a 3rd party seller "genuin in UK, fast shipng" to give you a proper TV image compared to the shielded £9.99 one from a reputable seller?

[Lanky123]

Quality reviews like this are what's needed - knowledge is power and all that...

I think a lot of the cheapo sales on amazon/ebay are just because people don't read/trust the reviews (let's be fair, the average rating for *all* products on amazon is normally between 3.5 and 4.5 stars). If you buy the cheap one there's a limit to how far you can be ripped off as you're essentially guaranteed to get what you paid for (ie cheap tat). One authoritative review from someone who sounds knowledgeable and understands the concept of grammar is usually worth more than all the other reviews put together.

[spacein_vader]

don't disagree, but on cables? Do you really expect that 99p HDMI from a 3rd party seller "genuin in UK, fast shipng" to give you a proper TV image compared to the shielded £9.99 one from a reputable seller?

While I agree on that point sadly it's not a linear progression, no matter how sincere the likes of Chord sound when selling audiofools "high quality directional USB cables" for £1,900/m.

[DanceswithUnix]

don't disagree, but on cables? Do you really expect that 99p HDMI from a 3rd party seller "genuin in UK, fast shipng" to give you a proper TV image compared to the shielded £9.99 one from a reputable seller?

I think HDMI cables are a good example. I think some of mine were £3 from ASDA. One was £7 from Sainsbury's, a couple were on offer on Ebuyer (2m cable for £2.50), and some came bundled with cheap goods such as the NowTV box I bought on offer from Tesco for a tenner.

They all give a perfectly good picture.

[Tabbykatze]

I have a £2 2m HDMI cable and it works for HDMI v1.3c for 3D and gives a better image quality than the gucci £25 cable from Maplin or other similar places.

Maplin is a bad example, I used to work there and the prices are exorbitant.

[shaithis]

I have a £2 2m HDMI cable and it works for HDMI v1.3c for 3D and gives a better image quality than the gucci £25 cable from Maplin or other similar places.

Maplin is a bad example, I used to work there and the prices are exorbitant.

/facepalm

This is the reason there are snake oil salesmen around!

[cheesemp]

I think there are definitely bad cables in both the poor quality and the overpriced segments however the £3~£10 cables I buy have never let me down.

[crossy]

Kudos from me to this Googler for doing this.

But there's one point that's very worrying to me. With the current USB cables, the worst that can happen if you get a bad one is that the darn thing doesn't carry any current/signal. But this Type C issue seems pretty serious if choosing a "budget" cable runs the risk of actually causing damage to your kit.

I'm experienced enough to be deeply cynical if it was Monster or one of the other "boutique" cablers that had done this, but in this case it looks like some kind of personal crusade and even if it was officially sanctioned I don't see "Google" brand cables appearing. As it is I'm concerned, especially since "high end smartphone 2016" seems guaranteed to be sporting a Type C port.

PS, I steer clear of Monster cables since I bought an HDMI one (at £50) and the darned thing fell apart after three months. Not only that but the cheaper (£10 from Tesco) one I bought as a "temporary replacement" actually gave a better picture. And no I wasn't using the cable to beat the kids with or anything crazy like that.

[plexabit]

Cost vs quality choose which you want.

I understand what your saying but spending more doesn't always get you a quality item these days. Just look at Apple, their computers price suggests they are the best product in the category but when compared to a similarly specced PC you quickly discover apple have thrown a few hundred extra on to the price for no better quality, just a plastic apple badge !

I'm not a fanboy, but you have to realize that Apple products have excellent build quality--much better than most Windows products. The only ones that have really come close are the XPS line, the new Book line, and the Razer Blade--and what do you know? You're paying the same if not more.

I will say that if you want a high-spec machine, then Windows quickly becomes the better option as Apple has some really screwy scaling there.

Back on topic: This Google guy is my new best friend. Way to call out the fakes

[Myss_tree]

The law of diminishing returns applies ...
A £10 cable is going to be better (more often than not)than a £1 cable, but not neccesarily 10 times better.

[kalniel]

The law of diminishing returns applies ...
A £10 cable is going to be better (more often than not)than a £1 cable, but not neccesarily 10 times better.

It's micro-USB/gen 2 USB to USB-type C cables (ie adaptors) that are the problem here, not generic pass-through types like HDMI or whatever. Non-type C can't cope with the amperages of type C, so this is a real problem, but it's completely different from purely digital signal carrying cables, where £10 cable has no reason to be better than a £1.