Libra USB C

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by stumped

I bought, from Amazon, several cables which fit both.there a sort of double end so You can pull of the usb c bit to reveal a micro usb behind it, or vice versa. we have one in the car. My wife's phone now is usb c, but previous phone was not, and it's less confusing to have these cables than to double up.
Did not look at standards, just at customer reviews, and they have been fine so far.

Amazon call them 2 in 1 charger cables.

You will probably be horrified.

But for me , if there are no reviews saying that devices got fried, it's an acceptable risk

Can you post a link? Is it one of the cables that has an adaptor attached to it? If it's a true double-ended cable or a Y-cable, then it's said that they are not safe to use for 5V devices.

[stumped]

i tried to link but the link to my actual purchase bring up the wrong item
an amazon search for 2 in 1 charging cables will show several with the double ends
here's a similar one
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/CHOETECH-...9069155&sr=8-5

actually i made 2 similar purchases. the link to the other buy works, but it shows as unavailable.
Charger Charging Cable 2 in 1 Micro Usb And Type C For Huawei P20 P10 P9 P8 Mate 20 9 10 lite Pro Plus Honor 8 View 8X,Sony Xperia L1 L2 XA1 XA2 Plus Ultra XZ XZ1 XZ2 X Compact Premium

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/produc...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

they are not y cables in that you cannot use both ends at once. the C end pins connect via the B end and you remove it to use B

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by stumped

i tried to link but the link to my actual purchase bring up the wrong item
an amazon search for 2 in 1 charging cables will show several with the double ends
here's a similar one
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/CHOETECH-...9069155&sr=8-5

actually i made 2 similar purchases. the link to the other buy works, but it shows as unavailable.
Charger Charging Cable 2 in 1 Micro Usb And Type C For Huawei P20 P10 P9 P8 Mate 20 9 10 lite Pro Plus Honor 8 View 8X,Sony Xperia L1 L2 XA1 XA2 Plus Ultra XZ XZ1 XZ2 X Compact Premium

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/produc...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

they are not y cables in that you cannot use both ends at once. the C end pins connect via the B end and you remove it to use B

The first cable you linked I would not buy. Too many negative reviews. The second, maybe. Those types of cables are OK as long as the adapter is OK.

[stumped]

the 2nd one is one i actually bought, the first was just a "similar to" example.

with this sort of stuff you can find dozens of similar items at amazon , all from brands you have not heard of( probably re-brands all from same factory) and when you go back a few months later they are unavailable - their place has been taken by a few dozen "new" brands
it does make wise shopping tricky, since you can't always trust the reviews either
I just rechecked ( at UK ) but amazon basics don't offer a 2 in 1 cable.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by stumped

the 2nd one is one i actually bought, the first was just a "similar to" example.

with this sort of stuff you can find dozens of similar items at amazon , all from brands you have not heard of( probably re-brands all from same factory) and when you go back a few months later they are unavailable - their place has been taken by a few dozen "new" brands
it does make wise shopping tricky, since you can't always trust the reviews either
I just rechecked ( at UK ) but amazon basics don't offer a 2 in 1 cable.

I've tried to avoid those that have too many negative customer reviews. But there's hardly any that have none, so one still has to take a risk.

[stumped]

i always start with reading the 1 star reviews
if I am not scared off, i work up through the better ones , then decide whether to buy or not.
but yes, at some point you have to take a risk

[JSWolf]

With USB-C, you should not take the first cable you come across. You have to really look hard. UBS-C obviously stands for USB-Crap.

It's awful that a lot of cables can damage your equipment. This is why I prefer to avoid USB-C if at all possible.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by stumped

I hate the game of trying to put a reader back on charge ,in a dark room, with all the "which way up does it go " nonsense

I used to try colouring one side of the micro usb plugs to help, but there is no consistency in which way up the sockets get added to devices

I felt your pain! Then I bought a pack of these babies. Reversible micro USB. Each side is up: Reversible Micro USB Cables (if you buy this exact item, be warned, it's a three pack where each cord is a different length, small, medium and long. Needed that for the car, the nightstand and so-on)

[Tony556]

As someone who has designed some simple products with USB-C, what I can say is that the issue would mostly occur if the device tries to implement a fast charging mode by trying to talk to or sense the cables and power supply. If they follow the USB C spec properly, it will take in a maximum of 5 volts at 1.5 amps when using a "smart" supply (i.e. a Type C laptop/wall wart/portable charger). Or, if it's a simple A to C cable, it will only take the 5V a normal USB Port is supposed to supply.

Then again, I could be oh-so-very wrong. But in my personal experience, it's been fine as long as precautions are taken.

Besides, these devices are usually a bit on the pricier side, I think a few extra cents on the BOM to add an over-voltage protection on the USB Port shouldn't be that hard/expensive.

[Quoth]

Halloween luminous nail varnish on mini and micro sockets along the edge that corresponds to symbol on the plug. Colour in the symbol on the plug. My MS mouse has a raised bump on the symbol size, so I've also considered adding a stick on "jewel" on the gadget.
I've no USB-c gadgets; but USB-B, mini-USB, micro-USB, an Apple 4s with a USB-A cable, a USB-B with USB3 extra bit above and a micro USB with extra bit to the side for USB3.
I prefer micro-usb as a gadget, but the micro-USB has the USB2Go sense to work with a USB-A adaptor.

Really the only thing worse than the mess of USB and the fact it wasn't reversible, negotiation of current and peer to peer from the start is the Bluetooth stack. Never seen a reliable BT keyboard that works as well as proprietary RF using a USB dongle. Also Serial over BT seems dramatically unreliable compared to USB Serial.
The other USB issue is the evil use of USB HID mode that allows arbitrary SW execution. Use a charge cable with the data wires cut for safety with public charger sockets or unknown hosts.
Don't plug in that gift USB mouse that was sent to "Finance Director". Could install Trojan malware.

[Kolenka]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I would not buy it. It's too iffy. You have to be VERY careful when you buy a USB-C cable. There are some that do not follow the USB-C spec and because of that, you can get a cable that could damage your electronics

Cable Matters is one of the brands I've had a good experience with. But more to the point, the issue USB-C has brought to market is one around power delivery.

When going from a USB-C host to a non-PD client like the OP, that's actually one of the safer scenarios you can envision. The power rules of USB up to this point generally apply: 5V, 2.4A max (generally less). 3A with QuickCharge.

It's when you have a PD device as the client (say, a Google laptop), and use chump cables that break the specs that enable PD to work that things can and will go south.

USB-C without Power Delivery isn't the problem. But Power Delivery certainly creates some bad situations if the spec isn't followed. And I'd certainly lay blame on that on the USB-IF folks for creating a power delivery spec like this without pushing some enforcement/certification. The sheer amount of crud being sold on Amazon by third parties at this point don't help either. Even with certification, you'd have shady brands faking it on Amazon.