Although various brands emphasize green, sustainability, and environmental protection, they hope that consumers will continue to use the charging transformers and USB-C cables they already have at home to charge mobile phones and other products. This concept is good, but there are also variables. Many people know that using old or cheap cables will slow down charging, but these lackluster cables can also cause damage to the device or put the user at risk. Let’s find out what this is all about.
iPhone is switching to USB-C! Can old or cheap cables harm your device?
Before you pick up a cable that hasn’t been used in years to charge your phone or transfer data to your computer, you may want to test it to make sure it’s safe to use. You can inspect or test existing wires in a variety of ways to decide whether to throw them away or keep them. When the wires are in normal condition, there are some appearance characteristics that you need to pay attention to. Just a few simple determinations can avoid the impact of bad wires on your equipment.
How a bad USB-C cable can damage your device?
We’re focusing on USB-C cables this time because unlike past offerings, USB-C is capable of delivering more power to devices, which means the stakes are much higher when something goes wrong. The chance of a USB-C cable damaging your device is slim, but not impossible. In the worst-case scenario, a broken wire could burn out the charging port, damage the battery, or even cause a fire. With a little awareness and making sure you’re using a high-quality USB-C cable, you can make sure you don’t end up becoming a cautionary tale in the news.
Not all USB-C cables are created equal
Many USB-C cables are capable of charging and transferring data between your phone and other devices. Top-end USB-C cables can transfer data at up to 10Gbps, while lower-quality cables can only transfer at 5Gbps or even 480Mbps.
Some USB-C cables are charge-only, which means they cannot transfer data between your smartphone and another device. When you find a cheap cable at an online store or an unknown small store, it may also be a charging cable. The main difference with these charge-only USB-C cables is how much charging power it can provide, with some supporting fast charging speeds of up to 100W, while others may only offer as low as 2.5W. Unless you still have the cable’s original packaging, it’s difficult to tell how much charging power the cable actually supports without a dedicated tool to test it.
To the naked eye, all USB-C cables look similar. Some are USB-C to USB-C, while others are USB-C to USB-A, which is the only cosmetic difference you’ll find. But not all USB-C cables are Thunderbolt cables capable of fast power and data transfer, and the only way to tell how capable a cable is is to buy a USB test device.
What impact will bad wires have?
If your phone doesn’t intelligently regulate charging, connecting your phone to a charger and cable with a higher power output is potentially dangerous. Guard features in many modern smartphones allow the phone itself to draw only as much power as it needs, but if it lacks this feature, your phone and even the cable can overheat while charging. This is increasingly less of an issue for cell phones, which have more complex charging circuits and protective software inside them, but it may be a bigger problem for cheap gadgets like off-brand speakers, flashlights, toys and other cheap devices. In the worst-case scenario, an overheated device could explode or catch fire. Cheap USB-C cables are made from low-cost, inferior components that may not retain heat or stability well, so these cables present an additional risk of overheating.
Using a USB-C cable to provide too much charging power to a device with low requirements can also damage that device’s battery. Likewise, modern smartphones have built-in protection mechanisms to prevent overcharging or charging too quickly, but cheaper, older smartphones or other devices that charge via USB-C may not. Benson Leung, a Google engineer known for reviewing the safety of USB-C cables, discovered that when two of his Pixel Chromebook’s USB-C ports stopped working and he eventually put his laptop into recovery mode, he discovered that damaged cables can also damage your computer if they break or short out when connected. Damaged cables may cause irreversible damage to your computer’s ports or other components.
To prevent damage to your computer’s internal components and the risk of overheating, you need to find a high-quality, reliable USB-C cable. In fact, when you find a great line, you might consider investing in one in every room, in your car, and in your bag when you go out.
How to tell if your USB-C cable is damaged?
If a USB-C cable is bad, you certainly shouldn’t use it, but how do you know when it’s unsafe to use? Some signs of hazardous wires are obvious, such as cables with damaged outer coverings that leave the wires exposed. When a cheaper USB-C cable is made of flimsy materials, it frays more easily than a sturdy wire; or, even if the wire looks good from the outside, it’s more likely to be loose and damaged on the inside. It’s worth noting that while you should obviously throw away frayed cables, you shouldn’t throw away wires just because the material doesn’t feel good. The wire may be made of less-than-stellar materials, but it otherwise functions well.
You’ll need to look harder to spot more signs that the wire should be thrown away. Pay attention to how your phone charges with certain cables. Does it charge much slower than your best cable? Does it show that it’s charging, but doesn’t really increase the percentage of the product’s charge at all after being plugged in for hours? Does it stop charging devices at a certain frequency? Paying attention to how well your phone charges with a USB-C cable can also help you spot when the cable starts to fail, not just out of the box. If your phone used to take an hour to fully charge and now it takes an hour and a half, it’s time to check your cables, charging adapter, and smartphone to find out what the problem is.
How to find a high-quality, safe charging cable?
Even though modern smartphones don’t usually come with a charging transformer, they still come with a charging cable. Most major smartphone manufacturers produce high-quality, reliable cables, but that’s not always the case. For example, iPhone cables (Lightning series, etc.) are more susceptible to wear and tear than Samsung or Google cables.
If you have the budget and time to do so, you can always test your existing USB-C cables to see which ones perform best and invest in more of the best ones. Alternatively, if you want to invest in a new USB-C cable, look at brands that are more reliable with USB-IF certification, such as Anker, Cable Matters, or Belkin. Although the unit price of these high-quality cables is higher, the investment is worth it and is quite cost-effective compared to ruining your expensive smartphone.
When you’re looking for a new USB-C, you should definitely take the wire material into consideration. Some of the best USB-C cables are made from braided nylon, which is durable and less likely to wear out over time with continued use. Also, user reviews are very helpful, if someone has a bad experience with a USB-C cable, they will leave a review on Amazon or wherever they purchased the cable. You can learn from other people’s bad experiences and avoid cables that can cause your device to overheat or damage your computer while transferring data.
Source: KOCPC Chinese