Question Can't Connect My Case's USB 3.1 Cable To The Motherboard Headers. What Can I Do?

[catboy]

I'm using an AsRock 870E Nova motherboard.

This afternoon, I've spent several hours trying to connect the USB 3.1 cable that is attached to my Antec Flux Pro case, to the headers of my motherboard.

I have never been able to make the connector fit.

I am trying to plug the cable into the USB 3.2 headers on my motherboards, which are labeled in the motherboard manual as being 19 pins.

I have always made sure that the notch in the middle of the connector is lined up with the notch in the motherboard header.

After a couple of hours, I closely examined the pins of one of the header with a flashlight, and saw that one of the pins of the headers was bent.

I don't know when or how it became bent.

After that, I spent another hour trying to plug the same cable into the second USB 3.2 header, and this time I was being extra gentle, and making sure I don't force it in any way.

But it still will not go into the connector, now matter how many times I try.

How can I make this cable actually fit?

And how I can I fix the bent pin in one of the headers?

EDIT: After many hours, I settled on leaving the cable in the second USB 3.2 header, but it is very loose, and it doesn't ever go in tighter.

I have no idea how to tell if it is connected correctly.

I also have no idea how to tell if this cable connector has a defect in it that originates from Antec. I don't think there is a way to remove it from the case, as the end that attached the case seems to be have attached in a way designed to make it not removable by the customer.

 

[catboy]

So I made this thread last night.

Then this morning I went to a local computer shop and bought a USB 3.2 extension cable.

I was hoping that by doing this, I would see that if I am able to plug the extension cable into the motherboard's USB 3.2 header, then I could conclude that my case cable that is supposed to go into that header is obstructed and therefore isolate the problem to that.

But when I tried to plug the extension cable into the header on my motherboard, I run into the same problem as I had yesterday when I tried to plug in the case's cable.

With both cables, the oroginal and the extension, I've tried to seat it hundreds of times, but it never works.

Likewise, I am also unable to plug the case's cable into the extension cable, as they connection will not seat for me either, no matter how many times I try.

I've closely examined the second USB 3.2 header on my motherboard, the one that I've been using this morning, and it does not have any bent pins.

This USB 3.0/3.1/3.2 crap is turning out to be an absolute nightmare for me.

What am I supposed to do to fix this problem?

 

[catboy]

Okay, so this afternoon, I found this video on youtube:

...and it seems to have worked when I followed the instructions he gives at the time stamp 1:30, to start with one side, start from the bottom, and then lean it in.

I purposely didn't do anything like that yesterday, before I had watched the video, because it seemed like doing that would bend the pins and wreck the header.

Yet now, one of my headers is wrecked...not from doing that technique, but possibly from not doing that technique. To recap, my the pin on my motherboard's first USB 3.2 header became bent yesterday, long before I have ever watched that video, or followed the technique he shows in it.

This USB 3.0/3.1/3.2 connection type seems like a major scam to me. I just spent $565 CAD on my new motherboard, and now part of it is broken before I've even finished assembling my new computer.

I don't think it would be fair to call this "user error" on my part, because I didn't do anything unreasonable, that a normal, rational person wouldn't do.

No one warned me about this problem before I experienced it.

I'm sure many other people have bent or broken their pins without even knowing that this connector was highly problematic before that happened to them --- so they wouldn't know to look for warning videos about it until after the damage to their hardware had already been done.

In my research about this connector yesterday and today, I've seen many videos & written posts on the internet of people complaining about how they've ripped out pins, and/or the header itself, when they unplugged their USB 3.0/3.1/3.2 cable from the motherboard header.

Hopefully this thread will be useful to people who find it in future google searches, especially the first part of this post where I posted a video that shows the way to connect the cable that actually works (but I still think many people might bend or break their pins using this method, because this connector type is very abysmally designed).

 

[BoomerD]

What motherboard? I have an MSI Z690 Tomahawk and the cable plugged in so easily it was almost like it was made to fit…

OK, question answered. Looks like that board has both chassis fan and argb connectors about center on the bottom.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

This a problem where a picture is worth a 1000 words. Please take a pic that presents the problem to us. It'll help immensely.

 

[manly]

I believe OP is referring to the OG USB 3 header, which is different from the newer 3.2 header that's used for USB-C ports.
The terminology is a bit confusing because USB-IF is really dumb with the naming.

Anyway, LTT seems to have covered the challenges with USB 3 headers in their 2022 build guide. (I haven't viewed their 2024 update.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL4DCEp7blY&t=1h16m

I watched that video from SoSoTech, and well it's "so so." I'm not a frequent PC builder, but I wouldn't call that the definitive guide to connecting your USB 3 header.