MicroUSB cables

[cmdrdredd]

Today I found 3 MicroUSB cables that are no good. They don't work for data, don't charge the devices. They aren't all that old either and weren't mishandled, bent, or pulled on. The pins inside the microUSB side seem to be loose and don't grip the connector anymore when plugged in. I've had one that would work only if it was wiggled into a specific position when plugged in and often it would just connect and disconnect constantly. I bought a bunch of cables from Monoprice a while back for cheap and have since replaced the bad ones, but I got to thinking about the MicroUSB standard. Is it just me or is the connector pretty weak and prone to wearing out of "breaking"? I know it's the standard these days but I remember the MiniUSB connectors being more sturdy feeling and I have never had one of those go bad at all.

Does anyone else seem to have bad luck with MicroUSB cables?

 

[Fire&Blood]

Yes, about 1 in 5 fail me. The worst is when they fit loosely and break connection all the time.

Sorry for hijacking a thread: Is there any cable I can use with a car aux input to play music from my Android phone?

 

[MrSquished]

I use Amazon Basics. never let me down yet. charge fast, always work. have 4. of the 6ft ones.

 

[zerocool84]

Amazon Basics or Monoprice

 

[bigboxes]

Funny. I just experienced this on a business trip. My screen kept lighting up while sleeping. Thought maybe it was because the phone was fully charged. Nope. Turns out the cable was flaky. Samsung Note 3 purchased in February. Fancy USB 3.0 cable and all. Plugged in my back up USB 2.0 cable from Monoprice. BOOM! The fancy cable was supposed to charge the phone faster. I hate poor quality.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I use Amazon Basics. never let me down yet. charge fast, always work. have 4. of the 6ft ones.

I find the Amazon basics cables a bit clunky. They have a square end similar to the HP TouchPad cables. Only an issue if you use a case though.

All in all, microUSB cables have been a hit or miss for me. Many seem to break easily, and additionally, the clip portion of the plug ends up getting stuck a lot resulting in a loose cable. You can see that with most new cables, they will fit tight and snug into the port, but after some time they seem to get pretty loose. This was an issue with the 30 pin Apple connectors too.

As much as people hate Lightning for being proprietary, they seem to work pretty well. I'm a bit disappointed the new (Type-C??) microUSB connectors aren't a flat plug

 

[Zaap]

Heh. Never had a single microUSB cable go bad. And even if they did, what do they cost these days, like negative 5 cents?

Meanwhile, I know 3 people with issues with lightning cables- won't charge every other plug in, random 'not supported' errors, or has to be toggled a certain way to connect.

 

[Kaido]

Heh. Never had a single microUSB cable go bad. And even if they did, what do they cost these days, like negative 5 cents?

Meanwhile, I know 3 people with issues with lightning cables- won't charge every other plug in, random 'not supported' errors, or has to be toggled a certain way to connect.

Wow, seriously? More than 50% of my MicroUSB cables have either failed or fallen apart.

Regarding the Lightning cables - are those official Apple cables or aftermarket models? I believe Apple has a sort of TPM security chip or resistor or something that makes them "legit". With that said, I just got an iPhone 5S a week ago and went to pull the USB end out of the wall charger and the whole assembly snapped apart. So the Lightning end was fine, it was the rectangle USB port that fell apart :biggrin:

 

[Anubis]

ive never had a micro USB cable fail, in fact ive never had a USB cable of any type fail and I generally purchase the cheapest ones I can or I take them from the bin at work. we have thousands just tangled in it

ive broken them by sucking them up in the vacuum cleaner but that's a separate issue

I have had a ton of 3.5mm audio cables fail however

 

[cmdrdredd]

I edited my post because I noticed I meant to say I have never had a mini USB connector break and they felt more sturdy. Micro USB seems cheap by comparison. I have about 10 of them from monoprice because their premium cables are $3. I just wondered if I had super bad luck with them going bad over time. Seems like it is hit or miss for most judging on the replies.

On another note is there a cable that charges faster than another? My S5 came with a cable that has two sides on the connector. I was under the impression that one side was to charge and one side was for USB 3.0 data. Will this cable charge faster than a standard microusb wire? Not that I necessarily need the device to charge faster but I am curious if there is a combo that will give a faster charge. I have an app that can measure the mA rate when it is plugged in but I don't know if it is very accurate and haven't tested the cables against one another yet.

 

[Oyeve]

I've only had 2 micro usb cables fail on me. One failed because my chair always rolled over it and one just failed for no apparent reason. I have literally used 10s of dozens and only 2 failed. Not bad.

 

[luv2liv]

never had a bad cable.
got mines for $99 per cable from ebay 1 year ago. i ordered 10 so i will have them in each room n all the cars. shipping was slow from china. but im set for life now

 

[openwheel]

Never had a bad USB cable myself.

 

[shortylickens]

Dont ever buy the generic ones found in drug stores or grocery stores.
I learned that 20 years ago with A/V and it still holds true today.

 

[nOOky]

I've generally had good luck with the ones that come with better devices like smart phones or cameras, but I've had bad ones for no apparent reason also, especially when they come with cheap devices. You get what you pay for.

 

[Sheep]

never had a bad cable.
got mines for $99 per cable from ebay 1 year ago. i ordered 10 so i will have them in each room n all the cars. shipping was slow from china. but im set for life now

Did you go with Monster?

I've had a few micro USB cables flake out on me, mostly the end breaking/bending or the cable becoming frayed. All micro USB cables are decidedly not created equal.

 

[MrSquished]

never had a cable go bad either unless you count a motorola micro usb car charger. lasted me a good few years though

 

[Zaap]

Wow, seriously? More than 50% of my MicroUSB cables have either failed or fallen apart.

That amazes me. Every single cable I've had since my original Droid X (since 2010?) is still working.
My newer devices (Note 3 and Note 12.2) use the newer USB 3 double connectors, but even so I still use a fair number of classic mUSB cables with no problems. I've never had to buy a new one as these things practically rain from trees.

You have to be using cheap as dirt cables to have half of them break.

Regarding the Lightning cables - are those official Apple cables or aftermarket models?

In two cases, yes third party. (Other case I don't know for sure). But both were cables listed as Apple-approved and had good reviews. And really, why would it be such a great cable type if only one source could make them consistently and correctly?

All micro USB cables are decidedly not created equal.

Probably true... but since a good one costs maybe .50 to a buck more than the crappy ones, I can only imagine people with a lot of them that fail are just being ultra-cheap. Or a combo of that and not handling things carefully. A decent microUSB cable isn't going to just magically break any more than any other cable, and quality ones arent hard to.find or expensive.

 

[MrSquished]

That amazes me. Every single cable I've had since my original Droid X (since 2010?) is still working.
My newer devices (Note 3 and Note 12.2) use the newer USB 3 double connectors, but even so I still use a fair number of classic mUSB cables with no problems. I've never had to buy a new one as these things practically rain from trees.

You have to be using cheap as dirt cables to have half of them break.

yeah something is up. been using microusb for years, on so many devices that came with cables, such as 2 kindles, a nexus 7 - plus i use real short cables when i use one of my 3 portable battery packs (small, medium and large). those haven't broken.

plus i buy 6 foot cables for use in different parts of the house. i have a cable that came with one of my phones in my work bag with a charger to charge at work, that never broke. all told i've probably used 15-20 different microusb cables in many years and not a single one broke.

 

[Nebor]

I've never had a microusb cable go bad.

 

[openwheel]

I have a cousin who had to buy new cable for iPhone 4S every month. A combination of clumsiness and a hungry dog would do that to cables.

On the other hand, I've never had a USB cable fail. I just take care of my stuff better than most.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I have a cousin who had to buy new cable for iPhone 4S every month. A combination of clumsiness and a hungry dog would do that to cables.

On the other hand, I've never had a USB cable fail. I just take care of my stuff better than most.

Yeah because I'm sure everyone here who has had them fail just rips them out of their phone like they are playing tug of war.

 

[gorcorps]

You get what you pay for. When you buy a bunch of cables for cheap, then you get a bunch of cheap cables. I'm not saying get a monster cable, but there are better cables out there.

 

[Crono]

Sometimes it's the pins in the device that get bent rather than the cable. I haven't had any bad microUSB cables yet out of the 20 or so I have or used in the past.

 

[vshah]

I have a few 6ft cables that I got from a 5pack on ebay a while ago. they work fine for charging and MTP transfer but don't work for android debugging. weird.