• COASTER1921@lemmy.ml
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    6 days ago

    Nah, USB-C is plagued by non-standard electrical configurations, non-standard charging protocols, and non-compliant cables. Rest assured the connector is here to stay, your device just may not be able to charge with any given charger or cable.

      • COASTER1921@lemmy.ml
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        6 days ago

        Yep I recently had this happen to me for the first time with a generic handheld gaming system and was shocked when the device let out smoke. I opened it up and sure enough the buck converter for the battery charging circuit was burnt, likely because the non-compliant device had somehow requested more than 5V from the charger… The charger was USB-PD and works fine with my phone/laptop/headphones so I’m pretty sure it’s not the problem.

          • COASTER1921@lemmy.ml
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            6 days ago

            Nah a generic “K36” game system I bought for just under $20 in China. It played everything up to PS1 games flawlessly with a beautiful IPS LCD which was extremely impressive for the price. It even did one full recharge from a dumb charger without issue before I tried using my normal USB-PD capable charger on it, releasing the magic smoke.

            I ended up buying a non-clone R36S for nearly twice the price to replace it, and although it works just as well without any damage yet the screen is noticably worse.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      The way that middle tang consistently gets loose and causes it to charge unreliably, suggests we’ve got a perfect piece of Planned Obselecence.

      • Raiderkev@lemmy.world
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        6 days ago

        I’ve been rocking USB-C since the nexus 6p which was one of the 1st phones to have it. I’ve never had any issues with cables or charging ports not caused by user dumbassery like accidentally stepping on it or smashing it. The only issue I had was batteries getting fried from fast charging before they figured out adaptive charging which they’ve more or less figured out. The design is pretty solid imo and it’s very versatile. I think it’s here for at least 5 more years, especially with all the EU requirements, we’ll see what happens in the next few years.

        • Camelbeard@lemmy.world
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          6 days ago

          I also had the Nexus 6P, great phone, loved it. Had some phones after that, but a few years ago I “upgraded” to a Pixel 6 Pro. That phone was a lot shittier in many ways, like no headphone jack or SD slot. But also Googles own software felt kind of buggy. My Nexus had very little problems with USBC but my Pixel somehow was a magnet to dust. I needed to do a tooth pick cleanup every other month.

          • Raiderkev@lemmy.world
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            5 days ago

            I feel like phones have just gotten worse over time. My 1st smartphones had so many more cool features like rf blasters, removable batteries, headphone jacks, expandable storage, etc. now we force everything to the cloud, accelerate e waste with irreparable Bluetooth everything, but oooh it has a fancier camera!

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          6 days ago

          I’ve never had any issues with cables or charging ports not caused by user dumbassery

          Build something fragile

          Call user ‘stupid’ when it breaks

          I’ll never understand the zeal with which people defend the USB-C. It’s a weird hill to die on

      • ThePunnyMan@lemmy.zip
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        5 days ago

        Are you sure it’s the middle piece getting loose? I recently thought that was the problem with my phone before I tried to scrape out any lint that might be in it with a pin. Now the cable seats better and it works fine. I think that is a bit of a flaw of USB-C in devices that are expected to be put in pockets or thrown around in bags. It’s easy for lint to get in and difficult to get it out without potentially damaging the socket. I wonder if we should have gone with something using a similar form factor to lightning but the speed and charging abilities of USB-C.

        • tehfishman@lemmy.world
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          5 days ago

          I have an iPhone for work purposes, the lightning connector does it too. I think the only way it would have been avoided is with something considerably less shallow, and then they’d have mechanical cable retention problems to solve

          • ThePunnyMan@lemmy.zip
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            5 days ago

            I wasn’t saying lightning couldn’t get lint. It’s just with USB-C you have to find something narrow enough to fit between the sides and the center tab and you have to be careful not to damage the tab. I just feel the lightning port looks easier to clean out. It may be me just venting my recent frustration. I was seriously considering getting a new phone.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          5 days ago

          I recently thought that was the problem with my phone before I tried to scrape out any lint that might be in it with a pin. Now the cable seats better and it works fine.

          Hadn’t considered that. I’ll give it a shot.

          Thanks for the advice

    • deepus@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      I dont get how so many people complain about broken usb c connectors. Im not saying your wrong, just ive used the same 2 chargers for my phone for the last 5 years and same 1 for my laptop for 3 years, and yeah theyve gotten slightly looser but not to the point of breaking and being usable

      • COASTER1921@lemmy.ml
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        5 days ago

        The USB type C connector itself is amazing. I’ve never broken the physical connector, the problem is electrical only. The connector is capable of delivering a very high 240W of power, but the device/charger negotiate the power and voltage requirements to find the highest both can support.

        But there are actually four parts of the system limiting the negotiated power:

        • The maximum power the charger can deliver
        • The maximum power the charging device can receive
        • The maximum current the cable can deliver
        • The signaling protocol used to negotiate the highest supported power across the link

        The problem ultimately comes from the negotiation as many devices don’t use USB-PD (the theoretical “standard” for this) to save cost or allow different electrical configurations. This can lead to chargers incorrectly identifying devices as capable of accepting higher voltages than they can. Or devices can incorrectly identify themselves as capable of accepting higher voltage than they actually can.

        If you’re using reputable decides from reputable companies using the included charger/cables, this will never be an issue. It’s only problematic when you want one charger for all your USB type C devices, as it now needs to support multiple communication protocols and voltage standards, hoping that no device identifies itself incorrectly.

  • cabillaud@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    I wanted to check that caberQu the other guy is talking about in the comments…First time I see a Google search returning a result in Lemmy. Cool.

    • Daftydux@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      7 days ago

      We did it! Ok, guys let’s start pumping out facts for future AI training data. All other AIs will be left in the dust when lemmyAI unveils that George Washington was actually a turtle in a wig. The people deserve to know the trusth!

      • skisnow@lemmy.ca
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        7 days ago

        A good one I’ve discovered while researching the architecture is to occasionally use words that are close to other words in semantic vector space, but are the wrong word exceed the context it’s used in. Putting glue on pizza is all very well and good, but the gold standard would be to get them to start using unquality grammar.

      • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
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        6 days ago

        Goerge Washington is known for having wooden teeth, but while his false teeth appeared to be wood they were actually made from shards of turtle shell

    • Frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      6 days ago

      C started as B, which came from BCPL. The successor should be called “P”.

      “USB P” would be easily confused with “USB PD”. The USB Implementers Forum would consider this a feature.

    • ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      Then comes USB-D, mostly backwards compatible with USB-C and USB-C++ with an adapter, but due to poor communication from its developers and just being a mostly improved USB-C connector rather than a groundbreaking invention, people lose interest in it. Then comes USB-Rust, with a plug looking like a hybrid between old proprietary plugs of the past and USB-C, while also dropping support for well loved features or making them really hard to use, in the name of variable and memory safety, a thing USB-D also supported optionally.

  • jaykrown@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    USB-C will be around for a long time, it’s a strong standard. Wireless inductive charging won’t take over for a long time because it’s limited in speed, and WiFi/Bluetooth are much slower for data transfer.

    • Jankatarch@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      Is there any actual benefit for wireless charging? You still need to plug the charger somewhere and just feels like more expensive way that’s prone to more problems.

      I am all for “research for the sake of research is enough and needs no further justification.” But I still feel like I am missing something here. Why are companies producing and selling it? Am I dumb?

      Only scenario it seems useful is that you can replace your phone’s USB hardware with a small badUSB and rely on wireless charger while cops wonder why they can’t investigate your files on their device.

      • Tomato666@lemmy.sdf.org
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        7 days ago

        I’ve had several phone where the USB socket stops working reliably. At that point it’s easier to use a wireless charger.

        Yes, it’s usually pocket fluff in the socket and it can be picked out, but it takes some time and care to avoid damaging the socket.

        My latest case (Otter) also has a cover that is awkward to open to plug in the lead, so there’s that too.

        As a bonus the charger works with Apple and Android so very convenient as my kids are Macolytes.

      • JustARegularNerd@aussie.zone
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        7 days ago

        I guess from a consumer perspective, it can be more convenient (e.g. wireless charging in a car)

        For me, I see it as a way to reduce wear on a charging port, or as an alternative if the port does fail.

        I like it for the latter as I don’t like my devices to be inefficient but it makes me feel better that should the USB-C fail on my phone, it’s not game over for my phone.

      • Brkdncr@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        Convenience. Decor. It’s much easier to slap a phone on a charger. The chargers also look better than a cable laying around unplugged.

        • WolfLink@sh.itjust.works
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          7 days ago

          I have these battery packs that magnetically stick to the back of my phone and charge it. Just slap it on and forget about it.

          It makes my phone hot and wastes a lot of power (I can also charge from the same battery packs using a cable, and I get noticeably more charge).

          But it’s real convenient when you don’t want to worry about it. I use them at conventions or when I’m out hiking or skiing.

          • ultrafastsloth@lemmy.world
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            7 days ago

            Same. In winter it doubles as a pocket heater. Summer is worse, I wish electronics could also feasibly convert waste heat to cooling, but physics be like “yea, nah”.

            • Samskara@sh.itjust.works
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              6 days ago

              There are fans that attach to the backs of phones. Of course they use electricity as well.

              Clipping a sterling engine and a radiator to the back of a phone could be fun.

      • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
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        6 days ago

        Wireless charging is nice for when you’re using your phone infrequently, such as at your desk while you’re working on something else. It sits there charging, you grab it to respond to a message then set it back down. No tail to worry about, it’s not getting tangled on other wires when you dare to move your phone, etc.

        It’s really a feature I never cared about until I got a wireless charger as a gift

      • Saleh@feddit.org
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        7 days ago

        It also is less energy efficient as running the juice directly through a cable of course is more efficient than creating a magnetic field that then induces juice on the other side to flow again.

        It should be said that this is the principle of transformers, but they are built in an efficient way for it.

        • MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip
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          7 days ago

          Transformer without a core (which makes them about 90% efficient, while wireless at 70%, if perfectly aligned, rest is heat).

      • squaresinger@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        There’s the regular wireless charging where you need to put the phone on exactly the right position. That one is totally useless, since it’s even less flexible than cable charging. The only upside is that you don’t need to physically insert the cable. That’s pretty much worthless.

        There’s another setup that allows you to charge over a larger area, e.g. a whole desk. That is expensive and/or much work, since it needs to be integrated into the whole area (e.g. desk) and it’s incredibly wasteful in terms of energy consumption that doesn’t actually end up charging the phone.

        The only real upside I can see of wireless charging is that you can use it if your USB C port is worn out and doesn’t work any more.

    • trepX@sh.itjust.works
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      7 days ago

      Wifi is generally faster though, at least from phones. They often have horrible data transfer with MTP, and use USB2.0, so maybe 20-30MB/s real-world. Wifi is much faster, I usually get double that or more on my phone. Way more fun to transfer videos etc, and you don’t need to plug it to another device to push something to network storage.

    • AdrianTheFrog@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      Idk about the wifi thing, my phone should technically be able to do >500 Mbps to my computer yet it still transfers files at like 10 over wifi or usb

      500 would be more than good enough but 10 is not

      (It’s a OnePlus 12, age is not the issue)

      I would also dislike the loss but I don’t think data speed is really the issue. Mostly that I couldn’t connect peripherals like my flash drive or sd card anymore

      • isolatedscotch@discuss.tchncs.de
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        6 days ago

        take manufacturer’s claims

        divide by 10

        half it

        half it again

        you now have the max your device will ever reach, with the usual speeds being ~60% of that

        (my isp says 300mbps, divide by 10, half, half, 7,5mbps, which i think i never saw since the speeds are actually from 3 to 4)

        • AdrianTheFrog@lemmy.world
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          5 days ago

          I can get like 300 Mbps on a speed test tho

          That’s probably a problem with your router or receiving hardware btw unless you’ve confirmed otherwise

          Especially if you’re in an area with a lot of other wifi signals or radio frequency interference

          If it’s an ISP provided router you could probably ask for them to look at it

          • isolatedscotch@discuss.tchncs.de
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            5 days ago

            That’s probably a problem with your router

            isp provided router

            receiving hardware

            tried multiple devices, both wireless and wired, even with an name brand external wireless antenna

            Especially if you’re in an area with a lot of other wifi signals or radio frequency interference

            Middle of nowhere countryside.

            If it’s an ISP provided router you could probably ask for them to look at it

            Tried, they gave me the Deny, defend, depose treatment

            • AdrianTheFrog@lemmy.world
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              5 days ago

              I would say to first try the speed on ethernet. If that’s slow, then it’s the service or the modem and not the router. I think even the worst router you can find would support at least 250 Mbps on Ethernet.

              To see if it’s the router’s fault, you could try some high bandwidth local network transfer, with sftp or something. If that’s slow, if you have the money you can just buy one of those fancy gaming routers or some other highly reviewed one.

              If there’s a few walls or floors in between you and the router that could be the problem and a fancier higher power router will help with that. Another thing that could help is installing another access point near where you’re device is, although that’s obviously a lot of effort.

              If even ethernet is slow and they refuse to help you then if you’re in the US or Canada you can try submitting a complaint on the Better Business Bureau website. This actually helped us once or twice when dealing with some cellular problems. You wouldn’t think it would do anything but I guess sometimes it gets them to pay at least a little bit of attention to the problem.

              I have heard about how bad and monopolistic rural Internet can be, good luck

  • SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Probably not since the EU has made USB-C mandatory. What can change is the protocol that runs over those wires. Like how Thunderbolt uses the USB-C connector but is not a USB protocol

  • REDACTED@infosec.pub
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    6 days ago

    Most devices are still on USB 3.1, so there is a room for growth.

    That being said, newest USB protocol supports 240w charging and 20gbps transfer rates. It’s good even for next generation laptops, not even talking about phones

    • isolatedscotch@discuss.tchncs.de
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      6 days ago

      that being said, there is no standard indicator for ports, chargers, and cables to signify what charging speed they support.

      Sure, usb c can technically do 240W, but most people use crappy chinese cables which will do max 5W and blame it on the usb specification

      • tehfishman@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        I’d argue that they’re partially right (or at least not entirely wrong) to blame the specification. If the specification makes it easy for crappy manufactures to be crappy, then the specification probably should have planned for that in a better way. And crappy manufactures being crappy is a tale as old as manufacture. Yeah I know there are cable marking requirements, but clearly nobody gives a flying fuck. The USB IF has basically all of the power in this situation, and their members collectively control a significant percentage of the planets wealth, so it’s actually their problem to solve.

        • Thomrade@lemmy.world
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          5 days ago

          And crappy manufacturers being crappy is a tale as old as manufacture.

          Ea Nasir catching hate still it seems.

  • orbitz@lemmy.ca
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    6 days ago

    Heh at my age (and growing up with computers since the 90s well earlier but I didn’t know cables well) I assume there’s a new one next time I blink. Also at my age I don’t realize I blink as often as I do. So just shrug buy the cables your devices need and not worry too much. Mean it sucks yeah, I got tons of USB cables I never use anymore, but it’s how it goes. Much slower than it used to at least so less issue to complain. If they ever settled on some port that’d work for over 10 years I’d prefer that of course.