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USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

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Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#541

Post by mikepurvis »

toast0 wrote: post #395
jessaustin wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see how such a product would be useful for anyone. At least in USA, anywhere a 25A circuit is available, a 15A circuit is also available. The converse (using a 25A device on a 15A circuit) would be useful, but also wouldn't be dangerous in any way.

Looking at us (NEMA) plugs, there's plugs for 15A, 20A, 30A, and 50A. I'm going to assume everyone means 30A instead of 25A. Generally, where there's a 30A circuit, a 15A circuit is also available, but there are exceptions. You may have wired a RV hookup with only a 30A receptacle, but you want to run some lights, or tools or ? with a 15A plug from that on a temporary basis. The circuit is (presumably) good for 30A,…

If the 15A device fails short, it's going to get a much bigger load between failure and the breaker tripping on a 30A breaker than a 15A one.

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#543

Post by cwhiz »

buzzerbetrayed wrote: post #19
jeremymcanally wrote: post #4

Really? I find it to be a game changer for me. The fact that my laptop, Switch, iPad, and several other devices can all share a charge has made my life much easier. I can just sprinkle a few of them throughout the house and never be without power. Before it was always a hunt to find a cable, or I had to be in [x] room to charge [y] device because that's where the charger lived. Plus, I can charge my MacBook on either…

Did you not read the article? Because your response doesn’t address any of the issues brought up in the article. Mainly that all the usb-c cables you sprinkle across your house might not have the same functionality. And if you plug your switch in to one it might charge it, while another will not.

This is a problem with essentially any cable. The only difference between old and new is that the new problem is with a single plug instead of a handful of plugs.

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#544

Post by MikeKusold »

julianlam wrote: post #3

Sometimes it seems like I'm the only person with absolutely zero issues with USB-C. I have a Lenovo monitor that delivers power+HDMI+usbhub to my laptop, and having to only plug one thing in to access all my peripherals is amazing. I used a bog standard Anker USB-C cable for this.

USB-C monitors are a complete mess too. My LG monitor only charges at 65W over USB-C, so I still need to plug in my MBP charger to avoid depleting my battery. A lot of docks also face this problem.

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#545

Post by cwhiz »

julianlam wrote: post #3

Sometimes it seems like I'm the only person with absolutely zero issues with USB-C. I have a Lenovo monitor that delivers power+HDMI+usbhub to my laptop, and having to only plug one thing in to access all my peripherals is amazing. I used a bog standard Anker USB-C cable for this.

I have not had a problem with anything. Multiple MacBook Pros, Switch, Quest, iPad, thumb drives, external drives, monitors, portable monitors, XPS13, and more. Never had a problem with a cable, and never had a problem with a power adapter.

Maybe it's just luck? Maybe it's because I generally avoid the cheapest items on Amazon? I've been swapping cables and adapters around for 3+ years now with no issues.

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#546

Post by derefr »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #505
addicted wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can’t imagine the headlines if the USB consortium tried to enforce a restriction on the shapes of products people are allowed to create. Remember when people were mad about Apple patenting rounded corners? This would be as bad.

Round corners happen by coincidence, and Apple wouldn't let you use round corners even if you met their spec. Someone making a port the exact size and shape of a USB-C port (within tolerances) is doing it for the purpose of being compatible, and telling them to meet the (non-onerous) spec to be allowed would not get nasty headlines.

> Someone making a port the exact size and shape of a USB-C port (within tolerances) is doing it for the purpose of being compatible

People put TRS (3.5mm audio) jacks on random proprietary wall-chargers. They don't do it so that the charger can "be compatible with" the analog-audio ecosystem (what do you want to do; plug your charger into an amplifier?)

No, these manufacturers use TRS jacks, because TRS jacks (and sockets) are cheap parts. (Remember, they're not making these parts; they're just ordering them, in bulk, from some supplier that has a warehouse full of them. And that supplier doesn't care what they're used for; they just want to get them sold.)

USB-C connectors are now also seemingly beginning to be cheap parts.

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#547

Post by jk700 »

mohaine wrote: post #531
floatingatoll wrote: post #437

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It matters if it short circuits, yes. (Electricians, I hope I got this right enough to convey the 'why'; I know it won't be perfect.) The outlet plugs specify the circuit breaker limit. Most consumer electronics in the US use a 15amp plug, which can be plugged into a 15amp outlet or a 20amp outlet — but no higher, due to physical incompatibilities in the outlet design. The electronics that use the 15amp or 20amp plug…

This isn't really correct though and gives a false sense of security. The house breakers are sized for the wires in the wall, not the device plugged in. Those should have their own internal fuses to protect themselves. Most lamp cords are only sized 100ish Watts or ~ 1A with the bulb being the only fuse. If these somehow pulled 15A for any amount of time the wire would quickly get smoking hot but you still plug them…

Right, it's even more complicated. Such breakers also don't trigger at specified current exactly. They have two breakers inside of them, one for overload protection triggering once it heats up, could be an hour for 2x current if starts cold, and one for short circuit protection triggering in less than a second, but on 3x+, 5x+ currents, etc. So a 15A breaker, a 15A outlet and a cable for 15A all could easily see 30A of current for some periods of time and heat up.

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#548

Post by cyphar »

pen2l wrote: post #84
ahmedalsudani wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And I've just learned this lesson with a $60 bill from Nintendo repair after the port went pop and couldn't charge the device. GP is giving you their first-hand experience with this issue. It’s a little disrespectful to call it an urban myth replying to a first-hand account. FWIW, the Switch charger outputs a higher voltage, IIRC.

Don’t think it’s necessarily « disrespectful « to doubt another’s account. This reminds me of the « bend gate » problem with iPhones. There were some here who reported the problem... but somehow it was not a problem in the grand scheme of things. We have a lot of skeptical folks here (a good thing!) so we should be respectfully skeptical of the skeptics at times, without an exchange of ill feelings. :)

While the whole "bend your phone in half" thing was overblown, it definitely is a major issue. The whole class of touch disease issues (where the screen has grey bars flickering and touch stops working) were caused by the same underlying problem -- the phones are less rigid and small flexing (such as in your pocket) causes the Touch IC chip to become unseated. An incredibly large number of iPhones have succumbed to this issue, and Apple had a "repair program" for it[1] (which is their terminology to get around calling it a "recall" because their product was faulty) -- and as usual their description of the problem is incredibly skewed (you don't need to drop your phone to trigger it and it affected a very large number of devices because it was a design flaw of the phone).

[1]: https://support.apple.com/iphone6plus-multitouch

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#549

Post by aspaceman »

hobofan wrote: post #400
floatingatoll wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Word of warning, for those reading this far: The Switch and Switch Dock are not USB-C devices. That you’re able to plug in a USB-C charger or USB-C device and see it supposedly work just means that you haven’t yet encountered the scenario(s) that can electronically damage the Switch. Nintendo’s warranty does not cover this damage when it occurs, requiring a full-cost repair or replacement as you connected unlicensed…

How are there multiple people here in the thread that say that the port on the Switch is not a USB-C port, when it says so in the official specs _right on their website_? https://www.nintendo.com/switch/tech-specs

The port is USB-C but the power and data follow a custom protocol.

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#550

Post by cwhiz »

whywhywhywhy wrote: post #37

It's honestly such a complete joke it's not even funny anymore. My USB-C MacBook Pro with it's pathetic two ports that my work bought for me is now old enough that the battery is starting to fail and we're still in a world where this single cable for power, screen and ports just doesn't seem to really exist. I'm starting to be convinced the port is fundamentally flawed, dongles with multiple ports are never reliable…

My wife and I have both been using the "CalDigit TS3 Plus" nearly every single day since December 2018. 3-4 different laptops, 2-3 monitors each, endless accessories and drives, etc. Zero issues.

I keep this hub[0] in my laptop bag for traveling and I haven't had any issues with it in over two years, either. I've plug in monitors, daisy chained USB-C, plugged in my iPad as a second monitor, and projected over HDMI numerous times.

And I have this[1] monitor for traveling.

[0]: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074DRW84M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b... [1]: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y8SSQG5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b...

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