I'm a USB-C Maximalist • Hacker News Board

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#151

Post by Gigachad » Tue, Jul 14, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC

cricalix wrote: post #115

notatoad wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is really only a problem if you buy cheap cables. Pick the baseline spec you want your USB cables to meet, and throw out all the ones that don’t. Problem solved. It’s still a minor frustration if you have to borrow a cable, but that’s solved by packing a cable, and by encouraging as many other people as possible to also throw out their cheap cables.

Sometimes it's not the cable. Sometimes it's the sodding device. I have some IP60-something speakers for the shower. Write up says USB-C power. Brilliant says I, I've got plenty of good ones I use for charging laptops and other USB-C form factor accepting devices. Sodding things only charge with their special USB-A to USB-C cable. They're in the bag labeled "cursed usb-c charge cables".

It's because they are straight up defective. The USB-C spec is pretty clear in that the power pins have 0v until you signal for a voltage. This isn't a failure of USB-C, you should just return defective devices to the OEM.

Thankfully this defect is becoming less common outside of temu junk.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#152

Post by xp84 » Tue, Jul 14, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC

chaosharmonic wrote: post #15

I too am a USB-C maximalist, but with a handful of differences from OP: - You lose me at "toothbrush." I don't want personal care items that have internal batteries at all , because they'll eventually die on me while the device itself (brush heads notwithstanding) is otherwise perfectly functional. I'd much rather keep rechargeable AA(A)s on hand for that kind of stuff. (I still haven't found a good electric razor fo…

Just recently acquired a set from "Philips" that is an 8-pack of lithium-ion AAs with a charging-case that connects to USB-C (Note: the case itself doesn't have its own battery, like an earbuds case would -- it's just a normal charger that doubles as a case). Sounds like this would be great for your toothbrushes and such!

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#153

Post by Gigachad » Tue, Jul 14, 2026, 9:47 PM UTC

qurren wrote: post #118

notatoad wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

amazon hides some prices because i'm viewing the page from canada, but it looks like that says the cable you linked is $15? that's what i've been paying for cables, and it seems reasonable to me.

It's a cable, it should cost $2 at most.

40gbps is an insane data rate that requires shielding, precision, and testing. There is no way you are getting that for $2. That said, outside of connecting a laptop to your monitor, you don't need a 40gbps cable.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#154

Post by evanjrowley » Tue, Jul 14, 2026, 9:47 PM UTC

I used to think of myself as one as well but that's changing as of late.

Looking back 15 years or so, I remember the old ThinkPad and Dell Latitude/Precision docking stations functioned reliably for as long as I can remember.

Today I have a variety of USB-C and thunderbolt 3/4 docking stations, all of which have been affected by various issues. The the manufacturers of these things don't care.

The latest casualty is a Pluggable TBT4-UDZ, which randomly decided one day that I should only have one working monitor instead of two. Doesn't matter if I use Windows, Mac or Linux. Meanwhile, the same monitors & cables work fine with my desktop.

I appreciate USB-C as a means to charge my stuff, but from now on, I'm going to try and use other ports and cables for everything else. Every laptop's settings will assume only the main screen will ever be used. I've no time to get used to a nice multi-monitor setup just to have it taken away when the USB-C dock starts acting up.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#155

Post by qurren » Tue, Jul 14, 2026, 9:48 PM UTC

notatoad wrote: post #123

qurren wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a cable, it should cost $2 at most.

okay, i mean, that's exactly what my original comment said: this is only a problem if you buy cheap cables.

It's also only a problem if they overcomplicate power delivery design such that you need expensive cables.

They could have made it just DC +19V and GND over 14 gauge wire with a nice, outdoor-recreation-grade connector and called it a day.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#156

Post by thenthenthen » Tue, Jul 14, 2026, 9:49 PM UTC

rwmj wrote: post #92

mystifyingpoi wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious, what amp is this? Is it for charging something? The end is TRRS, is there a DAC/ADC molded in the plug for audio interface purposes?

The amp is this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B098JTSJTH As far as I could tell the cable is dumb. If you plug the cable into a regular USB-C socket (which I do not recommend) then the tip is +5V and the rest is ground. In fact it's designed to plug into the plug marked "mobile" on the amp and the 3.5mm end goes into the line out of something else, providing AUX input, which is mixed straight through to the output…

I have one of those cursed cables but then a 3.5 female socket! I have already lost it as well :/

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#157

Post by Gigachad » Tue, Jul 14, 2026, 9:49 PM UTC

TheBicPen wrote: post #116

notatoad wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is really only a problem if you buy cheap cables. Pick the baseline spec you want your USB cables to meet, and throw out all the ones that don’t. Problem solved. It’s still a minor frustration if you have to borrow a cable, but that’s solved by packing a cable, and by encouraging as many other people as possible to also throw out their cheap cables.

> throw out all the ones that don’t > encouraging as many other people as possible to also throw out their cheap cables One of the main advantages of a single standardized plug is reducing e-waste. This just sounds irresponsible. Having a single tool that covers every possible use case is rarely a good solution.

Device makers need to stop including these garbage 4 cm A to C cables. I have enough USB cables and bricks to last my whole life. I don't need to collect a million more spec violating ones in a drawer I will never use.

Things are shifting though. Ikea ships their USB-C stuff without cables now.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#158

Post by xp84 » Tue, Jul 14, 2026, 9:49 PM UTC

rogerrogerr wrote: post #41

chaosharmonic wrote: post #15

I too am a USB-C maximalist, but with a handful of differences from OP: - You lose me at "toothbrush." I don't want personal care items that have internal batteries at all , because they'll eventually die on me while the device itself (brush heads notwithstanding) is otherwise perfectly functional. I'd much rather keep rechargeable AA(A)s on hand for that kind of stuff. (I still haven't found a good electric razor fo…

Re. toothbrush, I have to take the opportunity to give Philips credit for the Sonicare electric toothbrushes they made ~15 years ago. That thing just keeps trucking, it’s incredible. I go on 2 week trips and don’t even bring the charger, and have no worries about it dying. It must have been crazy overspecced, I expected it to be a 5-year disposable piece of non-serviceable tech.

They are good! Although my wife manages to kill hers every few years, I don't think I've ever actually had one die myself. I also have my original UV sanitizing charger unit that I purchased new circa 2009!

I've found that one can buy just new handles on ebay though, without the head and chargers, for only like half the super high retail prices or less, even for the "higher end" models, so I do that every 5-8 years or so if one gets too bad.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#159

Post by Gigachad » Tue, Jul 14, 2026, 9:50 PM UTC

namuol wrote: post #29

eigencoder wrote: post #5

I don't like USB-C because they all look the same on the outside, but they're not all the same on the inside. Especially my cheap consumer electronics. Sometimes they will charge, sometimes they won't charge, but all the cables look the same, and you don't tend to know in advance.

If switching to a type-A charger fixes it, it’s probably the device manufacturer’s fault, not the cable. Many manufacturers that need the 5v standard you’d normally get from an old type-A charger screw this up. For universal USB-C power support that works with modern power bricks, you need to tie 5k resistors to two pins of the port on the device. This tells the charger to use 5v. I can’t tell you how much cheap stuf…

I don't think it's cost reasons these are being omitted. The customer refunds would easily exceed the savings. It's most likely designers just swapping a micro usb port with a usb c one in an old design while making no other changes and seeing it works with the A to C cable they have.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#160

Post by ssl-3 » Tue, Jul 14, 2026, 9:50 PM UTC

cricalix wrote: post #115

notatoad wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is really only a problem if you buy cheap cables. Pick the baseline spec you want your USB cables to meet, and throw out all the ones that don’t. Problem solved. It’s still a minor frustration if you have to borrow a cable, but that’s solved by packing a cable, and by encouraging as many other people as possible to also throw out their cheap cables.

Sometimes it's not the cable. Sometimes it's the sodding device. I have some IP60-something speakers for the shower. Write up says USB-C power. Brilliant says I, I've got plenty of good ones I use for charging laptops and other USB-C form factor accepting devices. Sodding things only charge with their special USB-A to USB-C cable. They're in the bag labeled "cursed usb-c charge cables".

That's because they didn't implement USB C correctly. Maybe it was to save less than a penny on the BOM, maybe it was arrogance ("it works for me! send it!"), or maybe it was something else. Whatever the reason, they didn't do it right.

By standard, USB C provides no power at all unless the device being powered follows the rules. They're easy rules to follow. The minimum viable way of doing it right requires just two tiny resistors inside of the device.