Posted by baranul 4 days ago
The cables are supposed to be labelled with their maximum speed (5, 10, 20, 40, or 80 Gbps or nothing if no data) and maximum wattage (60W or 240W).
HOWEVER, I don't remember ever seeing a cable with such a label. I'm sure they exist, but I don't see them. Requiring products to be labelled, and treating mislabelling as fraud, could mostly solve this. It's definitely a real problem.
There are too many manufacturers to hunt. Basically USB-IF needs to stop almost all shipments in the world. That's not going to happen.
USB spec is completely open and free to obtain. While it allows people to develop and DIY many things, it also attracts bad manufacturers like flies.
Good certified cables with correct markings exist. There are companies like Cable Matters or Startech who bother to actually certify their cables and get USB-IF TIDs. They do cost you quite a bit money though. Here are some:
https://www.cablematters.com/pc-1532-123-usb-c-20-charging-c...
https://www.cablematters.com/pc-858-123-usb-if-certified-usb...
> Your no-brand 480Mbps USB 2.0 cable is indistinguishable from the super-fast USB 4 cable that can move 40 gigabits (around 5 gigabytes) of data every single second.
One of those is way thicker than the other, at least.
I would love for something to force a speed and power rating on USB-C plugs.
This already exists. Cable makers can certify their cables and mark them with their data speed and wattage.
I buy only certified, marked cables. If I see an unmarked cable, I assume it’s slow and low-powered…which is good enough for some things.
Obviously labeling is possible. I want it to be forced.
Whether that's the USB consortium having more power, or a legal requirement, or the biggest stores refusing to carry unlabeled cables.
> If I see an unmarked cable, I assume it’s slow and low-powered…which is good enough for some things.
That's a reasonable way to handle things. Lots of basic cables and only worry about the good ones. And if a cable is so bad that it's missing data wires or is too high resistance to get near 3 amps, it can go in the garbage.
I bet there's at least one brand with extra–thick plastic insulation.
Regardless of tests they do charge my most energy hungry devices and everything else
Many of us are privileged enough to make our lives easier in this way and haven't thought about it