1892: USB Cables

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Revision as of 15:29, 20 September 2017 by Schroduck (talk | contribs)
Jump to: navigation, search
USB Cables
Tag yourself, I'm "frayed."
Title text: Tag yourself, I'm "frayed."

Explanation

Ambox notice.png This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by a GUY WHO DOESN'T REALLY GET THE JOKE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.
If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks.

In this comic, Randall states the 'Law of USB cables': You will never have more than one which has no problems now matter how many you get. Now that most devices charge off USB, having a cable (specifically, USB-A (the big end) to Micro-B or USB-C 9the small end) is essential. However, most USB cables are cheaply made, and carrying them around quickly damages them. This comic lists some common (and not so common) problems with USB cables.

  • Carries power but not data - USB cables have separate data and power lines. To save money (and sometimes for security reasons), the data lines can be omitted. This means it can be used for charging, but not data transfer.
  • Carries data but not power - Not typically done, but it could happen if the wires or pins get damaged.
  • Too short - Another money saving wheeze, some devices ship with pathetically short cables.
  • Charges phone slowly - More likely a problem with the charger than the cable, but may happen if the wires are damaged.
  • Won't auto-activate portable charger - Portable chargers (basically big batteries) should activate when the device is plugged in. Something about the cable (possibly the way the data lines are shorted) is interfering with this mechanism.
  • Has annoying ferrite lumps - Ferrite beads are used to filter out interference from the cable. High-performance applications need these, but on a phone charger you're just adding unnecessary weight and bulk.
  • Heavy and not very flexible - Either a heavy-duty USB cable, with thicker insulation, or a shielded one with a metal sheath inside to keep out interference.
  • Frayed - Cables experience a lot of bending force at the ends, near the connectors, and these can easily burst the insulation as shown here.
  • Plug doesn't fit through case - There's no standard for what the plastic housing around the USB connector should look like, and sometimes these are moulded so they don't quite fit in the phone socket or through the charging port of an external case.
  • Needs to be twisted to keep working - The wires inside are damaged, and only connect when held in just the right way. One step away from total breakage.
  • Weird shape - The silhouette isn't very clear here, but it looks a bit like a Micro-B SuperSpeed, which has weird extra bits on it that don't fit the standard Micro-B socket.

Transcript

Ambox notice.png This transcript is incomplete. Please help editing it! Thanks.


comment.png add a comment! ⋅ comment.png add a topic (use sparingly)! ⋅ Icons-mini-action refresh blue.gif refresh comments!

Discussion

> Carries data but not power - Not typically done, but it could happen if the wires or pins get damaged.

> Charges phone slowly - More likely a problem with the charger than the cable, but may happen if the wires are damaged.

Some manufactures limits charging / fast charging to approved devices only, and this can also be done by some non-standard trick within cable connectors, so non-OEM cable do no charge or charge slower

>Plug doesn't fit through case - There's no standard for what the plastic housing around the USB connector should look like, and sometimes these are moulded so they don't quite fit in the phone socket or through the charging port of an external case.

There is standard defining clearances for plastic housing of connectors, but not all manufactures care

/mhcmega 162.158.202.10 15:52, 20 September 2017 (UTC)

Not just an OEM-being-dicks thing. USB type C specification requires a smart chip inside the connector that communicates with the devices on each side and contains information about what protocols that cable is capable of, which pins are connected through, thunderbolt support, etc. 162.158.63.22 16:17, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

I think Weird shape has to do with mould doing a 90 degree turn. Trimutius (talk) 15:55, 20 September 2017 (UTC)

Agreed. You can see the 90 degree turn in the silhouette. The plug isn't big enough to be Type B. 162.158.62.159 13:01, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

I honestly think this entire comic is a protracted anatomy joke. Elvenivle (talk) 00:54, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

At a first glance I thought the pictures on the left side were sperm. 162.158.34.40 20:24, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

And then there are all those cables I've saved in case I get a new device with that particular connector on the other end.

>Needs to be twisted to keep working. Might have to do with the wire, but most likely (our case for the 12-footers) is that a dropped phone messed up the plug, that then will charge only if the wire and the phone are set "just so". We keep those wires because they *are* 12-footers, natch.

Referring to title text, I am 'too short', as my charging cable is short.Boeing-787lover 15:56, 15 December 2017 (UTC)

USB-A to micro-usb or USB-c yes, but also mini-usb. A lot of cheap mp3 players still use it in 2020. (And given the limited life expectancy a device can expect when it is playing podcasts to me, I am not going to use an expensive device for that.) 17:47, 7 February 2020 (UTC)