USB-C Tutorial for Everybody (Connector, Cable, PD, Data Transfer, Devices)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ม.ค. 2024
- Charging and transferring data over USB cables has become much faster over the past years. With the standardization of USB-C connectors, it also became easier, right? Wrong. Because, without precautions, you still will encounter low transfer speeds and slow or even no charging at all.
Because the topic is complex, I will divide it into two parts. Today, we will start with Power Delivery. After the two videos, you will understand this new technology and will be able to avoid pitfalls.
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USB cable tester for all kinds of cables: amzn.to/492CDx3
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CH224 PD chip: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DCD...
USB-C PCB connector: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DEw...
USB-C Tester: bit.ly/3S0a1P6
Quick Charge video: • #244 QC3.0 Hacking and...
USB-C connectors with resistors: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Ddg...
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Cables with all wires connected:
240W/40GB/s: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Ddy...
100W/20GB/s: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Dep...
100W/10GB/s Extension cable: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DcI...
Thunderbolt: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DBh...
Barrel Jack cable 9-20V with trigger board inside: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DDU...
USB-C video: • Add USB-C to your next...
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Another (very versatile) USB cable tester appeared on amazon: amzn.to/492CDx3
Yeah but you know what here's another thing about USB-C if you work in a greasy room environment like a pizza parlor or anything like that think about it Apple's firewire was safer in that type of environment because the grease can't get inside of the plug and short out the outlet causing an electrical fire
What kind of gloves do you wear?
@@How_To_Drive_a_TARDIS ESD gloves
Do you know the universal USB tester from Treedix (UK)
@@uwoptik Yes. The link is in the description.
TL;DR, it does not.
Thanks for this video. This has become an insanely complex subject. Every time the USB-IF tries to make stuff simpler, our lives get exponentially more difficult. A standardized 'one cable to rule them all' seems a worthy goal, but that kind of thing never comes without consequences.
Yes, you lose the improvements by staying static. They are trying to hold backward compatibility as long as possible. With my vision, I sure appreciated the plug symmetry so we do not kill devices by inserting upside down. Apple had that right from the beginning.
I think that part of the confusion is home made (naming). It also shows that standardization means making decisions an say no to certain variants. Here, Thunderbolt made a much better job.
I think the USB-IF failed to consider the extent of cost-cutting in consumer electronics. They made a standard which has a lot of scope for leaving bits out and still having a product that mostly-worksish.
I feel you are throwing out the baby with the bath water. Many parts of Type-C are great. The problem is that they are fine throwing in half baked ideas with no thoughts to what the future will entail, which is why we have Battery Charging specification 1.2, USB Type-C Specification 1.1 and USB Power Delivery 3.0. 3 different systems all to address exactly the same thing because the previous thing they just didnt think of that.
Soon enough I imagine they might make yet another standard for supporting direct off device charging, even though PD is so very close to being able to do it and honestly can with the right control.
Anyway, we have to deal cleverly with that standard the is by far the best since multipurpose cables are made. Everybody is fed up having a box of different type of cable. All pin connected should be mandatory. Every kind of half way connected cables have to be forbidden in the EU (the cost because of the quantity wouldn't be higher). Then everything will be ok and trashes in Africa could be decreased a little bit. After that I hope the generalization of right to repair EVERYTHING would give a better world😊
6AM and the guy with a Swiss accent has schooled me on more things than I thought I knew. Dang great video!
Thank you for the kind words. And have a nice day!
Wow, I am in the same position as you were. I’m watching at 6am too 😆
5:50 am 😂
Lots of good and useful information here, but for me the major revelation was the existence of cheaply printable heat-shrink tubing. This could be life-changing for me!
I know that these are good kept secrets. This is why I mentioned them…
I'll second that. I ordered some. I will have to work very hard, though, to come up to Swiss levels of organization. @@AndreasSpiess
I just bought a FNIRSI 48P and have begun delving into the darkness of all my cables and chargers. This has helped me to grasp some of the concepts. Thank you. Very timely video.
This is probably a necessary move for many of us...
This tutorial is exactly what I needed. Until now I have a pile of usb-c cables and had no idea which cable could do what, so I wasted a lot of time trying different cable on usb-c devices until it worked properly. I will definitely get the usb-c tester. Also, avoid the cheap $1 usb-c cable found at the dollar store. I bought bunch of them, and it doesn't handle power well, and also data transfer is slow.
I started in the same situation as you describe. This was the reason for this video ;-)
But also be wary outside the dollar store. Spending more does not necessarily guarantee better quality.
That Austrian "Christmas lights" cable test board is incredibly cool and useful. Kudos for mentioning it Sir
It was very important for me during my learning…
I got one and it seems incredibly useful. I want to use it on all of my existing cables. I just haven't thought up a quickly readable scheme for labeling them yet. I have printable seat shrink labels, but i'm not sure that they are big enough to go over existing connectors.
Printable heat shrink labels sound cool. Another good idea, thanks man. @@davidwitten2746
Earlier I wanted to make one to test my cables to see which were still good. I got lazy and just uses a power bank and LED light, then bend and twist the cables to see it the light stays lit or not, but that obviously doesn't check the data lines. I try to set aside one new cable that's only used for data and kept separate ... well, until I need to run out the door and can't find another one.😂
Thank you for the in-depth explanation and showing us the tools to use. This is all the information I've been wanting to know since the introduction of USB-C, all in one place.
You're very welcome!
Thank you very much, Andreas, for this very useful summary. Your contributions are really very useful as a reference work! And I am very happy that this way I can avoid the most common mistakes.
Glad it was helpful!
Right video at the right time to watch. Now I understood why my project failed. I will revisit the issues and post video of my completed project.
So lets hope it is an easy fix!
Excellent timing, just working on using usb-c and pd, but have not ordered anything to be made yet.
Now going to watch and see how close i got and change what i got wrong :)
So I hope you get the right stuff!
Oh man, it does not happen often I am given the opportunity to come across such well put together clips where author goes in such detail. Love all the devices you use and how you exemplify your findings. Sooo can't wait to digest the rest of your content! Thank you for your channel and for taking the time to make this video!!!
Glad you enjoyed it! And welcome aboard the channel!
Hi Andreas. I made similiar experience and have also that cool cable tester from austria since autumn 2022. I understand now why the one LED is dimmed. 😊 best video on the internet that explains this topic. Thanks
Glad you liked the video!
Best video I have seen on USB-C so far, really really good! The KM003C has got really expensive in the UK - around £100 now! The Fnirsi FNB58 is also a good option.
Indeed, the KM003C is more expensive (not so much on Aliexpress). Does the FNB58 also show the dialog between the"partners"? That part was particularly important for me. But maybe not for everybody...
@@AndreasSpiess it shows it on the device, but not the client app. Hard to see the complete exchange. It's pretty quirky, in that respect.
I randomly stumbled across this video. Luckily and without really knowing the details I've been checking both power and data speeds on all USB cables I'm buying (after I found out my 100w cables were only USB 2.0). But I struggle sometimes to tell my cables apart so knowing that the testers devices exist and how to used them is a great lesson learned. Absolute brilliant content there
Glad I could help!
Extremely useful, several mysteries solved for me via this video. Only 3 out of the myriad usb c cables I owned turned out to be dual lane. So many only had legacy data speeds.
Same here!
Thank you for another excellent video. I'll have to watch it a dozen times to absorb the dense info within. I'm paralyzed with the advancements and am longing for 9-pin serial ports and cave-man ways. You say “USB-C is here to stay.” Good, because my little mind would explode if USB-D were ever developed!
Proud Patreon supporter,
Craig
I hope that, it two years from now, we will laugh about this video. Because everything will be so normal... And thank you for your continued Patrreon support!
Be careful, Thunderbolt is some kind of "USB-D"... I have issues with USB-C hubs connected to USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 connectors, mostly with hard-drives, they take 10 minutes to be listed on Windows, then disappear or don't function properly!
And Thunderbolt hubs (they are called "docks" now) cost a small fortune.Think about it when you choose your next laptop, mine has only Thunderbolt USB-C connectors, I'd prefer to have both standard C and C/Thunderbolt. 1 x Thunderbolt is enough (I'll most likely never use these TB's specs anyway).
Amazing video, many thanks for that! Just checked the schematics for the ESP32/OpenDTU-board I made, and yes, I have both resistors there. I'm very happy that for the future I have a reliable and complete overview of USB, both for power and data. I rarely give a thumbs-up to videos, this time I did!
Thank you!
Yes I support the channel and man did that pay off with this video. Almost everything was new info for me. Thank you.
Thank you for your support! The same was when I started to use USB-C and PD. I had to discover all these „secrets“, too
I bought the USB cable tester and... as you said: almost all were slow. But now at least I know wich one is which and more high speed cables are in my lab. Very important if you want video over USB-C cable.
I never used video over USB-C. But video always needs a lot of data...
@@AndreasSpiess If you buy a new monitor with USB-C Hub, 90W PD, Ethernet feed through, ... you connect your Laptop with one TB4 cable to the monitor. I wouldn't try a cheap USB-C cable. Cry only once about the cable price.
I have at least one (expensive) device that needs to be charged by a "dumb" USB charger, because even though it has a USB-C connector, it does not implement what's needed for a USB-C charger to know it's there. I find the "dumb" Ikea USB-A 3-port chargers to be very solid. What's frustrating with this device is that a LED lights up when it's connected, but it doesn't charge. The more people learn about the complexities of USB-C, the better, so thanks @AndreasSpiess for this very clear video!
They probably just did not know they had to add the pull-down resistors...
Or they did know but wanted to save fractions of a cent on every device.
The main advantage of pre 3.0 USB was the fact that it was super simple and super solid.
Its cheap, universal and well though, thats why USB 2.0 is used for almost 3 decades and only the EU law made another standard superseed it.
I expect that if not for EU requiring USB-C in mobile devices, USB A 2.0 would still be used for at least another decade, possibly two.
"I have at least one (expensive) device that needs to be charged by a "dumb" USB charger, because even though it has a USB-C connector, it does not implement what's needed for a USB-C charger to know it's there." I guess the time to return this device to the vendor and/or demand a credit card refund has passed?
@@hubertnnnIf you think USB-C is not solid, you have not read and understood the spec, sorry. If you look closely, it's quite good engineering. And it has nothing whatsoever to do with EU, where did that silliness come from? USB-A is a dead end. How will you safely deliver 150W of power via USB-A connectors? No way to do it, the out-of-spec devices are so numerous that it'd be a disaster. We don't need a million custom power supplies for every laptop out there. Give me a USB-C PD 3 high-power charger any day, it's a breath of fresh air compared to the mess we had with USB-A. USB BC 1.2, Qualcomm Quickcharge 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 4+ (lol), Samsung's protocols (several), Huawei's (several), Apple's (sigh), several misbehaving cheap chargers that so many (millions) were made of that some devices just had to detect them and work around their bugs - gimme a break. Anyone who claims it was somehow better before USB-C PD has never had to deal with this mess on the device end. There is *nothing whatsoever* universal about power coming through USB-A. The baseline is 5V 100mA unenumerated, 500mA enumerated, and you get more than that without any extra hardware with USB-C. Anyone who claims that USB-A was "simpler" in terms of power delivery is woefully uninformed and should just not talk about it. You know what pre-USB-C "power delivery" gave us? Point-of-Sale 12V and 24V "addition to USB standards" that are closed, patent encumbered, require custom connectors (not interchangeable by design)... Good grief.
Love my USB-C!
I have no need for ultra-fast speed... but to no longer have the frustration of ALWAYS trying to plug in a micro-usb cable the "wrong" way round... is priceless.
I cannot describe HOW over I am of USB connectors with only ONE "acceptable" orientation!
I agree.
You've answered every confusion I had about the extended USB-C spec. Thank you!
You are welcome!
Wow! This cleared up a lot! I mean I knew that it was not as simple as "with a USB-C to UBS-C cable you get everything". But I didn't know that it was that involved. It really doesn't help that the standards have been renamed multiple times and that a standard and used connector type aren't fixed. Since I'm the "computer guy" for family and friends I know what problems to expect soon. (Nothing new though. That already started when manufacturers skimped on the data lines in micro-USB cables and sold "charge only" USB cables with the effect that I got "my phone doesn't appear when connected to my computer" or "I can't update the map data on my GPS").
This time it is not as easy to discover because all cables work somehow…
*It really doesn't help that the standards have been renamed multiple times* Um, what exactly are you talking about? What was renamed? *that a standard and used connector type aren't fixed* Umm, that's like the major raison d'être of USB-C... to have one connector instead of USB2 A, USB3 A, USB2 B, USB3 B, Mini-A, Mini-B, USB2 Micro-A, USB2 Micro-B, USB3 Micro-B (lol)... You must be joking about the connectors, right? You probably couldn't have named all of them, and you complain that now we have a *single one*?!
@@absurdengineering
Renaming like "USB 3.0" becoming "USB 3.1 Gen 1", then "USB 3.2 Gen 1" and now is supposed to be "USB 5Gbps"?
If you read my comment AND understood it, you'd see that I didn't complain about having a single connector. The problem is that USB-C to USB-C cables determine what works (fastcharging/PD and datarate), with 95% of people not knowing why something WON'T work at some time, because for them it is a "USB-C cable".
It really is great that power delivery is separated from data transfer. It allows for all sorts of things like dual role ports on devices switching which is sink and source on demand without interrupting the data flow and allowing for a host of dumb to smart devices to deliver reasonable amounts of power.
Even recently, without using PD, just using standard Type-C power for a project, it is great to as a hobbyist just be able to use USB 2.0 speeds for simplicity, and still have access to more current, though this was technically still sort of possible with Battery Charging Specification 1.2 trigger ICs that would first do the little handshake before enabling actual data connections over USB 2.0.
Regardless, even though they really need to stop willy nilly throwing things at the wall and thinking about the future before they throw out the first idea they get (this way, they wouldn't already have 2 completely separate Type-C power delivery (used generically) standards), Type-C overall has been awesome.
I'm, despite hating Apple's bs, quite unsure about mandating a specific organizations standard into law. It is afterall controlled by a few companies, so having anything like that forced by law is a bit insane to me.
1. I agree: QC standards all enabled high power charging, but even more standards existed…
2. Non-industry (not defined by the brig companies) were not very successful in the past. This is why it is done like that now.
I was involved in the development of USB Type C.
It was designed to provide everything from power without data, to Thunderbolt and DisplayPort, and everything in between.
High speed Type C cables require 4 twinax (or 4 dual coax). Those Type C cables will always be pretty big. But as you found, big doesn't assure high speed. So some manufacturers take advantage of the consumer. USB2.0 is fast enough for a lot of people, so they sell a lot of crap cables cables.
Good cables are expensive. They need good internal wiring (for 5GHz), good connectors require tight tolerance manufacturing, the eMarker chip, and the associated PCB.
I would be interested to see if all your cables that show high speed connections, perform at high speed.
Thank you for the additional info. I do not think my cables would go to 20 or 40Gb. But if the go 2x10G that would already be something...
I assume the manufacturers will be able to buy machines that create "good" cables and that the cost will come down. The market definitively is here now after all the laws.
@@AndreasSpiess I worked on 10/100 & Gigabit Ethernet, and suggested USB shift from binary to a multi-level code. They finally did for 20Gb & 40Gb. The existing 10Gb high speed cables work.
One of the problems with the connectors is A**le required a ground collar over the signal pins (we proved fingers on the shell worked better, but A**le's "influence" won out). It takes precise manufacturing to keep that collar from killing connector impedance.
Fantastic details on power and data protocols. I bought one of both of the testers, thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Such a great video, I had to learn all this the hard way. Although the standards are clear, there are too many parameters for marketing to mess with us engineers.
Absolutely. This was also the beginning of my journey.
I came here to write what you included a moment later in your video: buy Thunderbolt cables to avoid power and data problems. This is probably the best advice regarding cables.
Thank you for sharing the two cable testers too, as those are great for confirming cable purchases and debugging any potential problems later.
I added a link to a even more versatile cable tester...
Lmfao, i have a whole bunch of shitty charge only thunderbolt over lightning from free garbage i picked up over the years.
I have zero issues with usbc because i just throw away the broken data cables. I haven't touched my laptops charger in forever. And it transmits dats perfectly fine. perhaps not at maximum speed, but who needs it? If i have the expensive hardware that uses it, and care about the speeds, i just buy a ten pack of the best cables for like $30.
Thunderbolt? Are you taklking about the for different versions over two different connectors in the past 14 years?
Thunderbolt 2, released ten years ago was limited to ten watts. So yourself a favor and just throw out all thr bad cables both c and tb. The best ones for each are like 5 bucks each
Thank you very much Andreas for this excellent video. I learned a lot about USB-C and PD!
Glad it was helpful!
The most comprehensive guide I have seen on this subject and explained so well. Very good Sir.
Thank you!
Hello, I was impressed by the mess that a "simple" USB cable has become 😲. Cables are not any more cables (e.g. simple wires) but real "transfer devices" with chips and protocols. In few years I expect that also fuel pumps will have just a single gun, and the fuel will be negotiated by your car and the fuel device.😉
We already have different fuel „cables“ for diesel and gas…
Yeah, and what he said, we're gonna have single cables negotiating which fuel to deliver ;)
Thats awesome. Then carmakers can demand a discount for cars of their brand, otherwise they will ban you as a fuel supplier.
Nothing is new under the sun. Hey look, a "simple" RS232 cable - ah, but is it a DTE-DTE or a DTE-DCE one...? And does it have only Rx, Tx and GND wired, or also RTS/CTS...? And if so, does that also include DTR or RI...? Let's face it, we were fucked from day one.
@@brulsmurfthey will absolutely do this if for no other reason to give your car a new feature you didn't want it need, but makes your car useless when it breaks until you take it to a dealership to get fixed.
Very relevant content. This answers many questions for me.
I am glad to read that. Also for me, I had to answer some questions…
@@AndreasSpiessHahaha! A suisse joke!
Excellent video! It's interesting to me we have different approaches, For me cable is cable, and I don't have much data to transfer, so I buy everything that has PD or at least USB-C, get rid of barrel jacks, plug or solder adapts you show at 12:00 on. and since most devices I have are under 60W I can comfortably grab any USB-C cable to charge them. The only 3 cables I need to pay attention to are one 5A cable for the laptop, one TB3 cable for the external SSD, and one programmable USB-C to barrel just in case.
PS: I prefer the WITRN USB meter more than POWER-Z, but they both got the job done.
Do the WITRN also display the handshake communication? I also have one from them ;-)
@@AndreasSpiess I belive it depend on the models, or just ask customer service since some info are hidden for copyright protection.
Excellent video! I wish i had this information when adding USB-C connectors to my projects, it was a lot of trial and error before discovering half of this.
Indeed, without this knowledge you can make many mistakes!
This is (as usual from you!) a very well-made, interesting and relevant video for those of us that have started using USB-C in our projects. One small comment on a point that could confuse some viewers: You started with a green cable USB-A to USB-C, then later (around 7:10 and later) you talk about the white vs the red cable. I assume the white cable is now the one with USB-A in the other end.
Sorry for the confusion. The white/red cables are both USB-C on both sides. Cables with USB-A connectors on the other side have no CC lines and will always deliver voltage... Really not simple, I know :-(
This was a great video and explains some of the weirdness I've had with USB-C cables and devices. Clearly manufactures need to read and understand the standards before implementing a product otherwise it's a hot mess.
And we have to understand which cables to buy ;-) I hope in the future we will get simple names that include a clear performance as well as a clear specs for manufacturers. Not as now wishy-washy "standards" with lots of possibilities...
@@AndreasSpiess unfortunately, without a certification process, manufacturers will always cut costs/corners and make inferior products.
didn't know this much thanks for the video and hard work. I will pray for you and your family for good health 🙏.
Thank you!
I like USB-PD, because i can use a powerbank to power most of my electronics projects with it.
When the charger of my labelprinter (9V/4A) died, i soldered a PD trigger board to a barrel connector and i suddenly have multiple suitable replacements for it.
I agree. I also use barrel jack cables with built-in trigger chips for my 12 and 15V devices.
On android phones I recently used, you can disable fast charging in the settings. And limit the max to 85%. That way max charge is limited, and charges only slowly even with the 60w PD charger I usually carry.
Cool function!
That sounds useful. I've seen a project which used a clamp meter which detects the drop in power while charging (which usually happens at 80% battery capacity) and automatically cuts the power using a relay. Would be nice if iPhone's had this feature! Would take more than this for me to go through the faff of migrating to a whole bunch of different apps, but very nice.
I believe this is still a phone manufacturer specific extension, rather than something included in the base Android OS. I own a Pixel 8 and I don't believe it has the ability to force slow-charging or to limit the maximum charge to a specific value, it only allows you to turn on some stupid "Adaptive charging" thing. This is supposed to learn your routine and only fully charge the phone right before you unplug it, which works about as badly as you'd imagine unless you have a very consistent routine (and still fully charges the phone at least briefly).
This _absolutely should_ be a native Android feature though, and it's incredibly frustrating that this isn't available everywhere yet; even newer Apple phones now allow you to limit the charge percentage with a simple option from what I understand. A cynic would say manufacturers aren't motivated to include such a feature because they want you to keep wearing out your battery and buying new phones every year or two...
My Pixel 6a will fast charge if put on charge during the day, but, if put on charge in the late evening, it slow charges. The phone learns from your usage and charges at a rate to have it ready for first use in the morning, in my case it finishes charging at 5am.
@@keithr0 Good to know, but this still relies on having a predictable schedule and still charges the phone up to 100% (which on my Pixel 8, is an absurd 4.4V+) which is very hard on the battery regardless of whatever fancy chemistry tweaks they're using.
Version naming aside USB is amazing! It could be used for almost all our day-to-day activities if people were more serious to incorporate it in more use cases (and drop legacy support). Also I am a bit disappointed that you didn't cover USB PD PPS mode. It's a killer feature for sure and you can build for example a tiny bench supply with just a phone charger. Unfortunately the ch224k/d chip that you mentioned doesn't support PPS and I am not aware of any cheap and easy to use ICs that support PPS mode.
So far I had no need for PPS. A mobile power supply could be one, I agree.
This is the best description I've seen of USB-C so far - thank you!
You're welcome!
Thanks for this deep insight! It's even more complex than I expected... 😬
Me too was surprised ;-)
This was huge. I've never dug that deeply into usb-c but I have run into many mysterious problems, including a cable that works one way but not when connected 180 degrees turned. Now I can guess why. I ordered the led based tester to see what all my cables are about. I already have a different tester that reads e-marker values but not data pins.
I hope the video was able to "uncover" some of the mysterious problems...
@@AndreasSpiess It really was. Very clearly explained (like you usually do) and detailed enough. It was a real eye opener.
@AndreasSpiess Also if you use a USB-A to USB-C cable you don't use Power Delivery and you can use ports without 5.1k
Interesting!
It reminds me that LTT did a similar video but on HDMI cables, surprisingly even good companies sells bad cables.
The lesson I learned the hard way is that never cheap on cables.
I am not sure if the price always is a good indicator (unfortunately)... But let's hope for the best!
I think you learned the opposite lesson. The lesson is, you cant trust anyone.
Do you have a link to that video at hand?
thanks andreas! this is one of the best videos on youtube about usb-c!
my personal recommendation is strictly to buy thunderbolt 4 cables. by definition, the need to have the highspeed data lines.
grüezi from another swiss guy 😉
den km003c tester kannte ich noch nicht, aber habe den soeben bestellt 😊
Dieser Tester wird dir sicher helfen. Er sagt allerdings nichts über die Datenleitungen...
USB is definitely not user-friendly on multiple levels. Many consumers who blame their USB device for transferring data at slow speeds may never suspect their cable is to blame. Thank you for this clear and informative video! *subbed*
Welcome aboard the channel!
An important note (and part the reason the "low speed only" charging cables exist) is that it is _very_ difficult to manufacture a USB cable that can maintain 20/40/80Gbps signaling over long distances. If you want a 6/10/15ft USB C charging cable, it almost certainly won't be capable of supporting the fastest speeds (unless it's very thick and a very expensive active cable). Having thinner, more flexible cables for these uses is also an advantage, but it does mean you need to know the difference between your "charging" USB C cables and your "high speed data" USB C cables.
I really wish they'd introduced standardized labeling and colour coding for this, but the USB-IF is well known for chronic issues with bad labeling and naming decisions, so no surprises there. I make a point of labeling all my high-speed capable C to C cables for this reason, so I know what to use when I want higher speeds or to use alternative modes like Displayport over USB C.
If you need the highest speeds, your suggestion to buy USB4 or Thunderbolt 3 cables is a great one. You might pay somewhat of a premium, but these higher-end standards "cut through the cruft" and ensure the cable supports _all_ relevant standards rather than a hodge-podge of elements the way it's allowed for regular USB C cables.
Great video though, and you covered all the important points extremely well! The point about the two pull-down resistors is super important, and invariably if a cheap "USB C" device won't charge/run from a certain cable or power adapter, it's because the manufacturer has screwed up this (very simple) point. Depending on the device, connector, and your soldering skills, it's sometimes possible to bodge in the missing resistor(s) or to replace the connector with a USB-C that has the correct break-outs to solder in the required resistors.
Note that the problem with "simple" devices not connecting to power due to bad resistor arrangements can not only affect charging depending on cable orientation, but also E-marker cables will refuse to charge these devices. As such, it's helpful to keep at least a few "non-E-marker" 60W cables around if you don't want to have to rely on USB A ports to power these kinds of non-compliant devices.
Thank you for your addidional information!
Not unlike how in the old days you had to keep track of which micro B cables had data wires AT ALL and which ones were the cheap pieces of crap that just provided power, which meant even high-current charger detection doesn't even work right.
Used to cost $5 or $15 for a charger, now thanks to people who simp for monopolies (like you) that'll be $80 for a charger that will break after 30 days. You damn simply have ruined everything, blame yourselves.
@@VertegrezNox Are you ok? I have no idea what you're going on about.
@@siberx4 I'm saying these things exist because y'all keep giving them more money. Our taxes pay for ALL the research and development that goes into these products, meaning our taxes already paid for the production of these items. Y'all continue to support monopoly after monopoly (with your money) and though you may complain, nothing is resolved when your actions continue to feed these tax subsidized for-profit mega monopolies. This is why a damn USB cable costs $80 and is still inferior to USB-A (3.1), it's because y'all continue to support an abusive government that steals from you and regulates only to maintain monopolistic dominance, & y'all continue to pay for planned obsolescence products (that cost more & are produced poorly, all for more profits). The fact of the matter is you all simp over monopolies & feign ignorance that YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. You, you pay their bills, you allow your government to steal from your neighbors & then enable them to steal from people even more. Take a look in the mirror, stop supporting this shit if you want it to end!
USB-C always sucks, because it plugs immediately, you do not have the joy of having to turn the plug twice, before it fits😂
Precisely :-))
Wow this video is incredible. Well thought out and very informative. And since it's about USB-C it'll be relevant decades into the future.
Thank you for your kind words!
You are doing a great job. Very well explained, thanks for the information!
You are welcome!
Learnt a lot from this video on Unpredictable Serial Bus C!
Welcome aboard the channel!
I had a much higher opinion of you before you revealed that you are an iPhone user. No wonder you didn't have a proper cable: Apple cheaped out and stopped supplying charging cables and wall warts.
I like my iPhone. It is just a product and I have one since the time Android did not exist ;-)
I just bought a Galaxy S24 Ultra, and it didn't come with a wall wart either. It isn't just an Apple thing. If you ask why, they'll claim they're being more environmentally friendly. Reality is that phone manufacturers just found a way to make more money and give out less.
Excellent work Andreas, learnt a lot from this one. Thank you 🏁
My pleasure!
Thanks Andreas. Your videos are always thoughtful, and today's was especially useful.
Glad to hear that!
Awesome! The whole world needs to see this video, finally an explanation we can all understand so we can understand why our USB-C cables aren't giving us what we expect.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for the breakdown and showing some fun new tools.
I do have different USB testers but they are only for power. But showing the C2C devices will help me unlock a number of my cables. I know most aren't higher speeds but this will help me determine more and label them appropriately.
Labelling is really helpful in this case...
@@AndreasSpiess I did buy your test. Worked great, loved it. The recommend Amazon one looks cool too with more options.
Oh thank you for that video. I need some time, but I'll definitely watch it
:-)
So much useful detail! Thanks for that Andreas, even by your high standards that was a really thorough explanation.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you very much. I learned quite a bit from all of your thorough explanation.
You are welcome!
Thanks for this video! I think a simple cable tester can be made with two breakout boards and some LEDs. Will buy them.
I agree (and even mentioned it in the video. For me, the ready-made tester was good (also because I did not understand everything when I started my investigations).
Very thorough, that was the first video I've seen of yours, it won't be the last. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it! Welcome to the channel.
Another phantastic "Andreas" video! ... Complex stuff very good explained !!
Indeed, it was quite complex when I started. Now it is a bit easier…
Great idea about usb-c connector boards and checking continuity.
Excellent video.
Thank you!
Andreas, thank you for another awesome video and for all you are doing! Greetings aus der Slowakei 👍
My pleasure!
Back to the future with v24 breakout boxes to check cables. Very good video.
Times repeat themselves. Look at the clothes ;-)
Danke Andreas, wie immer gründlich und sachlich und ohne blabla.
Danke! Mein Amateurfunk Rufzeichen ist übrigens HB9BLA. Deshalb nicht noch mehr Blabla ;-)
Excellent USB study. Thanks Mr. Spiess.
You are welcome!
I could listen to you say “episodes” and “ideas” all day long. Awesome content!!
Glad you like them!
Thank you for your effort. Development of USB and of serial communication in general is amazing. Ethernet coax ; Trasnputer os-link; ethernet twisted pair, USB. A long way but wery effective. The USB-C connector is also amazing. small, versatile, fast, power. Robust? Kind of.
Indeed. We hardly see parallel cables anymore…
Really useful. The USB standard is challenging to understand. I'll be bookmarking this video. Thanks. I'm subscribed and ... Continued Success!
Thank you!
Danke für das super Video! Ich war auch schon frustriert mit einer externen USB C Harddisk. Mein USB Interface am PC (3 Jahre alt) hatte noch eine ältere USB Version. Auf Windows wird zusätzlich USB stark gedrosselt durch die „sicher ausstecken“ Funktion. Extrem viele Faktoren, du du auch beschrieben hast! 73 von HB9TIA
Das mit dem "sicher ausstecken" wusste ich nicht...
Extremely helpful!! Thank you!
You are welcome!
This is by far the best video on USB-C I've seen. Thanks very much for sharing all this info. One quick question: what diameter (or diameters) of heat shrink tube do you recommend for the USB-C and Barrel Jack (2.1mm) cables? Thanks again!
circumference of plugs
USB-C = 30mm
orig. Apple Lightning = 22mm
Diameter for 4:1 Schrumpfschlauch (heat shrink)
USB-C = 9,6mm ⌀
Apple Lightning = 7mm ⌀
I use the 17.7mm "Brother" heatshrink tube cassettes. But I have at least one cassette of all 4 sizes...
Fantastic video. Makes me want to test all my cables.
You probably should do it😉
Very helpful and very interesting. Many Thanks, just bought myself a lead tester and a ChargerLAB Power-Z KM003C. I do a lot ov video editing from a MACBOOK Pro M4 Ultra and I have a lot of money invested in "Fast " Drives. I found most of my leads were not delivering the data rates I can achieve with the hardware. I will go through all my leads and throw away any that are not up to scratch. This will literally save me hours of file transfer and editing off external M.2 drive time.
I hope you will succeed! Life is too short for bad cables ;-)
Great video! Do you have any advice for testing/troubleshooting laptop usb-c connectors? They appear to be fragile, but it is difficult to know whether it is a bad connector or a driver problem.
The only solution I know is to use such a tester that shows you the negotiation or at least the negotiated standard.
Great video! One thing missing is the external drive speed test with that one cable that supports highspeed.
It was much faster. The cable was no more the limiting factor.
Perfect timing just as I needed this video :)
Very good!
Thank you very much for this very informative video. Keep it up.
My pleasure!
Another excellent video Thankyou for posting
My pleasure!
This is amazing!!! Thank you!! 🎉
You're so welcome!
Thank you very much for the video, it answered almost all questions I had about USB-C.
The only thing I missed is what pins are actually used for transferring power, and what physical properties of the cable (besides e-marker) define how much power the cable can carry. For example, what will be the difference between the cables that can carry 60W, 100W and 240W? Will the more powerful cable have more pins/wires, or its wires will be thicker, or both?
There are 4 ground and 4 positive wires for power. Stronger cables need thicker power wires.
I needed this info. Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent work! Thanks Andreas.
My pleasure!
@@AndreasSpiess Forgot to mention: As a Ham Radio enthusiast I was most annoyed when they stole our upper side band acronym. But at least there is less of a chaos with a PS2 mouse, PS2 keyboard, Centronics printer and of course the scussy harddrive with the displayport and out RS232 modem. Now they want 6A to go thru a micro connector pushing ohm's law into a corner. Next USB plug coolers?
Random Question! Do you know of a simple board you can buy that will just cutoff power at 2s ~6.4V or 3s ~9.6V undervoltage before I ruin the batteries in my circuit? The only ones I can find on aliexpress have an LCD screen, 4 adjustable buttons and they are pretty big at 6x4cm. A lot larger than I want and more features than I need! Do you know of something simpler and smaller that can be bought? I can't make PCBs. Thanks a lot!!
No, I do not know such boards :-(
geez ! Glad you could figure all that out .
Took me a while. But now I am happy because many things are clearer…
Wow! That was an awesome video. Thank you!
You are welcome!
That was really useful and enlightening! Thank you a lot! But there is never good without bad - now when I know those things, I probably have to start ordering new cabling for large-format CMOS astrocameras.... ;-)
That is well possible ;-)
A very important point for any connector is that the grounds of the devices are connected first.
In some bad cables the external metal shields at both ends are not even connected.
Thank you for the additional info!
I am very interested in learning more about PD sources, concretely how to take DC from a bench power supply or battery module and present it as USB-C PD and its "most capable".
For example, at 5V most, if not every, PD source I've seen delivers 3A max. The official power supply for the Raspberry Pi 5, for example, operates (reportedly) at 5V 5A and is rated at 27W. While aware that your focus is not so much on Raspberry Pi devices for home automation, I'm just using it as an example.
For robotics, namely in a ROS2 platform, the Raspberry Pi 5 is a very capable device. The ability to power it from a DC battery as if it were the official power supply, enabling it to perform on battery power as it would on wall power, would allow for very interesting robotics projects, I believe.
Thank you for this video!
One of my next videos will use the Pi5 ;-) But AFAIK, the Pi 5 does not use PD, just ordinariy 5V USB with a high current.
@AndreasSpiess looking forward to that and maybe not so much looking forward, but still probably am going to open up one of those power supplies to see what makes it tick 🕵♀
Thanks for this great video!
My pleasure!
Very helpful, very clear, thank you! - - The connections test board looks very good. Is there a risk of damaging the chips in the advanced cables? Could you accidentally kill a thunderbolt cable by testing it as a USB-C?
I do not think so.
Thanks for such useful info/video! Everyone must have accumulated so many USB (C or not) cables. Time to get rid some :)
Indeed. I also reduced the stock…
Very informative video! Through dumb luck I purchased a KM003. It's very handy.
I agree. I use it a lot to understand which standards are used and offered.
One idea behind the standardization on USB-C for charging would be to decrease the amount of electronic waste. However for laptops the first things to break is the USB-C connector on the charger and in some cases the laptop, and that increases the amount of waste rather than decreases is. The large round barrel connector found on Dell and HP laptops is a lot more rugged.
So I expect a lot more scrapped chargers with a bad USB-C connector in the future.
We will see how the quality of these connectors will develop. I now own an iPhone 15 and can compare it with the older models...
Do you know of a tester for a standard USB cable? I've got a cheap NAS that someone gave me and it connects to the computer with a standard USB cable. I'm wondering if I can improve the performance of the device by testing the USB cable.
Standard USB cables come in two variants. The if your NAS offers a blue connector, you have to use a cable with blue connectors. So far all blue cables I tested had the additional wires for high speed. Also do not use too long cables.
I don't have time to watch this right now but I'll definitely be returning. I just know you'll demystify USB-C standards in a way that will make sense to me
For sure it is valuable to understand a standard we will use for the next few years!
A very well done investigation and video. By definition - as I had some problems on a MacBook Air M1with charging (if the 1st connector in the computer fails there is a 2nd, but if this is also gone it cannot be charged anymore) the USB cables should be male and whats inside the computer female as the male is more easy to fail and exchange. Nevertheless, they will improve and having just on connector type inn the future is a big advantage.
It started a long time ago with ESP8266 when I realized that not all cables work Good point and thanks to Austria.
Good point re slow charging and battery life. Maybe configurable cables will come to adjust.
Personally I am a little reluctant as I am waiting for the next USB generation where it even could make sense to charge electric bikes and other consumers with USB.
Thank you.
My e-bike already could be charged with the new USB-c standard: 36V and 2.5A. But of course, it has a different connector;-)
@@AndreasSpiess 90W. Its going in the right direction.