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Comment by dingaling | Hacker News Reader

My Filco Majestouch lasted barely a year before the USB cable failed at the keyboard end.

It's currently lying in the corner whilst I try to stomach paying £25 for a third-party cable made with their custom internal connector.

I'd prefer if they just had a USB female socket on the keyboard and then I could use any cable.

Why do keyboards have hard-wired cables anyhow? They have plenty of space for a socket and it would eliminate another point of failure.

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  Why do keyboards have hard-wired cables anyhow?

Captive cables only need enough copper to supply enough current for the device they're built into.

Separate cables, OTOH, need enough copper for 500mA with a certain voltage drop to be USB standard compliant. Means 24AWG or bigger for a 2m cable [1].

That's why your keyboard, mouse and webcam have skinny cables while other USB cables are much thicker.

[1] http://cdn2.goughlui.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/USB-Cabl...

A large proportion of modern mechanical keyboards have a mini/micro USB port on the bottom, with a strain relief channel for the cable. It's my preferred configuration - it won't accidentally unplug, strain on the cable won't damage the port and you can easily replace the cable if it's damaged.

https://www.mechtype.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/cable-ro...

> Why do keyboards have hard-wired cables anyhow?

Low-speed USB devices are not permitted by the spec to have a detachable cable. The fancier keyboards are probably full- or high-speed, though, so that doesn't apply to them. As someone else said, mechanical strength may have something to do with it. Keyboards get shoved around a lot, and a connector would likely break off too easily.

I ordered a new one from https://pexonpcs.co.uk/products/filco-cables but you can also make your own USB cable yourself if you manage to get the right connector. FYI, the female socket on the Filco keyboard breaks apart when pulling the USB cable, it's made of very fragile plastic.

Did you seek to get it repaired/replaced under the Consumer Rights Act?

nothing stops you from opening the keyboard, remove that socket (whihc and either resolder the cable or put a usb socket of your liking in. USB is no magic.

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