Hacker News Reader

Comment by jbarberu | Hacker News Reader

I had a Nexus 5X for a few years and the USB C port started progressively giving out at around 8 months. I had to lay it down flat find a position where it would charge and hope no gust of wind would hit it. Forget charging it while using it for navigation.

I like the idea of USB C, but actual my experience with it makes me happy to currently be on a micro. You just learn which way the plug goes. USB A on the other hand, that's trickier...

View on HN

If I am only charging and not using the cable for data, I have started to rely on imitation Mag safe type plugs for phones and other portables. Since the lifespan on both USB-A and USB-C is limited, hope to make stuff useable until the battery needs to be replaced (if possible) instead of a mechanical failure of the port itself or wearing down the contacts too much for use - my 2012 Macbook pro USB ports are super loose and only work if I plug the cable in just right for this reason I assume.

They make 20-pin magnetic adapters now that can carry data as well as power. Last I checked they were like $30 each.

I had a similar problem with my Nexus 5X. I worked around it as you've described for quite some time before I realized that a small amount of lint had been compressed into the port, which was preventing the connector from going all the way in.

While it's possible that the socket is damaged, USB C is designed so that the parts that are likely to break or wear out are in the cable.

I believe micro USB is the same way.

One of the things I don’t like about USB-C when compared to Lightning is that the USB-C socket has some kind of wafer inside it which strikes me as very breakable. I’ve not managed to break one yet, but why was it not put on the cable end as opposed to having the strange male-but-also-female cables we have now.

Do you know what the reasoning behind this decision was?

The wafer has fixed metal contacts on it. The part that mates with the wafer has springy metal contacts, and those wear out. This is one of the major problems with the Lightning port — the springy parts are in the port, not on the cable.

Lightning also appears to have severe problems with arcing.

I see! That makes perfect sense, thanks for replying. I had to search about the arcing problems you mentioned, and I now have an explanation for the blackened pins on my older cable!

> Lightning also appears to have severe problems with arcing.

Well, it IS "Lightning"...

I have never seen or even heard of the spring contacts in the lightning port failing. The biggest issue I've ever seen is lint ingress preventing good contact/locking, which can be cleaned out.

I can't speak to arcing problems.

I’ve seen attempts to clean the contacts damage them because they’re springy. I’ve also just seen them get deformed enough that they stop making good contact.

My Nexus 5X had decided to only accept about 20mA from USB-C (via common A to C cables) if the cable was oriented wrong. Fun times figuring that one out; this is after it had the board swapped or reworked for bootlooping around the original warranty expiration.

Not likely to spend real money on something Google put their name on again.

After like 2-3 months, every micro I've ever had has required me to stretch the cable in some way (i.e., place the phone on top of the cable) in order for it to make contact. Never had this problem with USB C.

It's usually pocket funk, in my experience.

Make a small tool (I use plastic food packaging from something like fresh strawberries) to grab and hook that stuff out of there.

And then, it works fine.

This is rather embarrassing: one of the design goals of USB-C is that it’s rated for a very large number of insertion cycles.

Wikipedia: "Micro-USB and USB-C receptacles are both designed for a minimum rated lifetime of 10,000 cycles of insertion and removal".

AFAIK an insertion cycles test is linear and extremely repetitive e.g. no bending forces and no foreign objects. It doesn't cover the wide range of real world stresses.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com