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Comment by fiddlerwoaroof | Hacker News Reader

I’ve personally found usb-c ports aren’t great longevity wise. They have a similar issue as I had with micro-USB: they stop clamping onto the plug and then you don’t get a reliable connection. I’ve found Lightning ports more reliable (with periodic lint cleaning) but it’s a shame that it’s a proprietary standard.

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I've been using this magnetic USB-C adapter on my laptop to reduce the wear and tear on the port: https://a.co/d/4JCadfi.

I've been using it since March with no complaints. It'd be great if manufacturers could standardize on something like this so that the port could be flush.

We bought a similar, “the last cable” and they all lost connection after the metal got worn down in a year. Yet they where supposedly the best of this type.

There’s also been reports of fire due to friction and dirt

They can't; Apple has a patent on Magsafe.

Since they already make it and sell it, they can (standardize too).

They just can't call it Magsafe (trademarked) or use the patented Magsafe design.

Just because someone is doing something, doesn't mean anyone can do something without Apple filing a lawsuit. The small players are small enough to fly under the radar. A consortium standardizing would be a target.

Looks like the magsafe patent will expire in 3 years: https://patents.google.com/patent/US7311526B2/en

Also lightning (the connector used in iphones starting in 2012) is different from magsafe (the connector used in macbooks starting in 2006).

MagSafe is derived from a magnetic power connection that deep fat fryers used to keep dangerous accidents from happening in the kitchen

First time hearing this, super interesting. Got any links to read more on how this prevents a dangerous accident? What does it do to stop the accident, from sparking the oil and ignoring it if the cord is accidentally sheered and exposed?

https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2001/CPSC-Announ...

According to the standard, the USB Type-C connectors should have a much longer lifetime than the USB Type-A connectors or any other older USB connectors and also than most other kinds of connectors.

IIRC, the USB Type-C connectors should survive at least 12000 insertion cycles.

In practice, this does not seem to be true, so I assume that many USB Type-C connectors substitute the more expensive alloys and coatings that they should use for the metal contacts in order to achieve conformity with the standard with cheaper alloys, and this is not something that a normal user can check when buying a device.

For micro USB, I have found that this is almost always because some dirt is trapped and packed in the bottom of the socket - preventing the cable from being inserted deep enough. Cleaning with a toothpick or similar has fixed it each time.

This simple thimg, as easy it is after someone points it out, extebded my old Pixel 2s lige by, so far, another year.

Try to clean up your port with a needle. I am doing this with my phone about once a year. It is almost 4 years old now, no reason to complain.

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