Most of my flashlights and rechargeable decives are micro USB still. C is superior but I'm not throwing away good electronics over a charging cable.
In some senses i would go back. Then i could just keep using 1 wire. Things were great when everything had the same cable for me. Now ive got a mix of micro and C.
I do a lot backpacking and every gram really counts when you carry it all day.
I still keep a micro USB to USB-C adapter on my keys. I've been thinking of getting one that's reverse too.
Well in this scenario it's a genie granting a wish, so why not just wish for everything to be changed to USB-C?
I was just thinking that the only device that's still micro USB is my Kindle, but remembered that I also have a PS4 controller
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I'm really grateful that most cheap shit physical stores in my area uses USB C these days. Even most stuff on Amazon and in $2 shops is mostly USB C from what I've seen.
The only 2 devices I have that still use micro USB is a small desk vacuum, and my raspberry pi zero W. But I only have a single micro USB cable so I just have an adaptor for my vacuum
Most micro USB cables that came bundled with phones or gadgets were built so cheaply that they don't even have data pins. They're a pain to sort out whenever I want to program a board.
The one good thing about Google's Social media experiment was that guy who reviewed USBC cables to see if they actually adhered to the standards.
It's shocking how many didn't have the proper resistors or components to properly handle data and charging.
I used to keep every cable that came with any electronics. USB-C convinced me to throw away any cable I didn't specifically buy. Even my charging cables are USB4 240w 40gbps because I got so tired of guessing which cable did what. I don't even need those specs but I'll never have to wonder which cable to use.
Why not, I'm sure plenty of companies make the same cable available across many wholesalers?
They are useful for dummies like me though! When I let my phone run out of battery while installing an update, I thought it was the end for it. But it turned out that it had just bricked itself by desperately using every single ounce of juice, so it could no longer tell the charger that it wanted to charge.
Solved by buying a dumber charger!
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I recently went through my collection of Micro USB cables because I couldn't fit them into the drawer anymore. About 80% wouldn't even receive any data at all.
This this this...what the fuck.
If anyone here has a synth and it uses USB and they can't get it to be seen by the computer this is why...ask how I know
My old kindle was a nightmare for this reason. Plus the socket got funky with age on top of that, and eventually there was really like 1 special cable that would work and it always seemed to end up hidden under 50000 things.
Still, that does speak to the battery life of the kindle.
Yep. When I wanted to transfer files between phone and computer I had to try out 3 cables before I found one that was data capable.
What kind of sadistic shit bag would actually want those defective easily broken pieces of trash back???
Camera bump really pisses me off. Just make the phone thicker with a longer battery damnit
God yes. I absolutely HATE that phones got slimmer and slimmer while also consuming more battery - which can’t be swapped like the good old days.
I’ve got giant hands. Give me a phone that’s AT LEAST twice as thick with a battery that lasts at least three days.
I’d absolutely carry a large Motorola brick phone style if those were still viable today. They do make retro gimmick phones like it, but you really do need a smartphone for a lot of specific apps.
Unihertz and Oukitel both make "rugged" phone models with giant batteries - aimed at weekend campers with giant hands. And Fairphone and Volla both have phones that still allow for easy battery swapping.
Neat, I've never heard of those. Unihertz makes one with a projector in it... that's wild. I'd be hesitant to buy a phone that's sold on AliExpress though, I'd assume OS support wouldn't be that great.
Yeah, software support tends to be pretty bad for their devices, with few updates, and they are often bad with posting kernel source for their devices, so hard to get custom roms or flash alternative OS's on them too. But if you want a phone that has a battery that can last 3 days straight - they are indeed available for purchase
If battery technology werenʼt still stuck in the Vietnam War era, 2-second rapid charging would require something like a thick boi USB-B cable to satisfy everyoneʼs desire to also use their phone as a tazer/hand grenade/flying drone/cardiac defibrillator/space heater.
I've had 400% more failures of USB C than of micro. Keep in mind I've only had C for a couple years, and micro for 14 across numerous devices.
That's got to be something you're doing. Cause I've had exactly zero problems. In fact I don't think I've actually met a person who's ever had a problem with USB - C. But I have boxes (plural) of dead micro USB cables and, on top of that, I have so many devices that have been rendered useless by the fact that the micro USB port has been blown or damaged in some way it's not even funny.
Edit, these are not all mine. They are from multiple people.
I'm with you. Those spring-latch-things on the micro just give up on life and the whole thing becomes useless or tears apart the port you try to plug them into. I say leave them in the past
Yeah, I love the counter argument of "oh, the USB - C gets dirt in it". As though that hasn't been an issue with every port ever conceived. 😒
Was a lot less of an issue with lightning than with other connectors, but I realize that people hate the lightning for some reason.
And because of the little metal piece that would break off and prevent your phone from charging. You could just weasel it out with tweezers but most people would think their port was broken because they didn't know it was even an issue.
Type-C ports are a lot more sensitive to dirt in my experience. I can keep it working if I clean the port every couple weeks, but at this point I just pretend phones don't have charging ports.
Me too, first two phones I had with USB C both developed issues with the port, one shorted in the port, the other for some reason could only be charged with one specific cable, oriented in only one direction. Never had any issues with the ports on any previous USB micro phones.
The current one works alright though, and its capable of detecting water and dirt in the port, so probably won't short itself. So I think the technology is improving.
In my experience, that's what tends to happen with a dirty port/cable. Cleaning it out solves the problem 99% of the time.
My anecdotal experience is the complete opposite of you two lol. Tons of issues with micro-b and a few broken connectors. No issues thus far with C.
At least mini is robust. Micro had that tiny tab that always got damaged after a year or less cuz you inevitably tried to plug that mf in backwards
Yeah, mini is the best! It is robust and has a ahape that makes it easy to figure out which way to plug it. I love it when i fet a device with a mini
has a ahape that makes it easy to figure out
May I introduce you to USB C then where it doesn't fucking matter how you plug it? I definitely prefer mini over the micro abomination but it's not "the best".
I see you don’t work IT where the solition to “my docking station isn’t working” always, always, always is “rotate the USB-C cable”.
I am not kidding. Vendors fuck this up either because they’re dumb or because they want to cheap out (why make sure both work if they’re interchangeable?)
I don't think I ever managed to break it by plugging it in backwards, but they indeed brake constantly. Mine would always bend since they were so bloody thin. The only micro usb cable that didn't break is the one going to my PC tablet, which I barely move, every other one got bumped around enough, either in my backpack or just charging in bed/on the couch, to eventually break the contacts within a year or 2, 3 max.
I once got an adapter as a kid to plug in a controller, was super exited until I dropped it and stepped on it by accident with my naked squishy child feet, probably the fastest I ever broke one of these. Like what the actual fuck? Micros sucks so much!
I still have a few because PSP/ps3, but also https://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=3896
Monoprice! For all your cable needs.
It's the rule of cables. If I look for a micro USB, I will only find minis. If I look for minis, why suddenly I have only micro USB!!! Maybe I'm in the bad place.
12 yards long, 2 lanes wide, 65 tons of American pride! Macro USB! Macro USB! Top of the line. Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts!
What I want is to be able to retrofit usb-c onto my older stuff.
I was kinda annoyed at having to switch, but it really is better in every way
I liked microusb. I don't know what everyone is doing with their connectors, but I never had any contact issues.
All I know is no matter how careful I was, it would end up not connecting unless it was held at exactly the right angle. I've yet to have a single USB-C connector have the issue
I've got a USB C that requires me to have it plugged in one specific direction or no charging
I’ve had it with shoddy c ports on various devices, including a phone (thankfully had wireless charging also). The connection pin thingy breaks off pretty easily, and causes the same issue you described for several weeks/months ahead of the actual breakoff, where it has to be in exactly the right position (and wiggling it to hit the right position obviously exacerbates the problem).
I’ve actually bought some magnetic chargers for the more fragile electronics, so I never have to put strain on the port..
We must be buying different USB-C cables, then. I've been using anker ones for years and havent had a single break like that, and I'm definitely not gentle with mine.
Oh, yeah no it’s not the cable, it’s the receiving port on the device itself. Sorry for the confusion :)
I would like to know what I'm doing with the connectors too, dammit.
I don't blame any connector, all of them end up the same for me. Externally in good condition but the conductivity the poorest.
Every phone I've ever replaced was replaced because the micro USB broke. Now with how fast charging is I don't even use my phone while it's charging, but I still don't expect the USB-C to be the part that gives out first.
I think the real solution is repairable gadgets. A microusb port costs pennies and if the phones were repairable at all, it would be a 5 minute solder job. The same is true for USB C as well. It might be more durable, but it can still break and it feels so stupid to replace a decive because a single cheap part broke.
The only annoyances I had were general keyed connector issues, but usually you're able to look at the port, it's usb a that tended to be plugged in blind, usb c can be annoying to plug in blind because if its size, just less overall annoying that og usb
C is better than any other type of USB in literally every way possible. There's not even an argument to be made. Go on, I'll wait.
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I’m not sure about this, but maybe micro allows for slightly thinner devices?
I wouldn’t call that an argument though, because it doesn’t even approach mattering as much as USB-c’s other benefits. Hell Apple made their thinnest ever device (the new 5.x mm thick iPads) with it, including Thunderbolt support.
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I'm so conflicted. It's way too chunky, but I've never had one fail and it's durable as shit. Damn.
TIL my external hard drives use micro 3b. I didn’t realize that was a standard.. figured it was a proprietary to prevent using the wrong cable..
You can use an old micro usb cable in the small hole and it will likely work, only at USB 2.0 speed.
The micro USB most of us know already is a USB-B. Each cable before USB-C had USB-A on one side and USB-B on the other. The square-like one used for printers is a full-sized USB-B, as opposed to the one used in phones (micro USB-B).
Yes, that's what I meant by "the micro USB most of us know". I don't think I've ever seen the A variant of micro USB.
Isn't that the PS3 controller cable? It's such a funky lil micro variant I'm so scared to lose my cable lol
Unlikely, the A plugs are for the host devices while the B plugs are for peripherals. It got blurred with smartphones (see: USB-OTG) but in general the host devices were big enough to have full-sized USB ports, so the smaller USB-Bs are extremely rare.
Nah, what about if we just use a even mix of all usb types and then ensure that half of all cables sold don't have data pins?
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The worst cables I've had to deal with have been the mini versions of perfectly functional cables. Mini hdmi gets stuck, micro usb snaps off and almost fits backwards enough to break it, etc