7 ms·

Some cheaper devices I have (e.g. rechargeable LED light strip) _only_ charge via power-only cables. Was maddening when I realized I had thrown out all but one

by firloop 2mo ago

Some cheaper devices I have (e.g. rechargeable LED light strip) _only_ charge via power-only cables. Was maddening when I realized I had thrown out all but one of the cables that can charge it.

skinfaxi 2mo ago
Some manufacturers don't want to do the power negotiation aspect which is the cause of this, I believe.
- spaqin 2mo ago
  Not even power negotiation but a simple resistor would be too costly for them to implement.
  - deleted 2mo ago
    [deleted]
gumby 2mo ago
Thankfully I’ve never encountered one. But I’ll check before discarding if I ever get a device that comes with one, thanks!
rrrrrrrrrrrryan 2mo ago
More often than not these are usually cheap Chinese devices that are expecting a USB-C to USB-A (power-only) cable, because they're actually USB-A devices, with USB-A circuitry, modified slightly to appear as if they're USB-C. Basically they skipped out on building power negotiation smarts that are required to support real USB-C charging, and instead just swapped out the physical connector.
- Tharre 2mo ago
  They skipped out on literally 2 resistors. That's it, that's all that is required for real USB-C charging.
  - ACCount37 2mo ago
    Yep. The two fucking resistors. All it takes 2 x 5.1K, and yet, somehow, people keep fucking it up. It's not expensive or complex. It's just that somehow, no one thought to look up "how to add type c to your device" online, or ask an LLM, or put literally any effort into making sure the device works as it should.
    - philistine 2mo ago
      Those two resistors cost money. It's not incompetence. It's a deliberate choice.
      - Tharre 2mo ago
        You're saving a fraction of a cent per device, while banking on customers not sending it back as defective because it didn't charge when they tried it with a random cable. If it is a deliberate choice, it's a really, really dumb one.
        myself248 2mo ago
        Yup. Buy it, test it, post a review, return it. It's the only message you can send.
        kakacik 2mo ago
        If it works (aka enough people buy it) it aint stupid
        pbhjpbhj 2mo ago
        Could not disagree more. Advertising is primarily about convincing is to buy things we don't need, don't want, or which are 'stupid' in some way. Half empty plastic packaging, especially the sort where the company spent money to [re-]design it to deceive people - stupid. It should be illegal. Near ubiquitous.
      - klempner 2mo ago

by firloop 2mo ago

Some cheaper devices I have (e.g. rechargeable LED light strip) _only_ charge via power-only cables. Was maddening when I realized I had thrown out all but one of the cables that can charge it.

skinfaxi 2mo ago

Some manufacturers don't want to do the power negotiation aspect which is the cause of this, I believe.

spaqin 2mo ago
Not even power negotiation but a simple resistor would be too costly for them to implement.
- deleted 2mo ago
  [deleted]

gumby 2mo ago

Thankfully I’ve never encountered one. But I’ll check before discarding if I ever get a device that comes with one, thanks!

rrrrrrrrrrrryan 2mo ago

More often than not these are usually cheap Chinese devices that are expecting a USB-C to USB-A (power-only) cable, because they're actually USB-A devices, with USB-A circuitry, modified slightly to appear as if they're USB-C. Basically they skipped out on building power negotiation smarts that are required to support real USB-C charging, and instead just swapped out the physical connector.

Tharre 2mo ago
They skipped out on literally 2 resistors. That's it, that's all that is required for real USB-C charging.
- ACCount37 2mo ago
  Yep. The two fucking resistors. All it takes 2 x 5.1K, and yet, somehow, people keep fucking it up. It's not expensive or complex. It's just that somehow, no one thought to look up "how to add type c to your device" online, or ask an LLM, or put literally any effort into making sure the device works as it should.
  - philistine 2mo ago
    Those two resistors cost money. It's not incompetence. It's a deliberate choice.
    - Tharre 2mo ago
      You're saving a fraction of a cent per device, while banking on customers not sending it back as defective because it didn't charge when they tried it with a random cable. If it is a deliberate choice, it's a really, really dumb one.
      - myself248 2mo ago
        Yup. Buy it, test it, post a review, return it. It's the only message you can send.
      - kakacik 2mo ago
        If it works (aka enough people buy it) it aint stupid
        pbhjpbhj 2mo ago
        Could not disagree more. Advertising is primarily about convincing is to buy things we don't need, don't want, or which are 'stupid' in some way. Half empty plastic packaging, especially the sort where the company spent money to [re-]design it to deceive people - stupid. It should be illegal. Near ubiquitous.
    - klempner 2mo ago