Cheap cables / fire risk

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leo0787sx

407 posts

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#208681 22-Feb-2017 11:37

Hello guys,

Just wondering what peoples thoughts are on the following. I usually only buy Apple branded iPhone charge cables as I like to be safe but they just keep breaking at the connections so I was on the hunt for a durable one but ones like Belkin hit around $40 a cable.

I found a topic on here and most people recommended Nohon cables from AliExpress, they have good reviews and are reasonably cheap at around $6 a cable. I also picked up a micro usb cable for my partner.

I am also looking at getting a Nintendo 3DS usb cable from TradeMe to I can charge my 3DS using my powerbank. Again cheap and not Nintendo branded.

My question is how safe are these? Are they a big risk? Is there a way to test them?

Thanks.

PeterReader

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#1724335 22-Feb-2017 11:37

Hmmmm. Here we go.

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

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timmmay

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#1724341 22-Feb-2017 11:40

Apple cables should be covered under consumer guarantees. A bad cable can destroy your device. A well reviewed third party cable from a budget site like ebay/ali might be ok, but if you value your expensive device I'd probably go with a decent brand.

Aaroona

3192 posts

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#1724507 22-Feb-2017 15:37

For what it's worth, I recently bought a Nohon cable for in the bedroom and it's worked perfectly without any issues, including being "MFi" - at least in the sense it does not alert me saying it's a non-compliant cable, which a lot of cheaper third party cables do.

The only downside I have with the cable is that the light on the plug that goes into the iPhone is a little bright for at night, but as long as you plug it in facing down, you should be fine.
Build quality of the cable is great in my opinion. It's not showing signs of stress as my previous Belkin cable did (I paid $40 for that) around the lightning plug.

I would have no problems recommending the cable and IMO I would be focusing more on making sure I was using the correct (and genuine) charger, as the wall-warts can be the source of many, many firey issues if you get cheap no-name ones.

frankv

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#1724511 22-Feb-2017 15:43

timmmay:

A bad cable can destroy your device.

Electrically, USB is safe for your device... even if you short out the +5 and GND, nothing happens.

So I'm curious how a bad cable can destroy your device? Are you talking about badly fitting connectors bending/breaking the connector on the device?

MikeB4

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#1724513 22-Feb-2017 15:49

Many third party cables for Apple devices will error with accessory not compatible etc

Bung

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#1724533 22-Feb-2017 16:09

What is the Apple logic behind putting the voltage negotiation/protection into the lightning cable rather than have a dumb cable and let the so called smart phone protect itself?

richms

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#1724534 22-Feb-2017 16:09

USB type C the cable and or charger can do dumb things, like plug it into a 12v device, sets the charger to 12v, unplug and plug into phone, still got 12v on it.

Anyway, all cables are a fire risk if you use a typical cheap crap multiport charger that doesnt do per-port current limiting. I have one that has a 12 or 15A power supply connected to 12 USB sockets, Directly. Nothing to stop a short on the end of a long thin cable taking a crapload of current, but not enough to make the power supply shut down, cable get hot, smolder etc.

On a single port charger you should be fine with any cable. The limit of the charger will be low enough that a short on the other end will not get enough current to get the cable hot enough to have a problem - unless it is a really junk cable made out of muck metal with high resistance, but that would probably not charge the phone anyway.

Richard rich.ms

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timmmay

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#1724560 22-Feb-2017 16:46

frankv:

timmmay:

A bad cable can destroy your device.

Electrically, USB is safe for your device... even if you short out the +5 and GND, nothing happens.

So I'm curious how a bad cable can destroy your device? Are you talking about badly fitting connectors bending/breaking the connector on the device?

Read this.

mattwnz

20107 posts

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#1724648 22-Feb-2017 18:29

I have always found the apple ones durable, but you have to make sure you don't just yank it by the wire, you should only pull from the plug. How are they failing? I have found some probelms with non apple ones including error messages on the iphone, and in one case it causes the phone speaker to emit a loud hissing sound until I reset it.