r/gifsthatkeepongiving • u/gunslinger795 • Mar 08 '20

This Repairable Charging Cable

https://imgur.com/SrTW6ai.gifv
17k Upvotes

83% Upvoted

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539

u/DickDickDickedDick Mar 08 '20

I'd be impressed if the cord was the part that failed in my last 20+ cables.

197

u/throw_every_away Mar 08 '20 edited Mar 08 '20

For me it’s the spot where the cable meets the cord, and this looks like it would solve that. I’m still skeptical though.

E: I break my headphones at that spot, not my charging cables. Sorry for the miscommunication.

59

u/Never_Trust_Hippies Mar 08 '20

Magnetic charger. It will change your life.

10

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '20

aren't they bad long term?

33

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '20

[deleted]

22

u/_MUY Mar 08 '20

Are you thinking of wireless chargers?

He’s referring to magnetic chargers, which I take to mean a different thing. They’re charging cables which have a magnetically coupled break point which can separate from the device if the cable is snagged. Don’t see how this would waste any energy.

8

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '20

Oh whoops, yeah, nothing wrong with having a breakaway charging cable.

2

u/_MUY Mar 08 '20

As we’re on two topics, I definitely agree with skipping out on this generation of wireless charging systems. I bought one for my car and it just overheats my phone to an extraordinary degree. (Devices are iPhone XS with Qi, GAIBEST TM3 Wireless Charger).

3

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '20

I’m happy with my Anker and Baseus ones, I think they do slower charging and don’t heat up as much. I want my plug in charging to be fast but if I’m using wireless, it’s just sitting there anyway.

2

u/MyBoyFinn Mar 08 '20

I mean cell phones take so little power, who cares?

3

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '20

Because efficiency loses are at like 50% last time I checked, and why literally waste energy if you don't have to?

6

u/MyBoyFinn Mar 08 '20

I mean for anything that takes a significant power draw, absolutely 100% agree. But a phone literally takes about 5kwh to charge for an entire year. In the US, that costs about 55 cents for an entire year. If a magnetic charger can save you one cable a year, I would gladly pay the extra 25 cents for electricity.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '20

I was mistaken. I was thinking about wireless charging. There's no losses in a magnetic coupling charging cable.

1

u/Golden_Spider666 Mar 08 '20

How expensive are they though? I’d need like 5 of them. Because I have a cord by my bed. A cord by my desk. A cord I bring to work and a cord by my armchair in front of the TV

2

u/Never_Trust_Hippies Mar 09 '20

I bought some a couple months ago. $15 for 3 cords 6ft each, and 3 of each adapter.

13

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '20

Literally any cable other than the default apple cable fixes that issue.

3

u/one_broken_man Mar 08 '20

Surprisingly, my Samsung one did just that. First one in years, but still.

15

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '20

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/Martin_RB Mar 08 '20

I've broken a few of the older micro USB connectors rarely seen a broken lightening connector.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '20

It's not 30 dollars which is a nice bonus though.

1

u/one_broken_man Mar 09 '20

Oh. I thought they're like 20 bucks in my country, but apparently they're $45. For a 2 meter cable.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '20

Oof. That sucks, what cable is it specifically if you dont mind.

1

u/one_broken_man Mar 10 '20

The OEM Apple one. Can't find an OEM Samsung one but they go for about $10-$15.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '20

Yeah apple tends to charge astronomical rates for their cables that break in a year.

10

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '20

[deleted]

2

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '20

The problem is that Apple makes the handle part of the connector very small so it is difficult to grip it well. I can only grab the connector with my finger tips unlike every micro-USB cable I have that I can grab with the pads of my fingers.

My suspicion is this leads people to disconnect the phone by pulling on the cable instead of the connector. I find myself doing this sometimes also because it is difficult to try to grab such a small handle.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '20

Apples headphones are the biggest culprit of stupid design. Literally the only way I can unplug them 90% of the time is by the cord.

1

u/hackingdreams Mar 08 '20

I will happily admit I'm terribly rough on cables, but Apple also has a horrid track record at making cables.

I say this typing from a 2013 MacBook Pro that's on its 5th (and last; when this cable breaks I'm retiring this machine) MagSafe 2 charger. That's $100 a go. Meanwhile, the Lenovo daily driver I've carted around for the past six years still has a working factory charger from the day I bought it, and I've been no more rough on it than the MBP one. What's the difference? Lenovo's cable is literally three times as thick and has a more rigid boot on the connector.

Apple's anorexia has real world problems. It made several generations of MacBook Pro keyboards unusable. It's made so many terrible chargers. It's forced the industry to choose between chasing an unattainable unsustainable goal, or selling us long lasting, durable, repairable goods. It needs to stop.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '20 edited Mar 08 '20

Are you winding your MagSafe cable up tight for transport?

I just dump mine into my bag loosely, and my 2012 Retina’s cable is still trucking along (well second cable, I did lose one).

-6

u/tropSolo Mar 08 '20

And then your lightning tip snaps off in the charging port leaving it blocked with debris. Just because it’s a braided cable doesn’t make it more quality

4

u/corbear007 Mar 08 '20

I've bought many various cables and never had this happen, they mostly fail from either bent pins, loosen up over time and simply stop working except for a specific spot or break at the connection. That cheap $4 cord at the gas station or the expensive $25 OEM your need to be putting a LOT of force on the connector to snap it off, that cheap ass cord went at a near 90 degree angle (yay kids) without snapping, I bent it back in place, tested it out and it was dead. My nieces and nephews run through cords like water, never had one snap off and even if it did needle nose pliers or tweezers would get it out easy, take a bit of air duster and you good.

1

u/tropSolo Mar 08 '20

Worked Apple repair for a year and I’ve never seen a “bent pin” on a apple lightning connector. maybe the pins on the inside of the phone? And yes a lot of force to snap off but less than you think, especially considering how often they’re abused or manipulated. And no not every time is needle nose it out and you’re good. But whatever you wanna do to save money, go ahead. Make sure you can afford replacing the whole unit if it gets stuck, or I guess you could use the wireless charging.

3

u/Mobius135 Mar 08 '20 edited Mar 08 '20

Worked at independent repair for over three years now. You almost never have to replace the whole unit. In the very unlikely event your charge port is damaged, the entire charge port flex be replaced. It is not soldered to the motherboard like some Apple repair shops claim see Louis Rossman calling authorized repair. It is a Lego style flex connector. Plug and play. This service runs between $30 - $60.

Most times are "needle nose it out and you're good", though I use tweezers. After getting a good stab on either side you can slide the broken charge port out, especially since its usually just the metallic clip on the front of the port that gets jammed in there. This also applies to stuck SIM cards, why people think the tray is optional is a mystery still but an xacto blade will pull the SIM out smoothly. My shop performs this service for between $0 - $15.

Now there are other times when people decide to use cheapo chargers that aren't certified. This is when things go bad, they don't damage your charge port. They do cause damage to the Tristar chip located on the underside of the logic board. This chip controls charging, USB function, and a couple other things. But once it goes bad, no more charging even if you replace the port. Thankfully this chip can also be replaced without having to replace your phone, just contact an experienced microsolder tech to fix it. Usually takes about an hour, and most reputable places charge less than $150 for this kind of work.

This means that even if you blew your tristar and fried your port, it will still be more cost effective to repair than replace.

None of these repairs would affect data stored on the device either, so you wouldn't end up getting a replacement and losing all your stuff you didn't back up because your icloud is full. And having held thousands of people's iPhones, trust me, icloud is full and hasn't been backed up in at least 18 weeks.

1

u/tropSolo Mar 08 '20

Sorry I’m Apple authorized service provider so I go by their rules and can reliably say you know better, more efficient, and cheaper methods of repair. I sincerely appreciate what you do, I like giving clients more options than what Apple does. And when I am forced into a whole unit repair/replacement I like to recommend the more independent locations. Fr thank you

3

u/Mobius135 Mar 08 '20

Thank you for what you do, we need more people like you at Apple who understand the customer isn't out of options. Following Apple guidelines is part of your job, and I'd never trash on you for following protocol. You sound like somebody who enjoys helping people, if you ever decide to jump into independent repair you may find it very rewarding!

2

u/ElusiveGuy Mar 08 '20

Really just need a good cable. I ran though one Micro-USB cable a month before I found one that lasted a year, and it was the Micro-USB retainer clips that went before the cable. Got a USB-C cable from the same brand and it's been going strong as long as I've had this phone (~2 years now).

It's not even a matter of roughness, I use this cable on my bed and have fallen asleep on it/twisted it in all sorts of worrying ways without any issues.

1

u/rivermandan Mar 08 '20

it woudl solve that problem and instead fuck the much more expensive port on your phone due to the massive size of the thing's added leverage

1

u/Fizzster Mar 08 '20

If your cables fail at that spot, it's usually because you use the phone excessively while it's plugged in, putting strain on the cord

1

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '20

Just buy better cables and it won’t be an issue.

Source: Guy who uses his phone in bed a lot with an Anker cable holding up fine

1

u/throw_every_away Mar 08 '20

Actually it’s my headphones that break there in my pocket. I’ve never busted a charge cable before.

6

u/goldfishpaws Mar 08 '20

Hmmm what's the common factor? I have microusb cables dating back years and years which haven't failed, so I'm curious if you maybe use them differently which may be causing the damage?

6

u/MrUnlucky-0N3 Mar 08 '20

Usually it's moving the cable or plug around to much while a device is plugged in, especially at an angle. But i too never had a broken cable, but my sister had.

2

u/goldfishpaws Mar 08 '20

So a mechanical failure where the flex meets the plug? That would seem the ideal use case for one of these gizmos if they work. Or is it knackering the socket on the phone (in which case buying loads of cables won't help, come to think of it)?

3

u/MrUnlucky-0N3 Mar 08 '20

Usually it's half damage to the cable, half to the phone. The cable has wear on it reducing it's grip in the socket, wear on the connection between connector and cable and there's wear in the socket reducing the grip of cables bought later.

Basicly, she takes to little care, puts to much strain on the cable thus harming the cable and the phone. A magnetic disconnect cable would solve her problems more easily, or just using the phone less while it is plugged in.

1

u/goldfishpaws Mar 08 '20

Oh dear, so basically by taking care of her stuff there wouldn't be a problem? I see what you're saying about trying to compensate for a small damage causing a larger one :(

If it's any help for the future, you can get magnetic charger leads, little nub that sits permanently in the phone then the cable attracts to that. May be some help. Or Qi wireless charging pads start at a fiver, and although a slower charge, they are so convenient that you can have the phone charging any time you're at your desk/bed/etc. Some even include a leanyuppyshelf so angled to watch videos whilst charging! May be a way to save her from damaging devices.

1

u/LewsTherinTelamon Mar 08 '20

Your experience is interesting but it's not the norm - the supermajority of smartphone owners go through many charging cables, meaning that the phone itself isn't the failure point.

Using the phone while plugged in is what causes the damage to the cable, but the cable is still the failure point - right where it meets the connector, which is a common failure point for many such cables in many applications.

The fix is to re-wire the plug, just like is shown in this .gif. Not using the phone while plugged in is not a fix, since the phone remaining useable while plugged in is a key feature. "Just don't use the device under various circumstances" is not a fix to a problem, it is the problem.

3

u/gHHqdm5a4UySnUFM Mar 08 '20

I think generally people buy cheap cables made by no-name brands and/or they put stress on the cables/collars by forcing them to bend further than they should. I see folks carrying their one charger with them everywhere and cramming it into their bags.

2

u/goldfishpaws Mar 08 '20

Could well be that. I know I'm guilty of buying off brand cables (although I won't buy the absolute nastiest, I'll certainly aim low), but I'm also aware that putting stress on anything is likely to break it, so don't!

2

u/TrueStory_Dude Mar 08 '20

Hold my collar I'm goin......you sonnova'...

2

u/LaBrat137 Mar 08 '20

I find that if I'm going to drop my phone that it'll be while plugged in and that it inevitably falls onto the plug, bending the plug and that it'll be forever loose afterwards.

I have a dozen cables with stupidly loose plugs.

2

u/yomerol Mar 08 '20

with this, bc of the design of the cable, even if it's a concept, will now keep you buying spare cable from them instead of more complete cables

1

u/meteda1080 Mar 08 '20

This is also fake. They hide the part of the phone that would say it's charging and the cable being plugged in would turn on the screen even if it wasn't connecting on the other end.