I could care less about the moderators of a Reddit community but this has some weight: LaughingMan11 (Benson Leung, verified USB-C expert).
The thing is, the info is nothing new. We are talking about risk assessment here. The stories of people who damage devices with magnetic cables are outliers. It is for the same reason people in my country drive the bicycle without a helm. Well, it has gotten less safe now that we have the (non speed limited) fatbike hype but before that the risk for cyclists was minimal.
Specifically with a Fairphone, damaging the USB-C port physically is easy to replace. So on such a device, it would make sense to not use a magnetic cable. Also, these magnetic cables were mostly very convenient during the age of all kind of plugs (microUSB, lightning, and then USB-C). We are now in a situation where we have all kind of USB-C plugs yet we have no idea whatever features they have (progress insert progress meme).
@JeroenH, I see your point - the chance of damaging the port is higher by physical means than electrical ones, so a magnetic cable might be better for other smartphones. I’d not considered that.
However, I’d also rather replace the USB-C port myself in 2 minutes, than take it to a repair shop to have its USB controller replaced (which, for a smartphone, can sometimes necessitate removal of the entire SoC) or its motherboard.
We merely shouldn’t need to choose between these possibilities, because the darn port should be properly fitted.
I dare say that in the UK, where I live, that is not the prevailing opinion. It is necessary by law to wear a bicycle helmet.
Well, I removed the (TB4 compatible) magnetic USB-C from my MBP M1 since I don’t want to replace that port. Besides I was not using it much. Since I usually use MagSafe anyway. But on cheaper devices I will keep using them, especially lightning and microUSB. Lightning also puts the wear and tear on port instead of cable (IIRC).
The last device I used with physically badly designed USB port is (apart from apparently FP4) AFAIK Nokia N900.
The stress on USB-C also does not invite me to charge a device for a short moment. So what I done before is say charge from 25 to 50 and then have enough to go to beach and back whilst on vacation. Without magnetic I would be less inclined to charge a little, more to charge to 100% instead of 80% or rather get my device deeply discharged.
Of course a magnetic cable is proprietary instead of standard. But that is kind if tbe point. To turn your devices each into a standard connected way (another advantage leading to needing less cables).
But here in NL the bicycle network is ace. In Amsterdam they’re the dominant means of transportation. Automobiles need to take them into consideration, they’re usually legally at fault in case of an accident. This worked quite well past decades. But not in say New York.
If it works under a case, it could work for short charges. Though, wireless charging isn’t very efficient, and within a case, would produce heat (reducing its efficiency and degrading the battery too).
Indeed. It’s the envy of much of the world. Have you ever watched any of Not Just Bikes’s videos?
I don’t like those as they’re not energy efficient and cause a lot of heat. However, to be fair, it could be a decent alternative to a magnetic plug. The thing is, the disadvantages of Qi are always there, while with magnetic plug they’re never there (unless it goes horribly wrong, which never occurred to me) while the advantage (modular power) are always there with both. In other words, magnetic plugs are going to be preferred IMO as the disadvantage is rare enough to not bother about it. Both do have one specific disadvantage: if you want to get juice in it the regular way, you need to disconnect this method. The magnetic plug is easily detached but can also be easily lost.
Haven’t seen your link (think I heard of it before) but every time I am in Amsterdam I get annoyed by cyclists. There are so many of them, and always a few who just drive rude, don’t respect pedestrians, or you get a sheep mentality on stuff which is not done (such as ignoring zebra). If you’re part of it though, all is good.
PS: I am going to be stop very soon with magnetic USB-C plugs (but not lightning/microUSB) do thank you for the heads up. The reason I quit is simple: USB-C cables are easy enough to attach/detach and I will just use some longer cables and/or powerbank.
Make sure not to make the mistake of leaving the cable connected to the power bank whilst walking. …I accidentally had a cable wrap around a doorknob and yank my type-c port out of its slot.
Since we’re going slightly OT: IMHO, USB-C is badly designed: I have cheap no-brand USB-A cables (the classic rectangular plug) which I have used for a decade and which still work just fine. Actually, I don’t remember any USB-A cable ever going bad on me, not without being rolled over by an office chair, having being used to pull stuff, and so on.
On the other hand I only started using USB-C when I bought my FP4 almost three years ago, and have already been through 2 rather-not-cheap USB-C cables. As Marcellus says, something is rotten in the state of USB-C.
I’d rather keep the annoyance of the USB-A plug being every single time the wrong side around, than having to shell out every other year 35€ (or more) for short-lived and unreliable USB-C cables. Maybe I was just unlucky so far, I haven’t used USB-C long enough to be able to draw a final conclusion, but I’m afraid this is yet another case of “Better is the enemy of Good”.
Just my
@KurtF, your anecdote is meaningful and accurate, but for a reason that you may not have considered. As an example, if you try yanking a USB-A (protocol-irrespective) port sideways with the force of a standard poke (≈47N) it’ll cause noticeable deformation to the port, but not to the extent that it becomes unusable whatsoever. USB-C is no different in strength to these ports. However, because its physical size is so much smaller, and its attachment to the mainboard is usually inferior in most implementations, it suffers more easily.
You’re right, after all a rectangular connector is more stable than an oval one, especially concerning lateral forces (your point).
That been said I never, ever, “yank” cables sideways… I’m very careful with hardware, to the point some people around me are annoyed about it…
I suspect part of the problem (besides the rectangle vs. oval issue), is that the USB-C connector density is very high (24 contacts) compared to the connector density of USB-A (only 4 contacts for the initial ones, 9 for the USB 3.0 compatible ones…). Everything is smaller and much closer packed, which means that just a tiny misalignment will result in bad contacts and short circuits.
This is one reason I do use magnetic (I’ve already bent one USB-C just recently, but it was the cable). However, a dangling cable can also save a device from falling. Did this happen to you on FP4 or FP5?
Actually I’m using TB4 to fiber adapter on my laptop (giving me 10 gbit) and I also have this connected 24/7 when the laptop is stationary.
Yep, @JeroenH. However, I’d have preferred the device to fall, since all its components are solid state (no mechanical HDD head to misalign). It caused one of my 3 port breakages.
…as in, a copper (active?) TB4 cable that somehow becomes an SFP head?
For the second time the USB-C port on my FP4 broke. I ended up replacing the first port after about one year after it started loosing connection to headphones and charger. Now about another eight months my replacement port has the same issue.
This seems to be happening because I use headphones with a USB-C connection. When moving around with the phone in my pocket the USB-C connector on the headphones will sometimes press against the USB-C port on the phone and by leg/pocket. Eventually something breaks down enough such that the port no longer works.
Looking through the forums using the tag usb shows that this is a common issue.
Just for completeness I have tried the following on both original and replacement port with no result.
Clean lint from port.
Ensure port is connected and held in place by the microphone/speaker component.
I think this is a pretty serious design flaw considering the FP is marketed as somewhat robust and long lasting. I’ve had a similar issue with another phone that also lacked a 3.5mm audio jack, forcing me to use the USB-C port for headphones, but that port at least lasted three years before the port gave out.
Personally I would really like to see a return of the 3.5mm jack for later models since it is way more robust in my experience, I don’t think I’ve ever had a problem with one even with phones going for eight years. But if not the USB-C port needs to be hardened a lot.
The lint was my first thought, but since you cleared that out there is nothing much I can add.
USB-C is quite delicate with the many small connections it has. (Housing to board)
What would be interesting is if the solder fails or the board. If the board fails it is a quality/design issue of the board manufacturing. If the solder cracks maybe something could be done in the design. From my experience these things are very difficult to predict and control. You need (probably) millions of devices and good statistics to be able to start research what would be a most reliable solution.
From a purely physical/mechanical point of view I’ve always considered that Apple’s Lightning connector is much better designed than any of the USB connectors we’ve seen. A simple, solid plug with embedded contacts flush with the supporting medium, reversible, and a simple receptacle. I’ve always hated those ultra-thin blades that you find in USB micro-B and which sadly were continued in USB-C.
I’ve been experimenting a bit with a confirmed working USB-C port and the broken one I have. So far I’ve found three failure modes.
Lint in the port
Causes the usb cable connector to not be inserted fully. Fixed by removing lint with a needle or similar.
Loudspeaker unit is not pressing on the USB-C port hard enough
The USB-C port is only held in place by its connector, a single screw, and the pressure of the loudspeaker unit which is screwed in on top of it. The loudspeaker needs to be screwed in very tightly, otherwise I could easily dislodge the USB-C port enough for it to start constantly loosing its connection by putting pressure on the connected headphone cable in a few different directions. I could definitely see that amount of pressure occur if you have the phone in your pocket and the headphone connector is pressed into your leg when you are walking up some stairs for example.
This was fixed by reinstalling the USB-C port completely, and attaching the loudspeaker screws like your life depended on it. I reproduced this twice.
Unknown Issue
I have yet to determine what my broken USB-C port suffers from. The symptoms are very similar to the one with the loosely installed loudspeaker, it works but disconnects constantly. I can’t get it to work by applying the fix described there.
The pins in the internal connector looks fine, but I will have a closer look with a microscope next week to see if they are bent. Other alternatives are the flat internal cable that runs between the port and connector, or the contact board in the external part of the port. Not sure if I can test these with probes somehow.
Since I have another working USB-C port I can be somewhat certain that the issue is not with the phone itself.
It would be very interesting to hear if others that have the same problem can place their issue in the categories above.
@durm, I concur that that’s the most probable reason:
I’ve had my fp5 for about a year now, and I’ve not had any connection faults yet, unlike my fp4’s, despite them appearing similarly poorly attached. I attribute this to only charging it with my battery pack in my side cargo pockets, rather than my diagonal standard trouser pockets, because it puts less pressure on the port.
I’ve always thought that not supporting USB-C’s screw threads was a strange decision, considering that FP is hopefully immune from most manufacturer’s desire to sell accessories. [1]
insert progress meme).
