fraud? Volta charging cable

[Wiebenor]

@JonoT @CPotter if this is in the wrong forum, please move it where it needs to go...

 

I watched a few recent LTT and subchannel videos, where you guys ran volta charger ads, and so I just bought one, the only problem is, that I have looked online for some information, I forget what exactly I was looking for, and I found an old forum post here on the top of the list, created in 2019, where someone claimed the Volta charger company was a scam and wanted LTT to look into their sponsorship, and to validate any claims made by either them(the poster) or the company volta charger... 

 

Your company's (LTT's) recent ads are what influenced me to check them out, and I honestly can't give my opinion on the product since I literally just bought it the other day, and it's shipping to the US, but after seeing that post, I am now wondering if I made a mistake buying the cable I bought... I wanted to try the cable out, but now, I feel that at the very least, the evidence should be cleared up as to whether they are a good company or not, because the information on that forum post albeit likely heresay, makes me feel, if it turns out to be true, that you guys need to do better due diligence at least, in keeping the brand image untainted, since it's been a long time since you ran any volta charger content, and it's your ads that may send people to their site... I will say though, that the Volta XL cable in question, on the other post, appears to no longer be sold....

 

again, I don't know if you guys have checked them out since that other post from 2019, and to be honest, I don't know how I feel about that company after reading all that stuff the person posted, calling such an expensive cable a clone or rebranded cheap knockoff cable, that may or may not have issues, along with the accusations of not delivering on the promises of charity giving... I don't expect a reply, and I'm not sure if you guys at LTT can make me feel better about my purchase, but if there's something I'm missing here, I'd be happy to know whether any of those purported accusations of the company in question were looked into, and whether you stand behind the product in the ads or not... Sorry if I haven't tagged the right people, I just tagged the same ones the other post had tagged and had gotten a response from... I feel torn right now as I know you guys wouldn't knowingly accept ads that were very shady, yet I don't know what the truth about that company, or the aforementioned post is, which creates doubt in my mind as to the quality of the product, and I hate the feeling of uncertainty as to the quality of the product, or your company's recommendations, as well as the reputation of of choosing your sponsors very carefully...

Edited March 6 by Wiebenor

[MichaelDR]

I got a Volta Spark cable a few weeks ago, and a few tips.  It won't charge my Quest 2, at all.  It won't charge my Sony XM3 headphones, nor my Nexdock Touch, and it undervolts my Pi 4.  I have no real use for it, and their support has been useless and takes a week between responses.  I can't believe I paid as much as I did for it, and that I trusted LTT for having chosen to advertise for them.

 

Just looking at their IndieGoGo shows countless comments from supporters who claim it doesn't work with their devices.  LTT REALLY needs to test these products!

 

The previous LTT thread on Volta talks about how much of a scam this company is, but seeing as Linus just ran a promo on ShortCircuit today, IDK if he is aware of it.  Is LTT doing okay, financially?  Surely there are OTHER sponsors you could go with, right?

[Wiebenor]

I found out that the cable doesn't support all devices, only those without the PowerDelivery 2.0 mandatory specification, and if your device, such as a pixel 4a doesn't work, it's either because you need the SPARK cable, or are using a 5watt version... Haven't heard of anyone else with a pixel 4a trying the 3watt volta 2.0 cable, so I can't verify whether the problem is actually PowerDelivery 2.0, or the whole google locking out 5watt cables due to shoddy workmanship concerns, with a few brands not necessarily with Volta in particular...

 

Of course, that doesn't mean that I think they're running things correctly, because they claim "1 cable for **ALL** your devices", not "2 cables for all your devices"

Edited March 29 by Wiebenor

[Cthulhu Calamari]

I just got a reply from Volta's customer support within an hour of requesting a refund for the Volta 2.0 cables I bought after LTT plugged them on a video at the end of February. I'm just awaiting confirmation regarding how they calculate the 30-day money-back period, so I don't get screwed by shipping things to and from Australia.

 

The cables themselves didn't have any trouble charging my wife's Pixel 4, or my Samsung S8+. My beef is that the magnet on the tips isn't strong enough to pull the connector back out when unplugging a device. Their customer care rep said that was intentional, so you leave the magnetic tip in and just stick it to other cables, but since it cost me $56 CAD for 2x 1M cables (after shipping) there's no way I'm replacing every cable we use with these.

 

I tested them with some much cheaper magnetic cables off Amazon, and they weren't compatible, but if someone finds another brand that uses the same connector, then I guess it starts to make more sense... Those cheaper cables do fully unplug when pulled straight out, while still breaking away cleanly when the cable is pulled accidentally or at an angle that could otherwise damage it, so the idea is sound. It's just the execution on these cables that doesn't meet my expectations.

[Wiebenor]

I thought that was a pretty obvious feature myself; I mean, I bought them specifically for the idea of inserting the tip and leaving it plugged in... However, I'm not going to say that some people might not understand that, nor judge anyone that doesn't understand the set it and forget it nature of these cables