Reliable Lightning Cable

[Coolmaster]

Does anyone know of a reliable lightning cable? I use them in my car for carplay, and during the winter when the temperature goes below freezing, all the ones I try die after a month. I think the issue is that when the car is off they freeze and then thaw when you turn the car on, since they don't die as frequently in the summer. I've tried lots of different cables over the years and none of them have lasted much longer than a month. Has anyone found a cable that they find reliable?

[Gokul_P]

3 minutes ago, Coolmaster said:

Does anyone know of a reliable lightning cable? I use them in my car for carplay, and during the winter when the temperature goes below freezing, all the ones I try die after a month. I think the issue is that when the car is off they freeze and then thaw when you turn the car on, since they don't die as frequently in the summer. I've tried lots of different cables over the years and none of them have lasted much longer than a month. Has anyone found a cable that they find reliable?

Couldnt you use std usb c cable for carplay. Why you need thunderbolt for it and cheap thunderbolt cables usually dont work well but dying after 1 month is a odd thing for a copper cable

[Coolmaster]

Just now, Gokul_P said:

Couldnt you use std usb c cable for carplay. Why you need thunderbolt for it and cheap thunderbolt cables usually dont work well but dying after 1 month is a odd thing for a copper cable

Lightning isn't thunderbolt. Lightning is the connector on the iPhone.

[Gokul_P]

7 minutes ago, Coolmaster said:

Lightning isn't thunderbolt. Lightning is the connector on the iPhone.

Yeah i missunderstood that for some reason. You have the same result with apple original one aswell

[Budget DIY]

7 minutes ago, Coolmaster said:

Lightning isn't thunderbolt. Lightning is the connector on the iPhone.

Wrong.

"Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an average of one gigajoule of energy."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

[Runesmite]

I've personally been using the apple genuine lightning cable that came with my iPhone since I got a vehicle that supports carplay (It's wonderful, and I understand wanting it to work!)

 

The big thing I've been doing is making sure that the connector to the USB port in the car, and the lightning connector to the phone are not bent or have pressure. Cables with pressure on them generally are much more prone to failure. I can't speak too much to the weather as I am fortunate to live somewhere that does not get very cold at all during the winter. I have had my cable going for well over a year, and it hasn't shown any signs of stopping.

 

From my experience with most third party cables, the braiding on the cable is the nicest feature. Often times they are not specced correctly for data transfer so you'll get a charge, but not carplay.

[Coolmaster]

3 minutes ago, Runesmite said:

I've personally been using the apple genuine lightning cable that came with my iPhone since I got a vehicle that supports carplay (It's wonderful, and I understand wanting it to work!)

 

The big thing I've been doing is making sure that the connector to the USB port in the car, and the lightning connector to the phone are not bent or have pressure. Cables with pressure on them generally are much more prone to failure. I can't speak too much to the weather as I am fortunate to live somewhere that does not get very cold at all during the winter. I have had my cable going for well over a year, and it hasn't shown any signs of stopping.

 

From my experience with most third party cables, the braiding on the cable is the nicest feature. Often times they are not specced correctly for data transfer so you'll get a charge, but not carplay.

Generally it's not physical damage to the cables, they start randomly disconnecting, then fail entirely. And they work perfectly fine for data transfer when they're brand new. And when I use one indoors it can last years, where the same cable dies in a month in the car. And they work for a long time during the summer. So I think it's something to do with the freezing, maybe destroying a chip inside the cable or something. I was wondering if someone had found a cable that would last in a similar situation.

[Runesmite]

I see! I hope you get some other opinions from people in similar scenarios, I imagine maybe 5 days out of the year I'm using my lightning cable in freezing temps, so I haven't experienced what you're saying. Definitely seems like it could be a temperature issue.

 

I couldn't find anything for the cable, but Apple states the following for iPhone operation:

Quote

Operating temperature.  iPhone is designed to work in ambient temperatures between 32° and 95° F (0° and 35° C) and stored in temperatures between -4° and 113° F (-20° and 45° C).

I imagine when you're using the vehicle it isn't that cold inside, but I wonder if they build the cables with similar specs in mind.

 

Wish I could be of more help!