does a USB cable matter for smarphone charging?

[technovore]

hey all

I recently lost my USB cable that came with my smartphone(nexus 5).
I replaced it with a generic usb cable, but have been noticing that it charges slower than before.
Is it me or does any usb cable charge just as well, even though different chargers charge differently.

thank you

[manikyath]

a usb cable is just copper.

 

as long as both connectors connect good, it'll charge like normal.

 

(some aftermarket cables tend to lose connection for short moments, i have a cable that tends to do that.)

[ALwin]

It doesn't matter, just don't use a micro USB connector where a mini USB is needed.

[W-L]

-SNIP-

 

Not really any cable will work but if you want to ensure high currents to charge the phone using 28/24AWG cables that have larger conductors for the 5V power which can help especially if you have long USB charging cables.

http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5457

[TomvanWijnen]

Some cables can handle a lower maximum amount of current (?) than others, so yes, it might be true that you got a cable with a lower maximum current (?).

[MblaZe7run]

No. A cable is a cable, so long as both ends are terminated properly.

 

That being said, I've had some cables that degrade sooner than others. The gauge of the cable will also determine whether or not it can supply a certain amperage. i.e. one of the cables that came with a battery pack cannot supply more than 1A, yet the cable that came with my mice can supply up to 3.5A.

[KemoKa]

The gauge of the copper wires in the cable will determine about how much amperage the cable can handle. the higher the gauge, the more resistant to current the cable will be. Which is why it's a good idea to look for good 24/26 gauge cables. They don't have to be and often are not expensive.

[GoodBytes]

Like HDMI cables, you need to get one with that is at least quad shielded, with at least 5% Silver-Plated LGC Conductors, and Solid 100% PSS, with specially designed cable and connector for charging. It is critical that when charging data passes through the wall adapter to your phone, that only 1's go through, and no 2's. 2's will affect your optimal experience of your phone.

And this is why I highly recommend AudioQuest branded USB cable.

http://www.amazon.com/Audioquest-Diamond-Digital-Audio-Cable/dp/B0072IQ1GA/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1442705251&sr=1-3&keywords=AudioQuest+USB+cable

They are a bit expensive, but definitely worth it. Right now, you have free shipping! So it might be a good time to buy a few of them in case you lose one.

/s (my post is a joke. All terms used I have no idea what I was saying. Any half decent USB cable should be fine)

[burnttoastnice]

YES. The cable does matter. Cheaper cables have cheaper, thinner copper = resistance created = phone changes slower. I have a truckload of Micro USB and Mini USB cables and I only use a handful of them to actually charge my devices because the rest of them are cheap and useless to me.

 

Your power brick also matters - for devices nowadays use nothing less than a 2A brick (usually advertised as "fast-charging" by companies)

1A is also fine for the majority of mobile devices, but not for many powerhungry tablets

[GoldSrc]

Any cable will do the job just fine, unless it's made of a single strand of thin wire and you want to charge your phone with 2A.

 

 

Like HDMI cables, you need to get one with that is at least quad shielded, with at least 5% Silver-Plated LGC Conductors, and Solid 100% PSS, with specially designed cable and connector for charging. It is critical that when charging data passes through the wall adapter to your phone, that only 1's go through, and no 2's. 2's will age your phone faster, and affect your optimal experience of your phone.

And this is why I highly recommend AudioQuest branded USB cable.
http://www.amazon.com/Audioquest-Diamond-Digital-Audio-Cable/dp/B0072IQ1GA/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1442705251&sr=1-3&keywords=AudioQuest+USB+cable


They are a bit expensive, but definitely worth it.

 

Please add at least a /s, I know it's rare here, but some people may accept what you posted as true.

[Guest]

Well, unless the nexus cable had all pins dedicated to power, than it could do that.

[GoodBytes]

Please add at least a /s, I know it's rare here, but some people may accept what you posted as true.

I thought it was so over the top, everyone would laugh. Oh well. Added.

[79 Potatoes]

Like HDMI cables, you need to get one with that is at least quad shielded, with at least 5% Silver-Plated LGC Conductors, and Solid 100% PSS, with specially designed cable and connector for charging. It is critical that when charging data passes through the wall adapter to your phone, that only 1's go through, and no 2's. 2's will age your phone faster, and affect your optimal experience of your phone.

And this is why I highly recommend AudioQuest branded USB cable.

http://www.amazon.com/Audioquest-Diamond-Digital-Audio-Cable/dp/B0072IQ1GA/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1442705251&sr=1-3&keywords=AudioQuest+USB+cable

They are a bit expensive, but definitely worth it.

/s (my post is a joke. All terms used I have no idea what I was saying. Any half decent USB cable should be fine)

69/420 Needs more gold

[GlassBomb]

The only thing that matters is the length of the cable. Longer means more resistance, but most USB cables aren't long enough for this to matter much at all.

[Guest]

It can if the phone has the pins setup to all be power.

[TetraSky]

Some cables can handle a lower maximum amount of current (?) than others, so yes, it might be true that you got a cable with a lower maximum current (?).

 

This ^

Sorry @technovore but you're gonna need a new cable.

 

I can testify that a cheap micro usb cable bought on Ebay(or the bargain bin at a local store) isn't capable on charging a device as fast as a more "premium" cable (by premium I mean like $10 at walmart of a 10 feet cable)

 

I tested this with a dual 2A USB wall charger(as in both USB ports are capable of 2A) and a blue planet em100 power meter, with both a Dell Venue 8 Pro (Windows 10) and an Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7(cyanogen)

 

The cheap 6feet micro usb cable that I got off ebay, charges at a maximum of 2W.

The "premium" 10feet micro usb cable I got at walmart, charges at a full 10W of power.

(and yes, I literally just took these terrible quality pictures, with my dell tablet, just to prove my point that a USB cable DOES matter for charging, you can see the "premium" cable and the cheapo cable are both connected to the wall charger, with the "grey" one being the premium)

 

This is  HUGE difference and it is very much felt as it takes 10+ hours to charge my tablet instead of like, 2 hours.

I tested with 3 different 6 feet micro USB cable I got off ebay and my one 10feet "premium" cable.

People are tempted to say "copper is copper", but it's really not. They are rated for a specific workload and will not go any higher than that. Be certain that

[Godlygamer23]

Be careful of the cable you buy. I bought one that's really finicky when I plug it into my phone because it's too heavy(perhaps to length). It ends up losing contact with the pins inside, thus ceasing to charge.

 

Cable is something like 6ft long.

[GoodBytes]

People are tempted to say "copper is copper", but it's really not. They are rated for a specific workload and will not go any higher than that. Be certain that

I think, or at least I like to think, that when people say this, a minimum decency in the cable is assumed.

[BurgerBum]

USB for speed matters. USB for power does not. USB different distances.... it does and doesnt matter. if you're going over 10 feet of cable i'd invest in some better cables.

[TetraSky]

I think, or at least I like to think, that when people say this, a minimum decency in the cable is assumed.

Some people are not aware of this though, I sure wasn't. I thought the cheap cables I got off ebay were "good", that the cable itself didn't matter other than for speed, and that the charging speed I was getting was "normal". Then I tested it with my blueplanet and oh boy was I wrong.

[technovore]

Thank you for all your responses and for sharing your experiences.
Verdict: 7 people claim that any cable charges just as well, 6 people claim that a "better" cable will charge faster.
so I guess it isn't conclusive but my experience still stands, I'll be looking for a better cable..that audioquest one looks nice....

[carguy86]

the cable dosent matter, but if you use an aftermarket poweradapter you can usualy notice that charging times are slow as f*ck. (atleast 2.0 amps when buying an aftermarket chargers voltage should always be 5.0v)