Data cable vs charging cable?

[Arixl]

I've been trying to connect my phone to my PC via the charging cable but i don't get prompted saying a device has been connected i can't find it in device manager or anywhere it charges the phone but that's it, i've tired using two other PCs and i just get the same thing, do i need a different cable a "data" cable or do i need some form of software.

[SuperCloneRanger]

what phone? what os?

[Arixl]

1 minute ago, SuperCloneRanger said:

what phone? what os?

Windows 10, phone is a samsung galaxy s6 plus

 

Edit: I've also tried on windows 7.

[SuperCloneRanger]

have you tried different cables, i'm sure you have a extra one. also when you plug it in open the notification tray it may ask you to enable mass storage

 

[Arixl]

1 minute ago, SuperCloneRanger said:

have you tried different cables, i'm sure you have a extra one. also when you plug it in open the notification tray it may ask you to enable mass storage

 

I've tried many different cables my other PC and even a laptop i've checked and the PC will change it but never really knows it's there.

[SuperCloneRanger]

theres no such thing as a data cable, i can see one faulty cable but not all the cables which points to the phone. did you try the notification?

 

plug in phone

drag down notification bar

select 'USB for file transfer'

select 'transferring media files'

 

also are you running a different rom?

[Enderman]

13 minutes ago, SuperCloneRanger said:

theres no such thing as a data cable

A data cable is one that carries data.

USB connectors carry both power and data.

It is possible to get USB charging cables which lack the pins/wires necessary for data transfer.

[ProjectBox153]

15 minutes ago, SuperCloneRanger said:

theres no such thing as a data cable

Yes, there is. Some cables (usually cheap ones) are only able to be used as charging cables, whereas others have data pins/wires as well. Most cables have the data pins/wires, but some don't. 

[SuperCloneRanger]

@Enderman @Jamiec1130 if you are going to be pedantic at least be correct there is no such thing as a data usb cable. all usb(universal SERIAL bus) cables that conform to the standard have data, there are power cables with usb plugs but there not usb. and there not as common as you think your only going to find them with very cheap wall adapters and battery banks, no one selling usb cables by them selves is going to sell a cable without data and risk bad reviews, returns and paypal chargebacks. also op wanted to know if he needed a specific data usb cable and to that my answer still is there is no such thing as data usb cable.

[Enderman]

16 minutes ago, SuperCloneRanger said:

@Enderman @Jamiec1130 if you are going to be pedantic at least be correct there is no such thing as a data usb cable. all usb(universal SERIAL bus) cables that conform to the standard have data, there are power cables with usb plugs but there not usb. and there not as common as you think your only going to find them with very cheap wall adapters and battery banks, no one selling usb cables by them selves is going to sell a cable without data and risk bad reviews, returns and paypal chargebacks. also op wanted to know if he needed a specific data usb cable and to that my answer still is there is no such thing as data usb cable.

https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/140225/how-can-i-tell-charge-only-usb-cables-from-usb-data-cables

https://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-Micro-USB-Cable-Charging/dp/B0088HTYUE

https://forum.fairphone.com/t/effect-of-charging-only-usb-cables-ie-that-cant-transfer-data/29266

http://www.instructables.com/id/USB-Condom/

https://www.quora.com/How-is-it-possible-that-some-USB-cables-are-only-capable-of-charging-and-not-capable-of-enabling-data-transfer

https://www.podfeet.com/blog/tutorials-5/make-your-own-charge-only-usb-cable-for-the-novatel-mifi/

https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?t=1146513

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-a-USB-charging-cable-and-a-data-cable

http://forums.sandisk.com/t5/SanDisk-Clip-Sport/Micro-USB-Data-Cable-vs-USB-Charging-Cable/td-p/357490

https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1473613

[Levent]

USB is a standard, some cheapass chinese manufacturers make JUST charging ones but %99 of the USB cables out there are wired for BOTH data and power (without power it simply won't work), just get any USB cable with decent gauge wires (thicker the better) and you are fine (for both charging fast and data transfers)

[SuperCloneRanger]

@EndermanI never said they didn't exist, i said they weren't common and are not true usb cables. even less so these days even with battery banks and wall charges, since devices usually short the data lines to allow increased charge current. often the only time you see power only cables these days is when they are advertised as such, they normally cost more and it is for security reasons just like the one you linked.

[Enderman]

1 minute ago, SuperCloneRanger said:

@EndermanI never said they didn't exist, i said they weren't common and are not true usb cables. even less so these days even with battery banks and wall charges, since devices usually short the data lines to allow increased charge current. often the only time you see power only cables these days is when they are advertised as such, they normally cost more and it is for security reasons just like the one you linked.

"there is no such thing as a data usb cable"

 

The regular "standard" usb cable is called a data cable when comparing it to a non-data charging only cable.

Just like instead of saying just "sata" we say "sata power" and "sata data" when distinguishing between the two.

 

Maybe you didn't notice, but since this topic is about regular vs charging only USB cables, it is appropriate to distinguish between them by their main differentiating feature, which is data vs power.

[SuperCloneRanger]

32 minutes ago, Enderman said:

The regular "standard" usb cable is called a data cable when comparing it to a non-data charging only cable.

Just like instead of saying just "sata" we say "sata power" and "sata data" when distinguishing between the two.

There are not 'standard' usb and charging only usb, there is just usb. 99% of usb cables conform to the standard and you saying there are 2 different types is not only wrong but confusing. say it with me 'universal SERIAL bus'(serial means data). if it does not have data it is not usb. and what the hell does sata have to do with it, sata has 2 completely different and standardised cables for power and data

33 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Maybe you didn't notice, but since this topic is about regular vs charging only USB cables, it is appropriate to distinguish between them by their main differentiating feature, which is data vs power.

2 hours ago, Arixl said:

do i need a different cable a "data" cable

I did notice, but did you? op was trying to connect his phone to his pc he tried multiple USB cables and wanted to know if he needed a specific 'data' cable, and my answer to the op still is there is no such thing as a data usb cable. what did you contribute to the thread, op's simple question sat unanswered for 10 minutes, you only jump in when you thought someone was wrong and you could call them out.

 

 

 

[Arixl]

I'm almost certain at this point it has to be a setting on my phone, i can't figure out which setting or where to find it, i've played with a few different ones with no results. the most obvious one is phone visibility but that's turned on.

 

[Enderman]

2 minutes ago, SuperCloneRanger said:

There are not 'standard' usb and charging only usb, there is just usb. 99% of usb cables conform to the standard and you saying there are 2 different types is not only wrong but confusing. say it with me 'universal SERIAL bus'(serial means data). if it does not have data it is not usb. and what the hell does sata have to do with it, sata has 2 completely different and standardised cables for power and data

I did notice, but did you? op was trying to connect his phone to his pc he tried multiple USB cables and wanted to know if he needed a specific 'data' cable, and my answer to the op still is there is no such thing as a data usb cable. what did you contribute to the thread, op's simple question sat unanswered for 10 minutes, you only jump in when you thought someone was wrong and you could call them out.

1)

So just because it doesn't conform to a standard, what are you going to call it?

"four pin two wire rectangular connector with 1.2mm raised contact pads and 5mm depth cable"?

Lol, what a joke.

 

2)

Just because he used multiple cables doesn't mean he used any data USB cables, maybe all he had around were charging cables?

 

3)

What you need to do is calm down and realize that yes USB cables can be called data cables to distinguish them from power cables. There's nothing wrong with admitting your mistakes. If you're getting this upset over some text on a screen you may want to simply stop replying or maybe take a break from the internet  

 

I'm sure OP's 10 minutes were very valuable and required an instant reply from our forum of 24/7 full time members that get paid, right? 

[SuperCloneRanger]

5 minutes ago, Arixl said:

I'm almost certain at this point it has to be a setting on my phone, i can't figure out which setting or where to find it, i've played with a few different ones with no results.

i'm certain its your phone too, either the software is blocking the connection or the port is damaged.

 

first i want you to check if the phone is connecting to the pc, if the port is working it will should show up in device manager. i know you said you checked but you may not of seen it. it will show up as a generic usb device, we don't need to find it to know it's there.

 

open device manager, plug in your phone, as you plug in the phone watch the screen if it is detected the device list will disappear for a moment then comeback.

 

[SuperCloneRanger]

@Arixl its getting late here and i've got work tomorrow here are a couple of things to try. if you get stuck or need more help just stick it on here and i'll get back to you tomorrow.

 

these are the instructions from my s8 i'm hoping they will be the same if not ask google

app permissions may be blocking the the connected to pc notification from showing.

go to setting

then applications or apps

application manager(this may not be needed if on newer software)

press the option button (3 dots in corner)

select reset app preferences

 

If that doesn't work the next thing to try is resetting your phone, i know you will want to back it up first. i would still do this even if you have set google to backup just in case. 

 

you can do so over wifi with an app wifi file explorer pro it is a $1 but its a great app and i think well worth it, there is a free version but it limits file sizes and amounts you can move at ones

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dooblou.WiFiFileExplorerPRO&hl

 

first remove any 2 factor authentication linked with your phone or move it to a new device

 

then save your contacts

go to contacts

select menu(3 dots at top)

manage contacts

import/export contact

export

select internal storage

the export

 

then copy files to pc

connect phone to same wifi/network as computer

open wifi file explorer

type ip address you are given into your web browser should look like http://192.168.9.20:8000

copy the files you want to keep to pc

reset phone

[kirashi]

20 hours ago, Arixl said:

I'm almost certain at this point it has to be a setting on my phone, i can't figure out which setting or where to find it, i've played with a few different ones with no results. the most obvious one is phone visibility but that's turned on.

 

Back on topic... there is also a possibility that your computer is not automagically installing the Samsung USB Drivers in order for your phone to show up properly as a drive letter or media device, even if your phone gives you the option for this or your computer makes the USB connect noise. I'd check Samsung's support website for drivers for your particular phone to see if manually installing them works for you, or use something like DropBox to transfer files back and forth.

[Arixl]

Okay, i took the same cable and phone to my friends house and used their PC and it worked fine.. I took both items back to my house and now it works on my PC NO idea why it works now or what it's done my guess is maybe plugging the phone into this PC changed some setting or downloaded some drvier that just being being done on my PC or phone either way it's working now thanks for the help. =]