How to Choose the Right Charging Cable for Your Device?
It would seem that buying a new cable for a gadget is something easier. There are not so many types of connectors, it’s easy to remember your own, and any electronics store has many options for suitable cables. But it often happens that with a new cable, charging takes longer, and sometimes it doesn’t go at all. And often the cable works fine for a while, and then suddenly ceases to be “recognized” as a gadget. Why this happens, how to avoid it, and how to choose the right cable for your gadget – in this article.
Mobile cable
This is the first thing to find out before selecting a cable – the type of connector on your gadget. Apple devices released before 2012 use the Apple 30-pin connector. Since 2012, Apple devices have been equipped with an 8-pin Lightning connector.
Most devices from other manufacturers use different versions of the USB connector:
- Micro-USB and mini-USB were used on devices released before 2015. However, even after the advent of Type C, some manufacturers still use these connectors.
- USB Type-C – appeared in 2014, and began to be actively used from 2017-2018.
Outwardly, they differ quite strongly and you can identify “your” connector at a glance. Owners of Apple technology can be misled by the abbreviation MFI in the name of the connector or the cable itself.
Fundamentally, the cable with the MFI prefix does not differ from the “ordinary” cable in any way – this is the same 8-pin Lightning. MFi (Manufactured For iPhone/iPad/iPod) is Apple’s manufacturer certification program. “MFI” in the product name means that it is licensed by Apple and is fully compatible with the original.
The second connector
The second important parameter of the cable is the connector that will be connected to the charger or computer. For almost all cables, this is one of the USB connector options:
- “Normal” USB 2.0 standard with a Type-A connector. Type-A is installed on most chargers and on all computers, so it is not surprising that cables with a second connector of this type are the most common.
- USB 3.0 with a Type-A connector may be required if the USB 2.0 speed of 480 Mbps is not enough for you. The third version of the popular standard has a maximum transfer rate of 5 Gb / s, but such a cable is not the best option as a charger. A cable with a “blue connector” (USB 3.0 connectors are often marked in blue) may have conflicts with gadgets and chargers with fast charging standards.
- USB 3.1 with a Type-C connector is becoming more popular every day, as many modern tablets and laptops are equipped with such connectors. Such cables are more expensive, and not “out of nowhere” – a special chip is installed in them. It is this chip that causes most of the problems with Type-C cables.
Main cable characteristics to consider
It is not enough to pick up both connectors, it is also necessary that its other parameters correspond to the capabilities of the gadget.
Throughput current. One of the most important characteristics, especially if your gadget uses fast charging. The USB 2.0 standard limits the current to the gadget to 0.5 A, which is what “regular” USB cables are designed for. What will happen if the charging current of your gadget is higher? There are two options, and both are bad: the cable will either heat up, “draining” part of the power into the atmosphere, or the charger will immediately determine that the cable is low-ampere and simply will not give an increased current.
When choosing cable length, keep in mind that the longer the cable, the greater the power loss can be, especially on thin cables. Cable resistance – and therefore, the power loss on it – is directly proportional to its length. If you need a cable longer than 1.5 m, choose among the models with the largest cross-section.
We hope the article was helpful. To ease your search, just visit the Anker UK’s website where you’ll find all certified and high-quality cables and charging devices.
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