back to article EU wants one phone plug to rule them all. But we've got a better idea.

European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has lost patience with phone makers insisting on using different connector designs for charging, and promised an impact study on the consumer pain that Lightning and USB causes. Vestager confirmed the policy in a Parliament Answer this month. In 2011, in response to pressure from the …

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  1. IsJustabloke
    WTF?

    WTF do you people do with your cables?

    In all the years I've been using various flavours of USB cables I've *never* had one fail and I've never had a *charging port fail. WTF are you doing to your **cables?

    * I know this means all my cables will fall apart tonight

    ** I have no experience with Apple cables

    1. Francis Boyle Silver badge

      I suspect

      it's less a matter what people are doing with their cables and more where they're getting them. Someone must be buying all those sub $1 cables on eBay.

    2. heyrick Silver badge

      Re: WTF do you people do with your cables?

      I have problems with charging because some cables are two wire "charge only" (so no good for data transfer or fast charge).

      I totally agree with the shitty build quality of the Apple lightning connector. With mine, the outer rubber has fallen off at both ends, and I use it less than the phone's USB lead that is still working fine. One of these days the cable inside will break. I have a cheap clone replacement that has a fabric sheath and looks considerably more solid than the real thing.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: WTF do you people do with your cables?

      Clearly you don't have kids and tablets.

  2. Norman Nescio Silver badge

    Laptop Power bricks

    A standard for power supplies for notebook-PCs would be beneficial in my home.

    For various reasons, I have Lenovo, Dell, Fujitsu-Siemens, HP, and Acer laptops, all with mutually incompatible power supplies. Add in the wish to have a power-brick at home and in the office to avoid the need to carry one about and it gets beyond the joke. Standardising on 12V (or 24V) DC means you could quite happily power from a standard car battery or two if it became necessary.

    I know not everyone has more portable PCs than mobile phones in their home, but it still rankles.

    (Don't get me started on the idiotic sense pin designs that die as soon as you look at them, so the laptop refuses to charge because the id mechanism on a perfectly serviceable power supply has been zapped)

    1. Stork Silver badge

      Re: Laptop Power bricks

      That is one reason we have stayed with Apple laptops so far - and their magnetic attachments _are_ good. Our rather large dog has so far not pulled any computer on the floor.

      Moving to USB-C/Thunderbolt was a step backwards IMNSHO.

      1. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Re: Laptop Power bricks

        Only mitigated by newer, non-magsafe MacBooks not needing to be charged as often. For a lot of people's use-case, it's only rarely that they'll need to charge their MacBook whilst working on it. Other makes of laptop with 9+ hours battery life are available, and of course some workloads will deplete the battery far faster.

  3. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Angel

    I must be doing something wrong

    I don't seem to have any problems with the USB cables and devices in either my home or place of work.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    You can't have Apple using the same cables as everyone else. Can you imagine the indignation of Iphone users when they just have to ask to borrow a charger without mentioning their Iphone?

    Sent from my Iphone.

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Why, how 2008 of you!

      In many local pubs it's the opposite - Lightening is the default. Most of the builders, plumbers and barmaids own iPhones. An iPhone isn't something to be remarked upon - it's often just the default choice for people who don't read tech blogs.

      Most of the time micro USB cables are available too - even iPhone owners have them kicking around due to owning a Kindle, wireless speaker or headphones, or PlayStation. Apple has been a bit stingy in licensing out Lightning to iPhone peripheral vendors.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Yes but how do you know they all own Iphones? I rest my case sir.

        Sent from my Iphone.

        1. Dave 126 Silver badge

          How do I know? I have eyes, and such phones have a distinctive circular button below their screen. The owners of such phones remain silent on such an unremarkable topic.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Let me guess, you have an Iphone?

            1. Dave 126 Silver badge

              No, I'm reading a tech blog: I have an Android phone, albeit one that isnt running a custom ROM and isn't even rooted. Never even had an iPod, let alone an iPhone. Anyway, what phone I use is irrelevant to my powers of observation and my social relationships with barstaff.

              Also, I'm numerate: many an acquaintance's Android OnePlus or Samsung phone is twice the price of an iPhone SE (with Lightening) - so I'm confused as to your considering it a status symbol.

              1. Spanners Silver badge
                Linux

                @Dave 126

                I'm confused as to your considering it a status symbol.

                Many iPhone users consider them to be status symbols.Why should any of us disagree?

              2. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                I'm numerate

                That made me chuckle dave. I'm ok till I get beyond ten then I have to take my socks and shoes off or use an Iphone calculator.

                1. Dave 126 Silver badge

                  Re: I'm numerate

                  A test of @AC's numeracy:

                  Which is the least amount, an iPhone SE at £250, a OnePlus at £450 or a Galaxy S9 at £600?

                  So whilst I'm still confused by your status symbol claim, your chuckling at your own inability to count beans has offered some context.

                  1. Anonymous Coward
                    Anonymous Coward

                    Re: I'm numerate

                    I can also get an old nissan micra for about the same, that and the Iphone aren't going to get me laid no matter how special it makes me.

                  2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

                    Re: I'm numerate

                    "Which is the least amount, an iPhone SE at £250, a OnePlus at £450 or a Galaxy S9 at £600?"

                    Isn't that like comparing a whitebox Chinese android phone with an Apple SE?

      2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

        it's often just the default choice for people who don't read tech blogs.

        And for who choose to spend their cash on status symbols…you've completely ignored how expensive I-Phones are.

  5. PhilipN Silver badge

    Connectors!

    Cupboards-full and more all the time - all the way from serial, parallel, printer, scsi, FireWire 400 and 800, usb 1 through XX, Ethernet, and not forgetting vga, DVI-whatever, HDMI, power cables galore, audio cables with 1, 2, 3 or more jacks, optical, RCA, DIN, and now Thunderblah-blah 1, 2, 3 ....

    But why is it -

    1. The last critical connector cable is always two inches short.

    2. That immensely valuable gender-changer at the bottom of the drawer turns out to be female-female instead of male-male.

    Better stop here I’m getting angry

    Too late : Ever tried counting the contacts on a scsi plug to see which frigging one it was? Sh**t!!

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: Connectors!

      "2. That immensely valuable gender-changer at the bottom of the drawer turns out to be female-female instead of male-male."

      I used to know a guy who made a very good living setting out his (quite large) stall at all the local computer fairs. All he sold was cables, connectors and gender changers. But he did sell almost any one of those you could imagine. If he didn't have one in stock, odds are that it didn't exist. And he was raking it in :-)

  6. tiggity Silver badge

    Different cables bonus

    In our family household a plethora of different cables in use - USBC, apple proprietary and microUSB.

    Which is a bonus for me, as I'm now the only one using microUSB and if anyone else has a cable problem then they have to sort it out themselves instead of "borrowing" a spare of mine (always have spares even though only cable I had fail was (ironically) an armoured one).

    Unfortunately still get them "borrowing" my external powerpacks as they have misplaced theirs, forgot to charge them up etc.

  7. J.G.Harston Silver badge

    Just mandate that all equipment has an IEC power socket. Works well enough for all the rest of my electrical equipment.

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      That must make your car's fusebox an interesting sight!

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I agree with the Commissioner

    Propriatry connectors are an after sales tax, if they were willing to replace any that failed during normal use then they can do what they like.

    However since it could be said that they Engineer built in failure of cables within the lifetime of their products then control should be taken from the manufactorers.

    Personally I would go further and require them to replace anything that fails within a minimum of 5 years and hold them responsible for the cost of recycling

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: I agree with the Commissioner

      There's no reason for me to seek out a Samsung or Sony shop to buy a branded cable to replace the one that came with my Samsung or Sony phone - so I'm not sure what the motive is for them to bundle poorly made cables. Indeed, anecdotally it seems many of the failed cables readers here have experienced are cheap ones we buy from a supermarket because we've lost or forgotten our original cable. Or just fancy a spare for the car, and a generic cable for 99p, that's a bargain, right? Belkin want how much?! We evidently get what we pay for. Obviously online retailers have lower margins (high street shops do really mark up cables a lot) so quality cables are available for not much money - but that doesn't help us if we need one right now.

      Original Apple cables do seem prone to failure, so there might be a case there. My understanding is it is due to the eco friendly plastic they use, but it wouldn't hurt them to fit a cable gland. Sugru even markets itself primarily as an Apple cable reinforcer.. annoying on a Lightening cable, must be infuriating on an expensive wired Apple keyboard.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I agree with the Commissioner

      I agree with the Commissioner

      I don't. My TCO and my environmental impact is far more significantly driven by the durability of the handset, its software support life and whether the battery or failed and worn parts can be changed out at low cost after a couple of years. If the dopey old bat was able to think, she'd see this, and address those factors, instead of worrying about cheap, low environmental impact power adaptors and leads.

  9. M7S

    Not just phones

    I've a Garmin Satnav (Zumo 660) that will charge from USB using an internal port under the battery cover but won't power from USB on the back of the car mount so cannot be easily used in a car unless of course I purchase the proprietary Garmin car cable that has a different connector.

    Seems odd as my other Garmin (an ancient i3) will run off the USB as will the various Tomtoms etc

    1. My other car WAS an IAV Stryker

      Re: Not just phones

      I had an old Garmin that HAD to have the Garmin special cable or it thought it was connected to a computer -- even when it was just a "cigarette lighter" USB-A charger -- and would go into "sync" mode and be basically unusable.

      By the time I got a replacement cable, I also got a smartphone (and traded in my old car and its perfect mounting location) and rarely used the Garmin since.

      1. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Re: Not just phones

        That 'special' cable was just a normal cable with the data pubs shorted. It was a common policy in miniUSB days. The idea was stop a device drawing more than 500mA, the original USB spec, from a computer that wasn't designed to supplement such current.

        1. Dave 126 Silver badge

          Re: Not just phones

          * pubs should be pins

          * Supplement should be supply

          * Proofread should Dave do

  10. NohSpam

    Hydrogen fuel cells

    Cold fusion

    Clockwork

    Solar power

    Hamster power

    Regenerative charging from jaw movement when you talk on the phone

    Pezio charging from shoe soles

    Potato or lemon + zink

    ...

    Just sayin'

  11. Pangasinan Philippines

    Micro USB not always standard

    I had a 'Cherry' phone where the connector plug on the charger was extra long.

    When the cable went bad had to ditch the phone as it's not possible to buy a charger on its own.

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: Micro USB not always standard

      I'd have tried taking a knife to another microUSB plug, and shaving off some plastic. It's analogous to the first iPhone which wouldn't accept all 3.5mm plugs because its port was slightly recessed. Apple shipped it with a short 3.5mm male > 3.5mm female 'adaptor' cable. I have a similar issue, I have to take the case off my phone in order to plug in one of those extra hefty 3.5mm > phone cables you often see in the back of amplifiers.

  12. JDX Gold badge

    I have a mini-USB-C port on my phone but nothing else I own does, and even the cable for the phone is regular USB at the other end!

    How widely has USB-C been adopted so far because recent devices I bought didn't use it (Fire devices mostly) and it seems microUSB is still the defacto standard for everyone but apple - or am I just unlucky in what I've chose to buy?

    My other gripe with USBC is the cable keeps falling out of my phone - ofte I wake up to find my phone hasn't charged as the act of putting it down after plugging it in dislodged the plug. But with only one device and multiple cables I can't theorise if this is an issue with USBC or just my phone's socket?

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Samsung adopted USB C with the ill-fated Note 7 and then their flagships since the Galaxy S8 series. Later Nexus and and now Pixel phones use USB C. Sony now do, as do a few other phone vendors.

      Nintendo use USB C for their Switch console.

      A fair few laptop makers are adopting it, but often at the higher end of their ranges. Peripheral vendors such as LG are incorporating into monitors, but again at the higher end.

      Some external HDDs have a USB C socket in addition to older ports, some external battery packs have it and can fast charge over PD.

      A supermarket test of adoption: the end of aisle cable display found in all large supermarkets doesn't always include a USB C cable. When they do, it's rarely cheaper than £15.

      I haven't had USB C fall out, but sometimes I don't quite push it in far enough. I find it much easier to insert than micro USB.

      1. Loyal Commenter Silver badge

        HTC were an early adopter

        ...with the HTC 10 two years ago.

        Still a fairly solid phone, although the battery life is a bit shitty.

        The problem with adopting a new standard before others is, of course, that you couldn't get USB A-C cables anywhere except online at the time. Two years later, and you can quite easily find them in the supermarkets / newsagents, etc.

  13. W Donelson

    The best cable of any kind in 50 years

    I’ve been using computers and their endless cables for 50 years now. Without a doubt, the Lightning cable is the most reliable and easiest to use of any of them. Hands down.

    1. Simon Harris

      Re: The best cable of any kind in 50 years

      Depends how many times you run over it with your chair.

      1. GruntyMcPugh Silver badge

        Re: The best cable of any kind in 50 years

        @Simon Harris: "Depends how many times you run over it with your chair."

        Or when I worked in schools, how many times the iPad caddy lid was slammed down onto protruding cables.

  14. andy 103
    Stop

    How much should a cable cost?

    The reason there are so many cables (in general, not just limited to phone cables) in the world is because no consumer on the planet has any real idea about how much one "should" cost.

    This is why you get "premium" cables that boast all sorts of things about the materials they are made from, right down to cables that cost under £1 that people will just bin if they fail after 10 mins. There is a huge market at all sorts of different price points - see also HDMI cables on the likes of Amazon which range from a quid to several grand. What's the real difference for those prices? Do consumers know/care, or will they just buy the one that they think is right for them based on virtually no useful information? Do they know/care about the likelihood of obsolecense? My guess is no not really, after all, who really knows what's round the corner?

    There's no easy solution to this. Imagine regulating the cable market in terms of price - absolute pipe dream, never going to happen. Sell them then stick them in landfill or a drawer. That's the future.

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: How much should a cable cost?

      You're right, it's hard to know. A Google engineer bought a load of different USB C cables and tested them, after frying his Chromebook with a dodgy cable:

      https://www.engadget.com/2016/02/03/benson-leung-chromebook-pixel-usb-type-c-test/

    2. the Jim bloke

      Re: How much should a cable cost?

      If its round the corner... apple think they own it

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: How much should a cable cost?

      see also HDMI cables on the likes of Amazon which range from a quid to several grand. What's the real difference for those prices?

      ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      The gullibility of the buyer. There is no reason for an HDMI cable to cost more than an extension cord of the same length.

  15. SamX

    Fast-charging

    I still don't understand how a single charger would resolve the differences in fast-charging specs. Qualcomm increases the voltage in compatible devices upto 12V (in stead of 5V for standard USB). OnePlus uses a higher amperage with compatible devices (charger/cable). They both are quite different and work against the policy of single spec for charger. Cable can be standadised with USB C by taking the highest quality cable (capable of 12V and high amperage) and forcing them on all. I have seen one that has a USB-C to lightnng adapter sticking to it. When the remaining micro USB people move to new phones, this must be standard.

    Similarly, if Qualcomm and BKK agree, then they can create a charger with both specs included.

    1. Boothy

      Re: Fast-charging

      Quote: "I still don't understand how a single charger would resolve the differences in fast-charging specs."

      The issue is the different charging specs, those need to be scrapped, as they are not part of USB (they are proprietary add ons).

      USB C already has a defined standard for high voltage/current charging, so other companies using their own is just making things worse. Companies like Qualcomm and OnePlus should be adopting the USB standard, not doing things their own way.

      I own a OnePlus, and it does have very good rapid charging, but I can only rapid charge with their power brick, and their cable, (it needs both). They will charge other USB devices (i.e. the socket on the PSU is a standard USB A), but only at a standard charge rate.

      Also, use any other USB charger, or any other cable, with the OnePlus, and it's also back to standard charging rates, even though the PSU and cable could supply high speed charging to a compatible USB C device (such as a laptop).

      What I'd like to see is a rule stating if you (the manufacturer) want to use USB for charging, and want to claim any form of rapid charging, then you must support the USB standard for doing this. (They can still do their own thing as well if they wanted to, but that needs to be alongside fast charging as per the USB spec).

      From what I've read, Dash charging (what OnePlus uses), allows up to 55W (11v @ 5A), whereas USB-C charging allows up to 60W or 100W depending on cable size (standard USB cable is 20v @ 3A, thicker USB cable is 20v @ 5A), so there really is no need for other non USB standard rapid charging methods over USB.

  16. Joe Gurman

    Standards for cables and connectors

    ....are great for consumers if they fully define owner, data, insulation, &c. Where they’re not so great is in the inning variety n department, as they can’t ever know what the next, best thing is. You know, the innovation brought to market bit (as opposed to owning a patent). Then the consumers get to decide: FireWire? Nah, don’t think so, thanks. Thunderbolt 3? Ooh, shiny.

  17. Chris 69
    Paris Hilton

    It's all moot anyway

    Once all your faux-green neighbours have plugged in their move-my-pollution-elsewhere cars there won't be enough electricity left to charge anything so mundane as a phone.

    In any case, surely Paris has cornered the market in universal sockets. Err...

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    After losing a few devices...

    due to broken mini USB charging ports I purchased a magnetic charging cable that has a male end that stays in the charging port and the charging cable "snaps" to the phone magnetically so that wear and tear on the phones port is null.

    My Nexxus tablet has something similar albeit larger.

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