USB cable follies - corrupt images - Thunderbolt standsrds

[Hans Z]

I thought I would just share my recent experience with USB cables. Over the years I have gathered many USB cables that live their lives all around my little place. Whenever I need a cable I just reach out for whatever is close to me. I have worked in IT for many decades but hands-on hardware have never been part of my job assignment, but for the first years I tried to keep myself updated by tinkering at home. Over the years my hands-on with IT hardware became less and I became an ordinary Joe.

Perhaps that explains my negligence in not realizing that a USB-C cables are not made the same, even if we disregard the different connectors. Over time I have noticed that my SSD drives and other USB accessories performed slowly and I had intermittent problems with some cables that even caused corrupted image files. So I did some self-studying and replaced my no-name cables with USB4/5 cables for reputable brands. And wow what a difference it made in improving the stability, read/write speed, and power supply for my SDD drives and other USB items.

Just some food for thought ...

 

[taslleeh]

tks joe, will look out for USB4/5 cable next time for sure

great info for me as i also buy plain cables without any thought-taslleeh

 

[Chris Noble]

I thought I would just share my recent experience with USB cables. Over the years I have gathered many USB cables that live their lives all around my little place. Whenever I need a cable I just reach out for whatever is close to me. I have worked in IT for many decades but hands-on hardware have never been part of my job assignment, but for the first years I tried to keep myself updated by tinkering at home. Over the years my hands-on with IT hardware became less and I became an ordinary Joe.

Perhaps that explains my negligence in not realizing that a USB-C cables are not made the same, even if we disregard the different connectors. Over time I have noticed that my SSD drives and other USB accessories performed slowly and I had intermittent problems with some cables that even caused corrupted image files. So I did some self-studying and replaced my no-name cables with USB4/5 cables for reputable brands. And wow what a difference it made in improving the stability, read/write speed, and power supply for my SDD drives and other USB items.
Just some food for thought ...

Two different cables with identical USB-C connectors can have very different wire thickness and shielding. Some have built-in electronics to boost signals in longer cables. These design features are what affect the performance (bandwidth and power delivery) of the cable.

You need to confirm that the cable you are using supports the USB protocol version (USB4 is the latest) and level of power delivery that your hardware expects. Thunderbolt 3 and 4 protocols also use cables with USB-C connectors. It's quite confusing.

 

[lost alaskan]

It seems that there is a current upgrade of tiny connections. I'm no electrician.

 

[jxh]

Speed ratings as well as fast charge power capability can be affected.

For cameras, computers, phones use only premium quality cables.

 

[Chris Noble]

Speed ratings as well as fast charge power capability can be affected.
For cameras, computers, phones use only premium quality cables.

That can sometimes be overkill. Cables that support the latest high-power, high-BW standards can be much more expensive and thicker that cables that are suitable for less-demanding applications. Pay attention to the specific standard that is required by the socket, and buy a cable from a well-known brand.

 

[D Saul]

What are some of the recommended high-quality brands?

 

[Chris Noble]

What are some of the recommended high-quality brands?

Tested! The best USB-C cables for charging and data transfers

We bought a bunch of USB-C cables and put them through the wringer to find the best ones for your charging and data transfer needs.

www.pcworld.com

 

[D Saul]

thanks Chris.

 

[monte12345]

I recently stopped in at a local Microcenter and asked one of the clerks for a High Speed USB-C to USB-C cable. That clerk took my to a wall rack of USB cables all rated at 10Mb per second. When I repeated my request for high speed the clerk then asked what I meant by "high Speed" and I told him Thunderport 4 capable. To which he responded those will be over in the Apple section. Ended up with a Power Certified 4 foot Thunderport 4 capable cable, which is perfect for connecting the battery bank and also perfect for connecting it to my laptop. At present I have a 6 inch T4 cable for my thunderport 4 hub, a 3 and 6 foot cables certified for USB-C 50 MB/s and the new 4 foot T4 cable.

Primary reason was to provide power to my Z II from my battery bank but also wanted a viable option for connecting camera to my thunderport 4 equipped laptop. BTW, that laptop also uses a thunderport for the Laptop Power supply and that 65 watt power supply is also excellent for quick charges on that battery bank. As in 4 hours to charge a 20,000 mAh bank.

As George Peppard used to say in the A Team "I just love it when a plan comes together". Yeah these cables and that Thunderport 4 hub were expensive but Time is Money so Speed does matter. It's also nice to know I can go out for an all day shoot without ever having to worry if I brought along enough battery.

 

[Chris Noble]

I recently stopped in at a local Microcenter and asked one of the clerks for a High Speed USB-C to USB-C cable. That clerk took my to a wall rack of USB cables all rated at 10Mb per second. When I repeated my request for high speed the clerk then asked what I meant by "high Speed" and I told him Thunderport 4 capable. To which he responded those will be over in the Apple section. Ended up with a Power Certified 4 foot Thunderport 4 capable cable, which is perfect for connecting the battery bank and also perfect for connecting it to my laptop. At present I have a 6 inch T4 cable for my thunderport 4 hub, a 3 and 6 foot cables certified for USB-C 50 MB/s and the new 4 foot T4 cable.

Primary reason was to provide power to my Z II from my battery bank but also wanted a viable option for connecting camera to my thunderport 4 equipped laptop. BTW, that laptop also uses a thunderport for the Laptop Power supply and that 65 watt power supply is also excellent for quick charges on that battery bank. As in 4 hours to charge a 20,000 mAh bank.

As George Peppard used to say in the A Team "I just love it when a plan comes together". Yeah these cables and that Thunderport 4 hub were expensive but Time is Money so Speed does matter. It's also nice to know I can go out for an all day shoot without ever having to worry if I brought along enough battery.

Your camera is USB 3.2 (5 Gbps), not Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps). A 4-ft Thunderbolt 4 cable probably has an active booster chip (which can fail), as the passive cables only work up to 2-3 ft at that bit rate.

Also, standard USB 3.2 cables can deliver 100 W.

 

[Hans Z]

I recently stopped in at a local Microcenter and asked one of the clerks for a High Speed USB-C to USB-C cable. That clerk took my to a wall rack of USB cables all rated at 10Mb per second. When I repeated my request for high speed the clerk then asked what I meant by "high Speed" and I told him Thunderport 4 capable. To which he responded those will be over in the Apple section. Ended up with a Power Certified 4 foot Thunderport 4 capable cable, which is perfect for connecting the battery bank and also perfect for connecting it to my laptop. At present I have a 6 inch T4 cable for my thunderport 4 hub, a 3 and 6 foot cables certified for USB-C 50 MB/s and the new 4 foot T4 cable.

Primary reason was to provide power to my Z II from my battery bank but also wanted a viable option for connecting camera to my thunderport 4 equipped laptop. BTW, that laptop also uses a thunderport for the Laptop Power supply and that 65 watt power supply is also excellent for quick charges on that battery bank. As in 4 hours to charge a 20,000 mAh bank.

As George Peppard used to say in the A Team "I just love it when a plan comes together". Yeah these cables and that Thunderport 4 hub were expensive but Time is Money so Speed does matter. It's also nice to know I can go out for an all day shoot without ever having to worry if I brought along enough battery.

I have also standardized now on Thunderbolt 4 & Thunderbolt 5(overkill but what the h...ll) cables, delivered from Amazon from well respected manufacturers this last week. I have SSD that can make use of the Thunderbolt 4 speeds and the same goes for chargers. Since the cables are downward compatible and I am sure that the higher bandwidth & power demands make the quality higher. In addition I also upgraded my HDMI cables to the latest standard.

As you get older you tend to be less patient with troubleshooting, and hopefully this will make me feel more at peace, especially since i have so many gadgets and more incoming. Previously I thought my MacBook Pro 16 2021 had USB ports that were starting to give in, but with the improved cables, no more problems. My iPad Pro also utilized Thunderbolt 4 standards while the iPhone 16 Pro Max still has USB3.