Micro-USB

cactustwirly · 16 Jun 2019

yorksrob said:
Flimsy rubbish that fails at the drop of a hat.

I've used many devices with Micro-USB and never had any problems, my phone a few years ago was a LG Nexus with a Micro-USB connector, and worked perfectly fine for over 2 years.

If anything I've had more problems with USB type-C, where the gaps between the connector are bigger, so over time dust and dirt can clog up the charger port.

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Starmill · 16 Jun 2019

Fundamentally it costs money to make a complex electronic good like a smartphone. To make one that is durable, that will use the newest standards including USB Type C, and can do the things that yorksrob seems to want, such as web browsing and SMS messaging, more than £60 is going to need to be spent. Not much more, £150 or even a bit less might get them what they want. But this is something that the OP has been advised of. If they don't wish to accept that, that's entirely their choice.

JohnMcL7 · 16 Jun 2019

cactustwirly said:
I've used many devices with Micro-USB and never had any problems, my phone a few years ago was a LG Nexus with a Micro-USB connector, and worked perfectly fine for over 2 years.

If anything I've had more problems with USB type-C, where the gaps between the connector are bigger, so over time dust and dirt can clog up the charger port.

Similarly I've had many different devices with micro USB and still do, never had an issue with either them or the cables so if someone is having such awful problems then there's an issue with the specific device or cable.

USB-C looks fantastic on paper as it supports a variety of standards, there's just one port for host and master plus the cables are reversible. In practice though I'm finding it problematic, it seems much more fussy over cable quality and what's frustrating is they didn't match the USB standard to the USB-C port type nor did they even come up with a badging scheme or similar to show how two identical looking cables can have radically different capabilities. You'd expect any USB-C cable to support USB v3.1 but that's not the case, they can (and often do) only support USB 2.0 so Power Delivery (PD) nor DisplayPort (DP) whereas other USB-C cables can.

I'm not rubbish USB-C either as it is fantastic being able to power and connect now a laptop, tablet, phone and even a Nintendo Switch all from the same power adapter but it's not the case that micro-USB is entirely unusable as claimed nor is USB-C a magical saviour.

yorksrob · 16 Jun 2019

cactustwirly said:
I don't get your problem with it?

They are flimsy and always fail. I bought a charger that is supposedly for a micro-USB and that didn't physically fit in the hole.

To be honest, it would be better if they went back to having an ordinary USB for data, and a robust Nokia type jack for charging, but even though these are proven designs that have worked well for many years, this is the stuff of dreams, apparently

90019 · 16 Jun 2019

This sounds more like a problem with cheap off brand cables than with the actual device or port.

As with most things, you get what you pay for - a cheap cable is unlikely to be good quality or last very long.

krus_aragon · 16 Jun 2019

yorksrob said:
To be honest, it would be better if they went back to having an ordinary USB for data, and a robust Nokia type jack for charging, but even though these are proven designs that have worked well for many years, this is the stuff of dreams, apparently

When you say "ordinary USB", I presume you don't mean one of these:

as that would require a rather bulky phone to use.

If you're thinking of Micro USB's immediate predecessor, Mini USB, I find it telling that it's still being used in cheap, far-eastern electronics (such as knock-off handheld games consoles, USB hubs and hard drive enclosures), presumably because it's cheaper to make or avoids licensing fees for the more recent connectors.

yorksrob · 16 Jun 2019

90019 said:
This sounds more like a problem with cheap off brand cables than with the actual device or port.

As with most things, you get what you pay for - a cheap cable is unlikely to be good quality or last very long.

You're right in that it was a non-brand cable that didn't fit yesterday.

That said, I've been using the one that came with the phone, ever since I bought it. I've only ever plugged it in very gingerly, and it's only over the past few weeks I've felt it begin to fail. My previous phone, it felt precarious from the start.

I really think it's a case of them trying to do too many things with one plug.

Actually, last year I almost bought an MP3 player with a micro-USB. It was only when I spotted it, I swapped it for my old model which has trad USB.

yorksrob · 16 Jun 2019

krus_aragon said:
When you say "ordinary USB", I presume you don't mean one of these:

as that would require a rather bulky phone to use.

If you're thinking of Micro USB's immediate predecessor, Mini USB, I find it telling that it's still being used in cheap, far-eastern electronics (such as knock-off handheld games consoles, USB hubs and hard drive enclosures), presumably because it's cheaper to make or avoids licensing fees for the more recent connectors.

Yes, the one on the left.

Alternatively, if they had a separate charging plug, one wouldn't have to put so much wear and tear on the micro-usb.

krus_aragon · 16 Jun 2019

yorksrob said:
Yes, the one on the left.

Alternatively, if they had a separate charging plug, one wouldn't have to put so much wear and tear on the micro-usb.

The one on the left of the first picture (USB A) is designed to only ever be used at the computer (or power supply) end. The downstream device should always have a "B" connector (or Mini-B, Micro-B) instead. This was to stop anyone plugging a power supply into a power supply, for example. (Type C was specially designed to be used at either end.)

A separate charging plug could be a good idea, as long as we didn't go back to the bad old days when every device needed a different plug and power supply.

Sadly I don't foresee manufacturers going back to a separate power connectors. Aside from laws requiring standardised power connectors (specifically micro-USB or USB-C) for all phones, the cost of fitting a separate connector will be enough for manufacturers to dislike the idea.

yorksrob · 16 Jun 2019

krus_aragon said:
The one on the left of the first picture (USB A) is designed to only ever be used at the computer (or power supply) end. The downstream device should always have a "B" connector (or Mini-B, Micro-B) instead. This was to stop anyone plugging a power supply into a power supply, for example. (Type C was specially designed to be used at either end.)

A separate charging plug could be a good idea, as long as we didn't go back to the bad old days when every device needed a different plug and power supply.

Sadly I don't foresee manufacturers going back to a separate power connectors. Aside from laws requiring standardised power connectors (specifically micro-USB or USB-C) for all phones, the cost of fitting a separate connector will be enough for manufacturers to dislike the idea.

Yes, I get the impression that technology will be a source of torment for ever more.

talltim · 16 Jun 2019

I hate the other end of USB cables (A). Why couldn’t they have designed them symmetrical?

GaryMcEwan · 16 Jun 2019

I actually hate Micro USB. Everything that I've got is now USB-C and that includes my laptop charger. The sooner Micro USB is banished the better...

bearhugger · 16 Jun 2019

krus_aragon said:
When you say "ordinary USB", I presume you don't mean one of these:

as that would require a rather bulky phone to use.

That looks more like an ink jet printer lead to me.

gswindale · 16 Jun 2019

That first image is of the classic type-A to type-B connector - used in the early days for most purposes such as scanners and printers.

I believe that the mini/micro connections only arose following the advent of MP3 players, digital cameras etc.

gswindale · 16 Jun 2019

talltim said:
I hate the other end of USB cables (A). Why couldn’t they have designed them symmetrical?

That was intentional as part of the design when usb was first developed in the 1990s. I can't remember the exact reasoning, but I'm sure it can be found on Wikipedia.

Adam Williams · 16 Jun 2019

Flying Snail said:
If you know what to look for and wait until bargains are available some decent smartphones can be got for around the £100 mark.

For example Argos currently have the Xiaomi Redmi note 5 and Redmi 6 for £100 https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8674012 https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8677071 Stocks are likely zero by now as it has been on bargain websites and all would have been snapped up pronto.

Those are some impressive specs for the price, so I think I stand corrected on that point. Shame it's not USB C, but I suspect they're getting rid of stock as you mention.

I'd be a little worried about the software though, and how long you could get security updates. I wonder if you could flash it with a custom ROM in the event that the manufacturer stops updating it.

AM9 · 16 Jun 2019

yorksrob said:
You're right in that it was a non-brand cable that didn't fit yesterday.

That said, I've been using the one that came with the phone, ever since I bought it. I've only ever plugged it in very gingerly, and it's only over the past few weeks I've felt it begin to fail. My previous phone, it felt precarious from the start.

I really think it's a case of them trying to do too many things with one plug.

Actually, last year I almost bought an MP3 player with a micro-USB. It was only when I spotted it, I swapped it for my old model which has trad USB.

Provided you have a reasonable (and compliant) USB receptacle on the device, good reliable cables are unlikely to give you any problems. I buy my cables from here: https://cpc.farnell.com/c/cable-leads-connectors/leads/usb-lightning-leads I alsoy buy batteries and most other small electrical items from CPC as well. The quality is good and is used by much of the trade for replacements. Those who sell 'good' cables I've found often charge 5-10 time the CPC price that they paid for them. If you ever need HDMI cables, the markup can be considerably more.

Micro-USB

cactustwirly

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