MicroUSB Planned Obsolescence Scam

Is MicroUSB the biggest scam in the history of consumer electronics? These things are literally designed to break with either very minimal torque on the connector, the torque of cable's own weight, etc. I've owned fucking dozens of the things and they've all become either completely useless or finicky (essentially useless). And no, this isn't a result of improper care, I plug and unplug by the grip, not by the wire, I don't bend the cables funky, my cat doesn't chew them, and I don't crush them under furniture.

This shit is already market-mandatory, however the EU is mandating consumer electronics be compatible with microUSB (technobuffalo.com/2013/09/29/microusb-mandatory-european-union/). This shit is such a blatant cash-grab. It yields millions of discarded cables and all anyone can do about it is fucking bend over and spread their cheeks.

Is there anything we can do to stop this fucking bullshit? Can we petition our governments to force retailers to replace broken cables at their expense (similar to this bill in France: fastcoexist.com/3043252/) to discourage this scam?


This shit infuriates me.

Go on eBay or Amazon buy a bulk for 40 dollars worth.

Stop buying shitty cables by the bulk from China? A solidly built Anker USB cable will last for-fucking-ever.

I shouldnt need to spend more than 5$ on a microUSB cable (I have many times, however). I've also been using the ones that come with my electronics. xBone controller microusb, shield tablet microusb, nexus 5 microusb, nexus 4 microusb, countless others.

I also shouldn't have to do go online to a specific retailer after doing research and reading/comparing user reviews just to get a cable that won't malfunction after 3 weeks of light use.

>inb4 "stop being so cheap"
The market standard should NOT be shit quality that lasts a few weeks.

Short answer: Yes it is a planned obsolescence scam
Long answer: Yesssss it iiiiiis a plaaaaaned obsolesceeeence scaaaaaam.
Yeah, the current phone charging cable is an engineering blunder. Here's what I've researched into doing (but not personally done yet) to get past the problem:
1. Nigger Rig your phone to wirelessly charge (which takes like 4 disc magnets and some wires usually) and just deal with slow inductive charging that generates a lot of unnecessary heat that will reduce your overall battery life cycle. But on the upside, it defacto gets a magnet on it for mounting on stuff!
2. If your phone has wireless charging coils in it already, get a qi charger. Otherwise, if your phone has a removable battery door, buy or make a qi charging coil and do that. Has the above heat issues but honestly if you don't leave it out in the sun or in a non-breathable case all day you'll be fine
3. If your phone has a removable battery door, just get like 3 spare batteries from anker and a prong universal charger and charge the batteries outside the phone, the upside is you get extra battery life by carrying around extra batteries when you need it. The downside is it takes way longer to charge that way.
4. get one of those magnetic charging cables where you plug the male end permanently into your phone and attach the cable to that via a magnet, doubles as a dust plug but problem is they only make them for microusb and lightning atm so if you have anything else youre fucked
5. get a sony experia or something if youre into that kind of gay shit

also, as far as their longevity goes, I have almost zero problems with the cables themselves, so I don't know what kind of groid ass shit you're doing to your cables. Get like one braided cable or that gooseneck metal one and you shouldn't have problems with your cat. My problem's always with the charging port, which in most phones is designed to only last about 2 years, since most people's upgrade plans are on a 2-year basis.

The OP pic isn't OC. My cables don't usually get fucked by crimping, my issue is with the connector. Every damn one. And they certainly don't last two years. I think the solution to my problem would be to construct a rubber attachment for the grip that immobilises the phone-connector complex. A rubber sandwich attached to the microusb grip which the phone's width squeezes into the gap.

Dude go buy a pack of sugru for 11 dollars and sugru the plug I don't get how this is such a conundrum for people. Put it at the seam from the grip to the tubing, and then shape it as needed and your cable's way stronger. Or get an angled cable so the plug and grip is less of a lever

>Bought a Nokia 6280 late 2005
>Used that MicroUSB ever since
>No cracks, but Nokia plastic paper strip came of like two-three years ago
>Works flawlessly with all my devices
Maybe you're using a MicroUSB made buy Apple or some other shit.

I literally never seen a broken MicroUSB cable. You are probably retarded.

Sounds to me like user error.

I have a pile of unbroken USB cables because I am not retarded.

I still have the cable that came with my N97 when it was first released. It's been abused to hell and back and is absolutely fine. You've either bought shit or you're a ham fisted retard.

Shills are out in full force today,i see.

>Shills

Yup, that exact cable is what I've had since 2005.

Built like a tank.

And yet it is, because nobody cares about cables. Get on with the program.

This. I've never actually bought a cable, I just have the ones included with my electronics. None of them broke. They are 1-3 years old and used daily. OP just has that retard strength.

Same, I haven't even tried.
I thought about buying a MicroUSB that is like 1.5 or 2 meter so I can lay down in bed and charge my DS4 and what not, but since I've never had to buy a single MicroUSB cable since 2005, I have no idea who makes good ones, so I'll just go buy a somewhat cheap one and that will last me another 10 years probably because I don't treat my cables as OP does his sore faggot rectum.

>anyone who is not retarded and breaking their cables is a shill!
And who are you shilling for?

I've never broken any cable, ever, any kind.
What the fuck are you mouth breathing mongoloids doing to your cables? Seriously, grow the fuck up you shitlords.

I have only broken one of my USB cables of any kind, but it was internal damage where wiggling it would cause it to work again. Probably the wire was too short on the inside and stressed too much over time until it snapped.

That said, aside from DOA cables, all of mine have just werked since I got them.

I'm even more glad we left the EU

Just you wait. I'm brimming with schadenfreude already.

>Just you wait

Cables are just a minor annoyance we have to deal with. Go to monoprice and spend 15$ bucks on three new ones, and shut the fuck up.

I've never had a problem with MicroUSB. None of my devices have ever had connectivity or port issues. I really think it's how you treat the device that causes the problem. My Nexus 4 is nearing 4 years old and the port on it still feels tight.
I do know the technology is flawed as many people have had issues. I just never have.

I use cheap cheap cheap cables. Have never had a broken cable. You're just retarted

>I shouldnt need to spend more than 5$ on a microUSB cable
Why not? Unless you start manufacturing microUSB cables for less than $5 that don't break it won't happen

>1 week

That's because most Economists have figured Brexit will never happened because no one in the British Govt has the balls to actually leave.

the lazy solder jobs on connector ports is worse.

$400 tablets can't even last 100 plugins.

I don't understand. I have like 3 micro usb cables from all the different phones I've had over a period of 5 years.

Every single one is perfectly functional.

>I shouldnt need to spend more than 5$ on a microUSB cable
>I buy shitty usb cables and cry when they break

>"Hur my reading comprehension is shit"
>"I'll just misinterpret the post and disregard the parenthesised clarification right fucking there"
>"Durr I'm a fucking idiot."

>Jun23-Jul15
>One week

Yes, they are designed to break. This is a good thing.

Would you rather the cable break or your phone? The same goes for Apple connectors and the new USB type c. They're all designed to break, so your phone doesn't.

What can you do to extend the life of your cable? DON'T USE YOUR PHONE WHILE IT'S PLUGGED IN. All of a sudden you'll notice that your cables last decades instead of weeks.

OP here, I always use my devices while they're plugged in. Jesus, am I not supposed to fucking do this?

What about gamepads that use MicroUSB? Just bite the bullet and accept that this will break the cable?

>OP here, I always use my devices while they're plugged in. Jesus, am I not supposed to fucking do this?
In short, yes, you're not supposed to do that. You damage the cable, potentially damage the charging port and you're probably not doing the battery and screen any favours either.
>Just bite the bullet and accept that this will break the cable?
Yes. I'm assuming that said gamepads have a battery, in which case you're only supposed to have it plugged in and charging when it's not in use. Keeping a battery at 100% is downright awful for the battery anyway.

So this is just a case of PEBKAC then?

Please consult this handy flowchart.

Am I just unnaturally dexterous if I've never had a USB cable break? I typically just buy the cheapest ones too.

No, it just turns out that OP is a knuckle dragging mouth breather.

Well fuck, I'll try that then. And no, that's a stupid fucking assumption. Why would I denounce using my phone while it's plugged in and then in the next breath state that I'm going to use a charged wireless gamepad while it is plugged in? Don't be such a dumbass.

>Why would I denounce using my phone while it's plugged in and then in the next breath state that I'm going to use a charged wireless gamepad while it is plugged in? Don't be such a dumbass.
You're not in any position to throw insults around friendo. How long are your gaming sessions since you need to charge your controller while you're using it? Why do you find the need to use your phone while charging it? It sounds like you're doing a whole lot of stuff that you shouldn't be doing because you can.

>I am a retard who always bends his cables
>Why do my cables break?
All of my microusb cables still work fine

>using quotation marks while quoting
Ever heard of "you get what you pay for?"
And just because you post your little stop being cheap disclaimer doesn't mean I give a fuck, you want to be cheap, you get what you pay for.

>I also shouldn't have to do go online to a specific retailer after doing research and reading/comparing user reviews just to get a cable that won't malfunction after 3 weeks of light use.
You're just lazy, if you want a good cable bad enough to bitch about it to strangers, find one, buy it, and be happy. It really depends on what you fucking buy, the usb 3.0 that came with my s5 is still fantastic, I bought an extra knock off one and it basically disintegrated.
The one micro usb that came with the 2nd gen vita is fucking fantastic, the fire phone cable, my nexus 7 2013.
Either you have the shittiest cable luck or you just aren't using good ones. The xbone ones are shit btw.

Holy shit, what's with the dumb asses on Sup Forums today? As I stated in my last post, your assumption was incorrect. Since you clearly are incapable of inferring the implication of that, I will explain to you: my gamepads are not wireless. They need to be plugged into a USB drive in order to function. Also, clearly i have only been using my phone while ot charges because I didn't realise that I'm not supposed to. Are you drunk, user?

>Is there anything we can do to stop this fucking bullshit?
Yes. Wait a couple weeks and the world has moved on to NanoUSB or some shit.

Wait why the Xperia is there removable battery

Also rip my 700 HTC m8 died of USB

>Gamepads are not wireless but still have a removable USB cable
At no point did you state that. You're still not in any position to throw insults around.
>Also, clearly i have only been using my phone while ot charges because I didn't realise that I'm not supposed to
>Hey, I have a problem. Instead of looking up the intended use on the internet or in the user manual I'm going to bitch and moan about something breaking after not having used it properly
I'll bet you blame DuPont for Teflon not surviving a fork.

Pic related cannot make it through the spam filter. Enjoy regardless.

>doesn't agree with me so shill

It's official, OP is a mucous eating oaf and we've triggered him. Now he's just shitposting instead of admitting to being an idiot.

fucking filename

>using quotation marks while quoting
Ironic quoting necessitates quotation marks else the irony is unclear.

>Ever heard of "you get what you pay for?"
And just because you post your little stop being cheap disclaimer doesn't mean I give a fuck, you want to be cheap, you get what you pay for.
Jesus fucking Christ. In the parentheses right next to the statement, i clarified that most of the cables I've purchased DO in fact cost much more than 5 dollars. I was stating that one should not NEED to spend more than 5 dollars to get a cable for charging a smart phone. Do you understand now that I've fucking spoon-fed you, you fucking moron?

>you fucking moron?
Not that guy but you're still not in a position to throw insults around you irredeemably idiotic imbecile.

>Yes. I'm assuming that said gamepads have a battery
>no, that's a stupid fucking assumption. Don't be such a dumbass.
>How long are your gaming sessions since you need to charge your controller while you're using it?
>As I stated in my last post, your assumption was incorrect. Since you clearly are incapable of inferring the implication of that, I will explain to you: my gamepads are not wireless.
>"How duh fuk was I sup post 2 no it was not wireless????"

Dude gtfo my thread, I'm smarter than you and i probably have a much bigger dick than you.

It's official, you're a literal nigger with a sub80 IQ. Back to /r/Sup Forums, nigger.

You still weren't clear, no sign of a quote or a specific referral to which the four possible parts that one no was supposed to refer to. Your and idiot, kill you'reself.

I made a thread like this before, because mine always get tweaked like this
Everyone on the board called me an idiot
I don't know why. These things do this particular break ALL THE GOD DAMN TIME.
(picture related but not me, this dude has got some nasty-ass hands)

>Mac user

There's your explanation.

>i
You lamentable low life leech, you can't even find the shift key.
>I break my stuff and then people call me an idiot
So sad :'(

they
break
by
themselves
it takes almost 0 force at all for this to happen

>I'm assuming A while only either A or B are true
Fuck you. [Question that relies on A]
How the fuck was I supposed to know B is true?

Nigger, how big is your fucking dick?

>Reply to post with several parts
>Don't specify which part
>Durr you should read my mind
Alright user, you very clever and speaky the Engelsk very goodly.

>they break by themselves

They're not even breaking as a result of routine use, you're bending them because you're ham handed. You're the kind of retard who'd crash their car and complain that the subsequent radiator leak is the result of poor design.

>they
>break
>by
>themselves
I'm sure they do user. Don't worry, soon everything will be wireless and then the big bad wires can't hurt you any more.

>I'm **ASSUMING**(

>My logic is as clear as a bag of eels, you should be able to follow it
kek. Your logic is as good as your typing. Here, have a random image.

>I'm **ASSUMING**(

>Can't even use the right smiley
kekkest of keks. Have another image. Don't know why I have a picture of a cow but it's appropriate in this case.

>Yeah, well I think your smiley is stupid xD
>Hehehe that'll show him!!!
>I'm so randumb xD *holds up a spork*

My cables literally last longer than the phone, I still use the cable I got with my first smartphone which I got about 6 years ago.

I just drop it in my edc bag and it gets crushed under my tablet, power bank and random other shit.

>Butthurt that someone pointed out that he used a winking smiley
There there user, they're just words on a screen, they can't hurt you. Here, have another image. Can't remember who this guy is or why he was important enough to save but I think he fits right in here.

How about you stop being cheap and get some devent cables? The shitty ones for $0.99 on eBay wont even last a month of constant usage.

>get shit chink cables
>they break quickly
wow

>Google space grey to see what shade it is
>Get face full of iToys
I hate this.

>Hehehe if I keep posting random images, maybe the anonymous stranger who spends his time making people on the internet look stupid will forget that I made a mistake while posting anonymously on a Chinese cartoon image board

I feel your pain OP. One of the primary reasons I've switched to a phone with Type C.

They last longer but suffer from the same problem. I've been through 5 of mine already, but they did last twice as long as regular Stinky Chinky ones

I had my phone for 3 years and the female connector for micro usb is near perfect, but the male was nearing its end. I've had a chinky cable for about a year and it still about as good as the day I bought it. It can suspend a >150gram phone. The secret: don't be a clumsy oaf with the plug. If you only unplug in the morning and plug in at night takes maybe a full 5 seconds to lightly plug if you haven't built up practice.

Awww, you think you're a people. That's cute. Yes, you do make yourself look stupid on a mangolian cave painting forum. Have another image :^)

Space grey is just the fancy word for dark grey.

>fancy word for dark grey
I was looking for something a little more specific than that since I work with colours pretty often and I've got a colour calibrated screen but thanks user.

MicroUSB was released in 2007 and the 6280 didn't use it, it had a proprietary shit connector

Stop being a fucking barbarian and you wouldn't break them with your extreme levels of autism.