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A comment on USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible. Parent comment

Re:USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed ... by lesuorac on Monday October 09, 2023 @08:06AM (#37819562)
That might not have been a symmetry problem per-say.

It could be that the phone correct determined the orientation but a pin was dirty/broken so it couldn't be used. When flipping the cable around the pin in use changes to one that isn't dirty/broken and so it works fine. USB-C may have a ton of pins but that doesn't mean all of them are needed to charge so flipping it can move a broken pin into the unused pins.

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Re:USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed ... by gpderetta on Monday October 09, 2023 @08:39AM (#37819823)
oh, yes, very likely it was a broken or dirty pin (that's what I mean with "failed"). I wouldn't be surprised if it was somehow a software problem as well (apparently for simplicity some cheap USB-C port setups are wired as two ports.
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