USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible

Re:USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed ... by tzs on Monday October 09, 2023 @01:00PM (#37822514)

I wish there was a requirement that USB C cables must have sort of ID chip that can be easily read that tells what the cable supports, so that we could have simple testers that you can plug a cable into and be told what speed and power it supports.

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Re:USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed ... by tomjakubowski on Monday October 09, 2023 @03:31PM (#37824360)

If you have two USB-C ports on one computer which both support "everything", could you write a cable tester in software?

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Re:USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed ... by Ajedi32 on Monday October 09, 2023 @03:39PM (#37824470)

That exists. It's called an e-marker and you can buy testers for about $60 that will read it for you. If a cable doesn't have one of those markers then odds are it can't handle over 5 amps or USB 2.0 speeds.

It is kind of annoying that that functionality isn't built into phones and PCs though.

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Re:USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed ... by ianburrell on Monday October 09, 2023 @04:08PM (#37824857)

Except for power, that is all determinable from the cable itself. USB-C cable supports power and USB2 data. Resistor determines the power, either legacy USB, 1.5A or 3A. Every USB-C cables support that. If there are USB3 pins connected, then it supports USB3 data and alternate mode. I think USB3 has negotiation protocol to figure out the data rate. There is also negotiation about power delivery on USB-C specific pins.

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Re:USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed ... by Max-q on Monday October 09, 2023 @10:43PM (#37827994)

USB C with USB 3 had an id chip. If the cable does not have a chip, it is good old USB 2.

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