Am I the only one who thinks that the physical connector standard for USB-A is inappropriate for its use? I have numerous laptop and desktop PCs that have one or more defective USB connectors. Some were damaged when the connected USB cord or device was bumped or jerked. Others failed for no apparent reason at all.
In the case of those that failed for no apparent reason, I suspect that the damage came from the cumulative result of numerous attempts to insert the plug or device upside down. In other cases, the little plastic backing plate and contact guide breaks off, leaving four unsupported and non-insulated pins in the opening, and rendering the port unusable.
The ubiquitous USB type A connector is also one of the most delicate and breakable devices.
Other forms of connectors work fine for years. I have one serial adaptor that has outlived several laptops, even after having been inserted and removed hundreds of times. For some reason I have never seen the cord end -- which would be easy to replace -- break this way. It is always the female receptacle buried deep within the computer that fails.
I have another issue with these USB connectors. There is no immediate visual cue for the correct orientation of the plug when it is inserted. There is no tapered “lead-in” to guide insertion of the plug. That means that half or more of the attempts to insert the connector will be unsuccessful. The male connector is upside down or slightly misaligned with the female connector half the time. I believe this contributes to the deterioration of that little plastic backer plate in the female socket.
Well, Beth, I think you are lucky. I have seen problems with these connectors. Some just stop working. Others seem to degrade. I get messages that the device can go faster if plugged into a USB 2.0 port (when that has been how it worked all along). I plug it into a different USB port and it works full speed.
I'll add my 2 cents to the clamor and say I've never had a problem with USB connectors. The fact that the author says it's the female end, inside the device, which tends to break makes this a major problem, since it's relatively inaccessible.
I was puzzled by the author saying there's no indication on the male plug regarding which side is up. Uh, you must have a Windows machine. Macs have always indicated which end of the plug is up with a symbol.
I agree with the upside-down problem, Jenn. In the posting, the user said you're going to hit it wrong about 50 percent of the time. I have a side-loading input in my laptop, so 50 percent misses are about right. Yet those misses don't seem to do any damage to either the USB-A connector or the laptop port.
I've also never had a problem with USB connectors breaking, nor have I heard complaints from friends or co-workers regarding this issue. I wonder if this is a common problem for many or if there is some sort of wacky user error going on in the case of this author. In any event, the only problem I ever have is when I try to jam the connector into the slot, only to realize I have it upside down.
I've never had a problem with a USB-A either, Beth. Though I've always felt uncomfortable with the leverage factor. The way the thin USB-A sticks out of a laptop makes me think that dropping the laptop just a few inches at the right angle would snap the USB right off. So far, I've been careful not to drop my laptops.
I have never had a problem with USB-A, but I have had a USB-B detach from a printed circuit board (part of the microcompuiter in-circuit emultaor) when I was trying to debug a product 500 miles from the office. In order to continue working I had to cut the USB cable and solder it directly to the PCB.
The problem was that there was no mechanical reinforment of the connector which is mechanically held on by the surface mount solder connections only.
I read this post with great interest waiting for the "aha" moment when I too could say, I experienced that as well. I have to say with all of the devices/laptops/desktops scattered around my house/home office, I have never, ever had a problem with a frail USB connector, despite the numbers of times I've connected/disconnected. I'm wondering if the USB connector is from a specific manufacturer or set of manufacturers and perhaps quality issues belies the problem rather than the actual USB-A connector standard.
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