[PLUG] Universality of USB Cables

[alan at clueserver.org]

> On 2016-05-18 13:32, Rich Shepard wrote:
>> Am I correct in assuming that if I buy a USB cable with the
>> appropriately
>> sized plugs on each end it can be used with any device and a computer?
>
> Yep, that's the idear.  And you can get 'em from at the dollar store.

Actually not always...

Depends on the device and the cable.

There are "charge only" cables that will not transmit data.

If the device is made by Samsung, you need to make sure that it has the
correct cable. Some micro usb cables have a resistor in the end that the
Samsung device wants. (Part of the cable spec I believe.)

If it is a usb-c cable you need to verify if it is to spec. (There was a
Google engineer that reviewed all the cables on Amazon.) Not everything
was made correctly.