Charging plug hot...

[ptkelly]

I've been charging my Nexus 5x at my desk with an old charger with a USB micro plug capped with a USB micro to USB c adapter. It charges fine but takes a long time. In the bedroom I have an old charging plug with this cable.
"Axxbiz USB 3.1 Type-C Cable - C Male to A Male - 3.3 Ft - SuperSpeed+ 3A 10Gbps - 56K Resistor for USB Default Power(50068)"

It charges much quicker than the old USB micro cable but the charging plug gets hot. I really don't care if the plug goes south but I don't want to screw up the Nexus 5x.

Is this normal or a problem?

 

[B. Diddy]

It isn't unusual for a plug to get pretty warm. Devices shouldn't get damaged, since they draw the current they need (and won't get current forced into it, unless there's a big power surge like a lightning strike). If it gets painfully hot to the touch, though, I'd avoid that plug and get a new one.

 

[ptkelly]

Thanks, B.Diddy. The rash of warning about USB-C cables had me worried.

 

[B. Diddy]

Oh wait--I forgot you're using USB-C. I can't be entirely sure about that. Was the cable you're using vetted by Benson Leung (the Google engineer who reviews lots of USB-C cables and chargers)?

 

[ptkelly]

I don't know. I did buy it off Amazon.com and when Leung found problems they started withdrawing products that failed but I don't know if he vetted that particular cable. I'm no engineer but the information on the Axxbiz cable says it has the 56k resistor. I think the resistor being missing was part of the problem on the cables.

Edit: I love Oaxaca, Mexico, but it isn't the technological center of the universe. The best electrical supply store had nothing with USB-C. Office Depot had an Apple adapter USB A to USB C. It cost an arm and a leg because my first-born son is grown and refused to move to Cupertino.

I was needing some cable in the first week of May. My Nexus arrived with a European charging plug and it took me two days to find an adapter. The first cable I got was a Belkin. Not knowing what I was doing, which isn't unusual, I ordered one that had good reviews but it was USB 2.0. Then I ordered a Belkin 3.1 and I can't find any record of Benson Leung testing it. Then I got the Axxbiz 3.1.

Tonight, I charged my Nexus 5x using the same charging plug but the Belkin 3.1 cable. The charging plug got warm again but not as warm as it had with the Axxbiz cable. So, I guess I'll use the Belkin cable for a while.

My alternative would be a USB micro cable with a USB c adapter but those charge really slow.

 

[B. Diddy]

I think the Axxbiz is not approved. See this Amazon review: https://www.amazon.com/review/RJLHM...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5416955 The product page is gone, which makes me think Amazon withdrew it.

It's listed as a "NO" in this spreadsheet that someone created with Benson Leung's blessings: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wJwqv3rTNmORXz-XJsQaXK1dl8I91V4-eP_sfNVNzbA/edit

If this is the Belkin cable you got, then that's ok: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WJSPFO...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5416955

 

[ptkelly]

I just wanted to return with an update. I started charging swapping cables and charging plugs. All three of my cables worked fine with a couple of plugs with no significant heating of the plug. I had two plugs, identical, that did get what I thought was too hot. Neither has any information or name on the plug so I can't identify them. I tossed them in the trash.