Why is a 6' cord only $1 at Walmart?

[AC Question]

Newbie-embarrassed to ask this question-the cord my phone came with is very short. At the T-mobile store 6' cord cost $20. When I did a google search I found one at Walmart for $1.00 and Amazon has one on sale for $3.35 w/o shipping charges regularly $25. USB 1.0/2.0 USB A-B micro. Is this the right one? Thanks!

 

[Marc Lagace]

As tempting as it might be to go with the $1 option (and I've done it all the time when I've forgotten/lost my charger and am in a pinch), the downsides are that it is very obviously a knock off product, which means that it's not specifically designed for your phone and therefore may or may not work reliably.

Using cheap cables also heighten's the risk of electrical fires and damaging to your phone. On the other hand, they may work out well for you, but keep in mind the risks associated. If it was me, I would likely buy that $1 cable -- because it's only $1 -- and just keep it in my bag for those times where I forget my real charging cable, but using it as a full-time charging cable is probably not a good idea.

TL;DR: Cheap charging cables sound too good to be true, because they are.

 

[Mooncatt]

My experience has been almost the opposite. For the most part it didn't matter which cables I used, they all went out quickly. I tried the super cheap, OEM brands, and everything in between. For a time, it was actually more cost effective to buy online cheap cables in bulk even if they went out quicker. For the most part, the cables are all the same design, so I don't see any real safety issues with using random brands.

There have been two exceptions so far in my experience. I bought some from Dollar Tree and that one must have had very thin power wires. Even brand new, they wouldn't handle full current. I couldn't actually change unless I flat shut the phone down. The other exception is my current cables. I'm using some Volutz brand cables that I got at a reasonable price from Amazon. They have held up well so far and they look nice. I did have to exchange a couple, but the warranty process was relatively easy. The replacements and the other three originals are still holding up well.