OnePlus Agrees Its USB Type-C Cables Aren’t Fully Compatible With Other Products

Benson Leung, an engineer at Google, recently started reviewing USB Type-C cables and adapters that are commonly available online to let people know if a particular product is fully compatible with all devices or not. Using cables that aren’t compatible can cause damage to external power supplies or the device itself, so it’s to be absolutely sure about it. Leung singled out the OnePlus USB Type-C cable and recommended that people don’t buy it for any device other than a OnePlus smartphone, and now the company itself has agreed that its USB Type-C cable isn’t fully compatible with other products.

When Leung had initially singled out the OnePlus cable it had responded by saying that its USB Type-C cable and adapter are compliant with USB 2.0 and Type-C 1.0 protocols, while mentioning that they can safely be used to charge and transfer data from the OnePlus 2.

Today OnePlus properly agreed with Leung’s findings, while saying that many have bought the company’s USB Type-C cables for use with other compatible products, “depending on the devices and power sources you’re using them with we can’t guarantee full compatibility with those products.”

OnePlus uses non-standard resistors in the cable which could damage an external power source in certain circumstances, the problems like with the adoption of a 10kΩ resistor instead of a 56kΩ as selected by the Type-C 1.1 standard though the problem only affects devices with support for fast-charging.

Since the cable and adapter are designed for maximum of 2 amps of power, the resistor will enable fast-charging devices to try and draw power more than the source allows, and that could result in damage to the power source like the port or the charger. OnePlus does clarify that it’s cable and adapter are fully compatible with the OnePlus 2 and users will not face any problems if they use the cable only with its smartphone.

Those who purchased cables or adapters from OnePlus to use with other devices can now claim a full refund from the company by going to this website and filling out a form.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: OnePlus, OnePlus 2