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Catalog of tested USB cables

Table of contents

240W PD 3.1 cables:

100W PD 3.0 cables​:
  • [AIXXCO USB 3.2] • TBT n/a • USB3.2 • 20Gbps • PD3.0 • 100W • Silicone
  • [ESSAGER] • TBT n/a • USB2.0 • 480Mbps • PD3.0 • 100W • Braided
  • 👍[Baseus] • TBT n/a • USB2.0 • 480Mbps • PD3.0 • 100W • Silicone
  • [Rocoren] • TBT n/a • USB2.0 • 480Mbps • PD3.0 • 100W • Silicone
  • [SlimQ TBT4] • TBT4 • USB4 • 40Gbps • PD3.0 • 100W • TPE
  • [Toocki​] • TBT n/a • USB2.0 • 480Mbps • PD3.0 • 100W • Silicone
  • [Vention​​] • TBT n/a • USB2.0 • 480Mbps • PD3.0 • 100W • Silicone
  • 👍[UGREEN​] • TBT n/a • USB2.0 • 480Mbps • PD3.0 • 100W • Braided
  • 👍[WEKOME] • TBT n/a • USB2.0 • 480Mbps • PD3.0 • 100W • Silicone
60W PD 3.0 cables​:
  • [ASOMETECH] • TBT n/a • USB2.0 • 480Mbps • PD3.0 • 60W • Silicone
  • [NNIBLI fake 100W (60W real)​] • TBT n/a • USB2.0 • 480Mbps • PD3.0 • 60W • Braided
  • [NNIBLI fake 240W (60W real)​​] • TBT n/a • USB2.0 • 480Mbps • PD3.0 • 60W • Braided
  • 👍[Pine64 heat resistant] • TBT n/a • USB2.0 • 480Mbps • PD3.0 • 60W • Silicone
  • [UGOURD 66W 6A​] • TBT n/a • USB2.0 • 480Mbps • PD3.0 • 60W • Silicone
  • [USLION​​] • TBT n/a • USB2.0 • 480Mbps • PD3.0 • 60W • Silicone
Y-type, 2 in 1 cables:

Measurement equipment used for USB cable testing

 

Measuring devices (USB testers):

  • Power-Z KM003C (firmware version 2.0.0)

  • FNIRSI FNB58 (firmware version 1.03)

  • Treedix USB cable tester

  • BitTradeOne USB Cable Checker2

  • YR1035+ (milliOhm meter for cable resistance measurement using 4-wire Kelvin method)

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An overview of the USB testers used to test the cables below, along with a comparison of fast charging protocols using KM003C, FNB58, and KOWSI KWS-X1, can be found on a separate page.

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USB cable parameters, e-marker chip, USB protocol

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  • An e-marker is a chip inside the USB-C connector that participates in communication between the charger and the connected device or between two connected devices. For USB 2.0 USB-C cables rated up to 3A (up to 60W), an e-marker is optional. Full-featured USB-C cables and cables rated above 3A must be electronically marked. More about the PD charging protocol. The e-marker chip sends information to the charger and connected devices about cable characteristics, like:

    • Supported charging protocol (including max. current and voltage). This allows the charger to distinguish the cable's maximum power: 60W (up to 20V3A), 100W (up to 20V5A), or 240W (up to 48V5A) and to identify proprietary cables.​

    • Thunderbolt technology support and its version. Starting with Thunderbolt 3, the technology uses the USB-C connector. Here are a few relevant articles: Thunderbolt 4 vs USB4 and First Batch of Thunderbolt 5 Devices Launched.

    • DisplayPort Alternate Mode (over USB-C) is supported starting with USB 3.1 cables, but for a USB port on a device, the DisplayPort marking must be present, or the port must be TBT 3/4/5 or USB4 compatible. Here is the article about that technology.

    • USB protocol (USB 2.0/3.0/4 etc.). The transmission speed, for example, depends on it.

    • Passive or active cable. Active cables have a special circuit to boost the signal in order to support high-speed transmission in long cables, because the signal quality degrades due to interference from the surroundings.

    • E-marker chip vendor.

    • If you want more information about the e-marker chip, you can read this article.

  • USB protocols. There are many USB protocols on the market, starting from USB 2.0 (480Mbps data transmission speed) up to USB4 Version 2.0 (80Gbps data transmission speed). You can read this article to get more information about protocols and markings.

  •  Article about the data bandwidth required for different display resolutions and refresh rates, including video transmitted over USB-C using DP (DisplayPort).

  • HDMI, DP, DP Alt Mode on USB-C bandwidth calculator.

  • Here you can find an article about the USB-C pinout.

  • Here is the official cable and connector specification for USB-C cables.​

  • Early versions of USB 4 cables did not include instructions that made them fully compatible with TBT3 devices at full 40 Gbps speed (it was limited to 20 Gbps). Details can be found in this Reddit post.

  • Here is where you can find the official USB-certified list of cables (USB-IF EU Conformity (IEC 62680)). (The list may not be comprehensive)

  • List of companies supporting USB-IF membership.

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USB cable types for fast charging

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Not all cables can be used for quick/fast charging because cable manufacturers may include only power and ground lines inside a cable (VCC and GND) and ignore data lines. These cables can be used in basic charging protocols like CDP, SDP, DCP (up to 1.5A) because higher voltages and more sophisticated charging protocols require data lines to negotiate them. That is why sometimes otherwise identical-looking cables may or may not support fast charging.

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In this test, I am focusing on several cable types that are used in quick/fast charging:

  • USB-A - micro USB - can support QC (Quick Charge).

  • USB-A - USB-C - these cables are more advanced and can be used in many charging protocols, including proprietary ones from OPPO/OnePlus/Realme, vivo/iQOO, Xiaomi/Redmi/POCO. These cables may include an e-marker chip, an additional contact for activating proprietary charging, and reinforced contacts for high-current charging, for example, 10A.

  • USB-C - USB-C is the most advanced type of USB cable. The cable is universal and “externally symmetrical” (the male plug is not electrically symmetrical, but this does not affect the connection orientation), has multiple data lines and double power lines, can be used for standard charging protocols such as QC or PD (Power Delivery), as well as for proprietary protocols from Xiaomi, vivo and other manufacturers, as well as for advanced data transfer (USB4, Thunderbolt 3/4/5, DisplayPort video transmission). These cables may include an e-marker chip that reports cable characteristics to connected devices: supported power (100W/240W), support for proprietary charging protocols, data capabilities, Thunderbolt version, and other specific parameters. Please note that sometimes cheap USB-C cables are orientation-dependent, so you may notice a difference in charging or data transfer depending on how you connect the cable, but this is a violation of the USB standard, and if you have such a cable, it is better not to use it.

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It is also worth mentioning some widely used USB-C (PD)-DC cables:

  • USB-C - MagSafe 3

    • This type of cable is used by Apple to charge certain laptop models. The cable contains electronics capable of triggering the required PD profile (5V, 9V, 12V, 15V, 20V, or 28V, up to 5A) from any PD-compatible power adapter, not just the original Apple one. But it is worth mentioning that even if a laptop has a MagSafe 3 port, it can also be charged from a regular USB-C - USB-C cable and USB-C port in the laptop (official documentation). So an Apple laptop like the MacBook Pro 16 can receive up to 140W from a PD 3.1-compatible charger, such as the AOHi Magcube 140W 2C1A.

  • USB-C to Lightning

    • This cable charges compatible iPhones at an actual power of about 22W and uses the standard 5V and 9V PD profiles.

  • USB-C - DC (5.5x2.5/2.1)

    • These cables have an e-marker chip on the USB-C connector side that is set to a fixed voltage according to the PD protocol. You can find such a cable for any PD voltage: 5V, 9V, 12V, 15V, 20V, or 28V, 3A/5A (for example). This type of cable might be handy as a replacement for old AC-DC adapters up to 5A.

  • There are other cables and adapters that use a USB-C connector; you can find more details here.

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Cable resistance measurements

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The cable resistance is a very important factor for charging cables (for data transmission, it does not really matter), which influences charging efficiency and voltage drop on the cable, because of internal cable resistance (in wires and in plugs). Part of the energy from a charger to a charged device is lost and dissipates as heat because of the cable resistance. The higher the current, the greater the energy loss. That is why USB cables designed for high-current charging (like SuperVOOC, HyperCharge, etc.) are usually thicker. You can also notice the cable resistance effect as your smartphone gets fewer volts than the charger supplies (for example, 8.4V instead of 9V). If the resistance is too high (>800mOhm), the cable or plug could be hot, or it could even be dangerous to use. Also, power losses in a cable are especially unwelcome for portable charging devices like power banks and solar battery chargers, where every drop of energy counts.

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Requirements for USB-C cable resistance (passive or active) according to USB standards:

IR (voltage) drop limit along the line VCC<0.5V, GND<0.25V (total 0.75V)

This means that for USB-C cables rated for 3A (60W) current transfer, the maximum resistance is 250mOhm, and for cables rated for 5A (100W/240W), the maximum resistance is 150mOhm.

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The resistance requirements for USB-A to USB-B cables are not defined in the same way as for USB-C, but there is an indication that the maximum voltage drop is 0.25V at a load of 500mA. ECN requirements also specify voltage drops across VCC+GND lines as 0.125V + 0.125V, as well as allowing power sources to set 5.5V at the output.

The above specifies a cable resistance of 500mOhm for currents of 500mA.

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However, USB A/B cables can also transmit higher currents up to 1.5A (DCP protocol), which leads to the conclusion that, in an ideal scenario, a USB A-B cable should have a resistance of 170mOhm. But considering that the source can overstate the voltage up to 5.5V, we can conclude that cables with a resistance of up to 350mOhm are acceptable for use.

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So, what should the resistance of a USB cable be?

USB-A-C, USB-C-C:

  • 60W (3A) <=250mOhm

  • 100W/240W (5A) <=150mOhm

USB-A-B:

  • 0.5A <=500mOhm

  • 1.5A <=170mOhm (preferable) and <=350mOhm (acceptable)

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What does a cable with a resistance of 100 mΩ or 200 mΩ mean in practice?

In practice, the easiest way to describe resistance is as a voltage drop or power loss, which causes the cable to heat up.

For example, your laptop might draw 100W (20V5A). If the cable has a resistance of 100 mΩ, the voltage reaching your laptop will be 19.5V instead of 20V (a loss of 2.5W), and if it’s 200 mΩ, the laptop will receive 19V (a loss of 5W).

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How to measure the resistance of a USB cable?

There are several ways to take measurements. The most accurate measurement can be obtained using a milliohm meter, which allows you to accurately measure very low resistance using the Kelvin method (four-terminal circuit). To perform such a measurement, I use the YR1035+ (Amazon) (AliExpress) and DIY USB ports (photo below), which I connected myself.

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When measuring, it is important to measure the resistance of the entire circuit involved in energy transfer: the resistance of the VCC line wire and the GND line wire. Therefore, one of the USB ports in the measuring pair is short-circuited (using a 0.75 mm copper wire). In my case, this is one of the USB-C and micro-USB ports. The second USB-C and USB-A connectors are connected to thick output wires with a diameter of 2.5 mm for connecting a milliohm meter. The USB-A port is connected to the output wires with 0.75 mm diameter wires.

USB-C ports were selected with the widest possible tracks to reduce resistance.

 

The resistance between the output contacts and the VCC/GND contacts in the USB-A port was 11.5mOhm each, i.e., a total of 23mOhm. This is the error that I will take into account when measuring the resistance of USB-A - USB-C or USB-A - microUSB cables. The error is caused by the thin traces on the USB-A board and the soldered areas.

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This allows me to accurately measure the resistance of the most common USB cables: USB-C - USB-C, USB-A - USB-C, USB-A - microUSB, USB-C - microUSB (the latter is not a standard cable, but such cables exist, and I have one in my collection).

YR1035+ milliohm meter

USB testers can also be used to measure cable resistance. Below are some of the ones I used before switching to the accurate 4-wire Kelvin setup.

 

​FNIRSI FNB58 USB tester measures cable resistance as the difference in voltages between two measurements: direct connection to a power source and connection to the same power source but through the cable. The measurement will only be close to correct if an external load is used while both measurements are performed.

​I used a stable external load with a fixed resistance 8 Ohm and 100W heat dissipation capability (it is possible to use a less powerful resistor) connected to a USB-A plug. This load draws 625mA of current at 5V.

FNIRSI FNB58 has only a USB-A male plug for direct measurements, so in order to measure USB-C - USB-C cables, I am using a Logitech USB-C-USB-A adapter, which has the lowest possible resistance impact on measurement (it was chosen among 5 different adapters of that type).

It is worth noting that the FNIRSI FNB58 gives unstable measurement results, which fluctuate significantly, and even during the course of a day, measurements of the same cable can differ by 40mOhm. In other words, the device gives an idea of the resistance, but it cannot be used as a reference. On one of the cables tested, the resistance fluctuated from the reference measurement by 46-86mOhm.

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BitTradeOne USB Cable Checker2 USB tester. As soon as it was added to my USB tester collection, it became more commonly used than the FNB58 for testing the resistance of USB cables, as it significantly simplifies and speeds up the process.

The BitTradeOne USB Cable Checker2 also has a measurement error, but the error is smaller and more stable. This USB tester shows +/- 20-30mOhm (25mOhm on average) compared to the 4-wire Kelvin method.

YR1035+ milliohm meter
BitTradeOne USB Cable Checker2 cable resistance test
cable resistance test equipment
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Other USB cables and USB adapters worth mentioning

USB-C - USB-C USB IF-certified 4m (13ft) cables:
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USB-C - USB-C cables/adapters

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USB-A - USB-C (USB-C - USB-A) cable/adapters

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USB-C micro USB cable/adapters
 
USB-A - USB-A cable/adapters

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USB-C - DC (PD-DC) cables, trigger modules​

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USB - HDMI, USB-DP, USB-AUX adapters

 

USB data blockers

Data blockers are devices that are installed between the cable and the charger to allow fast charging while preventing data transfer. This functionality ensures the safe use of USB chargers in public places (airports, bus stops, park benches, etc.), preventing your device from being tampered with.

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Some links are affiliate links (Amazon.com, Amazon.de, AliExpress). Every product is bought and tested independently - your support (with no extra cost for you) keeps this project going. Thank you!

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