Good MicroUSB cables
 

Admittedly a low tech question for this forum but I use them for a number of devices in a number of stationary and mobile locations and they don't seem to last very long, losing connectivity at the microUSB end.

My guess is a combination of poor cable quality in the first place and poor handling by us in terms of not watching out for strain relief when attached to the devices.

I'm looking for recommendations for high quality, hopefully flexible, microUSB cables. (Monoprice cables are very stiff IMO).

Thanks.

I've never noticed a difference in any USB cables...but have you checked out Amazon's Amazon Basics line?

Unless you need to make sure you're pushing the most amount of energy through (for charging purposes,) you're not likely to notice a difference. If you just need a cable as a cable Amazon basics are decent. There is an Anker branded 3pk for about $8.

I like the ones from Monoprice

I'm mostly concerned with being able to charge my devices at their maximum speed, and for that purpose, I'm very happy with the Anker cables that I purchased from Amazon. Even their 10-foot cable charges my devices at maximum speed.

My Anker cables are a recent purchase, so I don't know how long they will last. But I like the fact that even though their cables are thicker than others I have, they are flexible and not overly stiff. I can easily coil them up for storage in my electronics bag.

As others have said, cables are cables. You can't go wrong with Amazon Basics, although their cable prices are a little steep.

I prefer retractable cables, and have not had any issues with them. I carry four (one spare with me), and have spares at home.
http://www.amazon.com/Micro-Retracta...sb+retractable
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_pg_4?...qid=1422318258

Thanks guys. I'm going to buy a variety of these to see how they work for us.

I have 2 micro USB cables I got from ebay for $2 shipped for 2 years. They both works fine for charging and sync with my Note 2 phone. Are you sure the problem is with your cables? The device port is probably more likely to break first I think.

Cables are designed to break away, and take the damage to save the ports. I have noticed that the odd placement of some ports has lead to stress that wouldn't be there normally with a traditional bottom placement. (The first Samsung Galaxy had a top port, and was notorious for getting damaged with either moisture or stress.)

Until I got my Samsung Galaxy S4, I thought the same thing (cables are cables). For many years I used retractable cables for the small size and convenience, but the ones I had did not carry enough current to charge my S4. After testing all the cables I had -- some of which allowed full-speed charging and some that didn't -- I realized that not all cables are the same. Now I purchase high-quality cables for my latest devices and test them to ensure that they charge my devices at their maximum speed. I expect them to also be more reliable, but the jury is still out on that.

I bought a cheap one for my phone whilst in London and 90% of the time it fails to work. Move near it and the device disconnects, reconnects etc.
Would barely work connected to my laptop and not at all if plugged into a mains charger.

Got a new one now and zero problems.....phone charges in a couple of hours rather than days.

I have seen a lot of mini USB and micro USB ports broke. I have 2 Nintendo DS that had their ports replaced, and 2 galaxy phones that could only charge is the cable is insert very carefully in an angle.

The micro USB is really bad design with that little thin piece of connector in the middle. It gets broken or damage really easily. Now the lightning cable has great ports.... they are just a hole with nothing in the middle. But I do have 2 or 3 lightning cables broke apart.. I guess they were made to break apart to save the iDevices? I have yet to have any microUSB cables break.. I think they are made to stay intact and break the device ports. ;)

I would measure ~1.5a out of retractable cables on my Galaxy S4 with OEM charger (a 2A capable charger) compared to the full ~2A with the OEM cable. I now ger about the same on my Moto X 2014 with the retractable cable and Samsung charger (the charger included with the Moto X 2014 is only 1A, even though it's dual-USB). I can live with ~1.5a when traveling, and use a 1.5a Samsung charger (that came with an old Samsung Rugby Pro) when traveling anyway.

I'm about to switch back to a Asus T100TAM from the Surface Pro, and the Asus charges from USB... back when I had the original T100TA, both it and my S4 would charge just fine off of retractable cables and this 17w/3.4A dual-USB charger. I'll probably dig it back out, or maybe get one of these 20w Anker chargers with PowerIQ ports.

My retractable cabled worked perfectly fine with my Atrix but pushed only about 350mA to my S4, which was not enough to maintain the charge level while in use. Of course, I found this out only after I had departed with my new phone on a long trip. :mad: Glad to know that retractable cables still work; I probably just needed to buy a better-quality one.

Coincidentally, my second high-power device is an Asus T100TA. Also coincidentally, just last week I purchased the Anker 2-port charger you link to (in black color) from Amazon for travel use with my S4 and my Asus. I haven't tested it fully yet, but it looks like it can charge my Asus as well as the original charger. It's only slightly larger than the original Asus charger with non-folding plugs, but it has 2 ports and folding prongs, so I'm hoping that it will be a nice addition to my travel bag.

Thanks for the feedback on the Anker charger with the T100TA + phone. I use $2 retractable cables from China that I get on eBay... sounds like you may have just had a bum cable.

Did you try the retractable cable with the Samsung charger? I've had issues with my kids' Galaxy Tab 3s being VERY picky about both non-Samsung chargers and any cable with circuitry in the path (i.e. generic micro-USB docks), but they don't seem to have any issues with the retractable cables as long as they're used with the original Samsung chargers.

I used the "Galaxy Current" app to measure current on my Galaxy Tabs and S4 when still using TouchWiz, and Elixr after installing a GPE ROM on the S4 and also on my Moto X 2014. You'll want to note that Elixr monitors the net current, so it's display what the charger is providing MINUS what the phone is drawing... make note of what it's reading prior to plugging up to get a good idea of what current you're drawing from the charger/cable.

I freely admit that there is likely a handling problem, especially when the devices have the cables plugged in when in a car!

We've been lucky and only had the port on the Nexus 7 break so far. For the remaining situations, swapping out the cable restores the ability to charge so I've been assuming something happened to the cable.

Aside from OEM/stock (HTC, LG, Asus & Motorola) cables that go with the USB chargers - these flat ones @eBay/USA seller are good for my needs (up to 2 amps for the Nexus 7) including quick charging - carry both the 3' an 6' variants, store flat & easy to stash away, inexpensive and shipped free - delivered in less than a week. Got them in bright orange color & easy to visualize to reduce the odds of being left behin or forgotten in the hotels.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Color-Flat-M...item2ed0a63a31

I purchased retractable cables prior to my last intl trip, and by about day 3 they had stopped retracting correctly because the cable gets off track and is impossible to get back aligned correctly. Is there something I'm missing?

I keep tension on both sides and let them retract slowly... sometimes I'll have to pull back out a bit then continue to let it retract, but I've never had any completely fail to retract. My most common failure modes are the cam mechanism that PREVENTS them from retracting failing, or the cable itself developing a short.

As IOM said, pull both ends of the cable to release the cam, and retract.
I've been using 3 retractable USB and 3 retractable iPhone cables for three years, and only had to replace two.

Just saw that Wirecutter has an article on microUSB cables. The user comments have very good information on cable stiffness and longevity of connectors. Anker through Amazon seems to be the one I've been looking for in my OP.

Something I didn't see mentioned here is that for faster charging you should look for 28/24 AWG gauge usb cables. They have a larger power wire than the cheap 28/28 gauge. This will allow faster charging and also allow those devices that draw a lot of power to charge while in use.

I second the recommendation on Monoprice cables. They are high quality and at a good price. Plus, the higher end phones are a little more sensitive on the better quality cables (you can see if you use an app than measures sustained and max current).

Well, my new T100TAM will not charge from retractable cables nearly as well as the T100TA I had prior to the Surface Pro. I ended up getting a couple of 6ft iXCC 28+24awg cables from Amazon and they seem to charge the T100TAM at full speed when paired with the PowerGen 3.4a Dual USB Charger, and give a little more distance from the outlet when needed. They are hefty but don't take up much space when looped instead of rolled tightly.

The cable listed on that page - the Monoprice one with ferrite cores and gold plating - is my personal pick for best Micro USB cable. Several years back, we needed a long cable (~15 feet) for an onstage presentation that involved very high speed data transmission over the USB port. Every other long cable we tried dropped packets and caused the video stream to hiccup, but the Monoprice one with ferrite cores worked like a charm.

This was before the rapid rise of Anker, though; I'm a huge fan of their products and recommend them or Amazon Basics without hesitation as well, if you just want something easy you can get delivered via Prime.