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What other precautions to take when buying a lightning cable?

6

6thDAY

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 14, 2010
734
88
Hello guys, the outer plastic shell of the lightning cable for my 5 is torn off, exposing the wires.

I'm looking to buy a genuine apple one on craigslist.

I have looked here to spot a fake vs genuine cable:
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/10/05/tell-difference-genuine-fake-lightning-cable/

I will bring along my cable to compare.

Besides checking the pins, usb plug, and text on the cable as mentioned in the article, what else should I test to make sure it's genuine?

I will also plug it into my laptop to ensure it charges and that itunes recognizes the device.

Thanks
 
Applejuiced said:
Get a monoprice wire.
It's cheaper than Apples wires, mfi certified and with lifetime warranty.
If it ever fails send them a pic and they will mail you another one next day.
Click to expand...

Lightning cable is discontinued. Much to my dismay. I've gone through 5 lightning cables, they just fail. No fray, no kink. They either corrode, or just stop connecting.
 
AlphaHumanus said:
Lightning cable is discontinued. Much to my dismay. I've gone through 5 lightning cables, they just fail. No fray, no kink. They either corrode, or just stop connecting.
Click to expand...
I've had one for two years now and it's just fine.

The reason it frays is because you're tugging on the cable itself when you take it out of a device. But you don't want to do that, because the strain builds up over time on the cable itself. You want to pull from the actual plastic tip of the connector. It will NOT fray when you pull it out correctly.

I can assure you of one thing, you didn't buy 5 defective cables. It's not a particularly resilient cable but if you pull it out correctly and make sure that there are no strains or stresses acting upon it then it will last as long as you need it to last.
 
AxoNeuron said:
I've had one for two years now and it's just fine.

The reason it frays is because you're tugging on the cable itself when you take it out of a device. But you don't want to do that, because the strain builds up over time on the cable itself. You want to pull from the actual plastic tip of the connector. It will NOT fray when you pull it out correctly.

I can assure you of one thing, you didn't buy 5 defective cables. It's not a particularly resilient cable but if you pull it out correctly and make sure that there are no strains or stresses acting upon it then it will last as long as you need it to last.
Click to expand...

I said no kinks, and no frays. I'm not "tugging on the cable". I assure you, I've bought 5 defective cables.

----------
Mr_Brightside_@ said:
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=112&cp_id=11213&cs_id=1083101&p_id=10377&seq=1&format=2
Click to expand...

I stand corrected. I couldn't find any purchasable ones. Thanks.
 
AlphaHumanus said:
I said no kinks, and no frays. I'm not "tugging on the cable". I assure you, I've bought 5 defective cables.
Click to expand...

LOL. You are either the unluckiest man to ever live, or, you're buying defective cables from some ripoff company. I deal with a lot of lightning cables, and the only ones I see that just fail are cheap ones from third party companies.
 
AxoNeuron said:
LOL. You are either the unluckiest man to ever live, or, you're buying defective cables from some ripoff company. I deal with a lot of lightning cables, and the only ones I see that just fail are cheap ones from third party companies.
Click to expand...

Or he abuses them to the max and just expects them to last or work under any conditions.
Its always the wires or the products fault:D
 
AxoNeuron said:
LOL. You are either the unluckiest man to ever live, or, you're buying defective cables from some ripoff company. I deal with a lot of lightning cables, and the only ones I see that just fail are cheap ones from third party companies.
Click to expand...
I'm not so sure. I still have the 4s myself so I have no personal experience, but on the apple store app the feedback about the genuine apple lightning cable is horrendous. They seem to have quite a high failure rate. Like, seriously, one and a half stars out of five and around 1500 reviews. That's bad. Surprised to see apple let this go.
 
Last edited:
Applejuiced said:
Or he abuses them to the max and just expects them to last or work under any conditions.
Its always the wires or the products fault:D
Click to expand...
Haha amen to that!

Enabledobject said:
I'm not so sure. I still have the 4s myself so I have no personal experience, but on the apple store app the feedback about the genuine apple lightning cable is horrendous. They seem to have quite a high failure rate. Like, seriously, one and a half stars out of five and around 1500 reviews. That's bad. Surprised to see apple let this go.
Click to expand...
It's people who tug on the cable itself when pulling it out of the device, which is always a no-no with cables. Then when the cable fails, they blame the cable.
 
The tension in the cable on the Apple Lightning connector was so twisted from new that it frayed eventually and I was always careful not to pull the wire, only the connectors. It lasted over a year before failing to connect.
 
6thDAY said:
Hello guys, the outer plastic shell of the lightning cable for my 5 is torn off, exposing the wires.

I'm looking to buy a genuine apple one on craigslist.

I have looked here to spot a fake vs genuine cable:
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/10/05/tell-difference-genuine-fake-lightning-cable/

I will bring along my cable to compare.

Besides checking the pins, usb plug, and text on the cable as mentioned in the article, what else should I test to make sure it's genuine?

I will also plug it into my laptop to ensure it charges and that itunes recognizes the device.

Thanks
Click to expand...

If you really want to take no chances, get a real one from Apple.

I have been using iPhones from the first one and have never had the first cable stop working. I don't even take my cables out of the box anymore as the same cable has lasted for a couple of years.
 
AlphaHumanus said:
Lightning cable is discontinued. Much to my dismay. I've gone through 5 lightning cables, they just fail. No fray, no kink. They either corrode, or just stop connecting.
Click to expand...

Where do the cables corrode? That's a big issue. If you can post a pic, please do.
 
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/03/04/lightning-cable-corrosion/

They look just like that. I'm actually quite careful with my cables. It's not something I enjoy doing, going to the apple store and getting them replaced.
 
Is Apple packaging their cables differently now?

The ones I've unpackaged always come coiled, not wrapped, and bound by a clear plastic band.

Cables should be gathered and coiled, not wound or wrapped. Wrapping cables around objects often puts a twist on them. Although Apple kinda encourages this with the wings on the Magsafe adapters, it's not a good idea.

One might be able to get away with it on larger cables (such as the one on my vacuum cleaner, where the wires can clearly be seen twisting under the jacket from repeatedly being wound around two pegs), but small cables like these are much more vulnerable.

The nature of these things is not that robust to begin with. Many people mistreat or mishandle them, which makes it even worse. Some are just rough on their stuff, no matter what it is.
 
You should never cheap out when it comes to replacing genuine charging accessories. Because you can end up with a cheaply made cable that could potentially be a fire hazard or worse, electrocute you. But hey, what do I know.
 
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