For Amazon, there is no compromise when it comes to the quality of the USB-C cables that it sells in its massive online store. After receiving reports that certain USB-C cables in the firm's inventory were substandard, Amazon has initiated a widespread crackdown on cheap, faulty USB-C cables.
Effective immediately, merchants selling cables that are below the quality standards set by USB Implementers Forum Inc. (USB-IF) risk having their Amazon accounts shut down and their products destroyed in the firm's fulfilment centers.
The substandard USB-C issue was brought to light by Google engineer Benson Leung, who took on the task of testing dozens of USB-C cables that are sold by the e-commerce giant in order to aid consumers in steering clear from shoddy cables.
As per Leung's tests, one of the cables was so poorly made that it ended up doing some very serious damage to his own Chromebook Pixel 2. Leung, of course, gave the product, Surjtech's 3M USB A-to-C cable, a one-star review.
"On my Chromebook Pixel 2, both USB Type-C ports stopped responding immediately. Neither would charge or act as a host when I plugged in a USB device such as an ethernet adapter," he wrote.
Upon closer inspection, Leung was able to figure out the reason why the cable fatally damaged his laptop. Apparently, Surjtech's cable was not a USB 3.1 cord at all, despite having all the insignias of a USB-C cable.
USB Type-C is widely considered as the definitive new generation of connectors used for electronic devices. Promising faster charging capabilities and extremely high data transfer speeds, many are endeared to the ubiquitous cable.
In fact, the cables are capable of carrying so much power that they are not only confined to mobile devices. Even full-fledged notebooks, monitors and other high-power devices could be charged via USB Type-C. Apart from this, the port is also fully reversible, making their use far easier than traditional USB cables.
Despite its simple appearance and numerous advantages, USB-C cables have one particular quick. They are extremely intricate; thus, low-cost producers have a larger margin of error when it comes to the cable's production.
Despite his dead Chromebook Pixel 2, Leung remained optimistic about Amazon's new rules. He remains vigilant, however, emphasizing that consumers need to remain vigilant.
"Really great news, but we all have to continue to be vigilant and call out any bad products we find on Amazon and other stores, both online and brick and mortar, as we find them," he said.
