Anybody found a good lightning cable?

porsche4life · porsche4life's Garage

Anybody found a good charge cable for the iPhone? Seems like we only get a few months out of them before the ends start going to crap. Doesn't matter if it's a $10 knockoff or an authentic apple.

Anybody found a good brand of cable?

jyl · jyl's Garage

Amazon Basics. $15 for a long one but $10 for Prime. Seem to hold up well.

masraum · 08-15-2015, 09:07 PM

I have good luck with the genuine Apple stuff. What are you doing to your cables?

porsche4life · porsche4life's Garage

Plugging it and laying it on my nightstand.... Nothing crazy for sure.

wildthing · 08-15-2015, 09:17 PM

Groupon. I think because the wire gets twisted around more, they don't last as long.

Jrboulder · 08-15-2015, 09:31 PM

When my last genuine Apple cable broke on a trip I got a 3' cable from the checkout stand at Walmart for $8. So far it's lasted about 18 months without showing any wear. It seems quite a bit sturdier than the Apple one.

Steve Carlton · 08-15-2015, 09:38 PM

$6.20 on Amazon, including shipping...

Amazon.com: New Original Apple Iphone 6 6 Plus Lightning USB Data Cable Charger OEM Authentic Apple Product - Buy Now Before Shortage!: Cell Phones & Accessories

porsche4life · porsche4life's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

$6.20 on Amazon, including shipping...

Amazon.com: New Original Apple Iphone 6 6 Plus Lightning USB Data Cable Charger OEM Authentic Apple Product - Buy Now Before Shortage!: Cell Phones & Accessories

Read the reviews....

island911 · 08-15-2015, 10:40 PM

Charging Cable? Don't those have Qi charging?

Steve Carlton · 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Read the reviews....

My bad. I assumed it was OEM Apple (I selected Apple as the brand). I'm surprised Amazon allows such BS.

Jrboulder · 08-15-2015, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

My bad. I assumed it was OEM Apple. I'm surprised Amazon allows such BS.

Amazon likes it because it reinforces the notion that you have to buy from Amazon if you want a legit item.

Steve Carlton · 08-15-2015, 11:26 PM

Huh?

Jrboulder · 08-16-2015, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Huh?

Amazon is basically an online Walmart with a flea market going on in the parking lot. By now their sights are set on selling their products and delivering through their own distribution channels. Often the sold by amazon option is more expensive than other buying options. So if they can get you worried the other options are possibly counterfeit you'll be more likely to pay a little more for the sold by amazon option.

slodave · slodave's Garage

My 5s cable is just fine a year in... Was hoping to get the 6 last year, but my old 4 decided not to support that option...

I also have a generic cable - not sure of the brand - outer layer is braided cloth. Both have been on rugged trips and are really no different from the new. The iPhone cable being white, is a bit grey at the ends from use, but that's it...

onewhippedpuppy · 08-16-2015, 04:37 AM

I have the same issue, even the genuine ones don't last. Just another example of Apple removing quality and content, slowly becoming what they used to despise.

techweenie · techweenie's Garage

I haven't seen deterioration in most of my cables, but a few have hand the sleeve disintegrate just past the reinforcement collar. If you buy Griffith or other 'Made for Mac' cables, there are a lot of choices. I have a few non-approved cables that are doing just fine. The Chinese stuff at $0.99 including shipping is an alternative - you'll occasionally get a 'not compatible' message, but they do charge, and bluetooth or WiFi handles the connectivity.

This is atypical of my experience with Apple products, but I no longer have anyone to take my gripes to. :-(

stomachmonkey · 08-16-2015, 07:57 AM

What are you guys doing to your cables?

Out of the dozen or so iDevice cables I have, some that are several years old, the only one that is frayed is the one my wife uses most.

She unplugs by grabbing the wire and not the hard connector.

Just handle them properly and they are fine.

FWIW the reason the cheap ones are flakey is they are missing the Apple authorization chip.

FWIW redux. I don't buy cheap cables or chargers. All cables and charges are not the same.

My brother tells me the most common electric system "gremlin" problems they see at his dealership are caused by cheap "gas station" chargers

stomachmonkey · 08-16-2015, 08:17 AM

PSA.

These are great. Makes traveling with multiple devices so much easier. Nothing worse than being in a hotel room with the family and fighting over the limited outlets.

Charges devices really quick.

Sometimes you can find them with a cable bundle.

Amazon.com: Anker PowerPort 5 (40W 5-Port USB Charging Hub) Multi-Port USB Charger for iPhone 6 / 6 Plus, iPad Air 2 / mini 3, Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge and More: Cell Phones & Accessories

dad911 · 08-16-2015, 07:15 PM

I've had no trouble with cables from Monoprice.

Cajundaddy · Cajundaddy's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

PSA.

These are great. Makes traveling with multiple devices so much easier. Nothing worse than being in a hotel room with the family and fighting over the limited outlets.

Charges devices really quick.

Sometimes you can find them with a cable bundle.

Amazon.com: Anker PowerPort 5 (40W 5-Port USB Charging Hub) Multi-Port USB Charger for iPhone 6 / 6 Plus, iPad Air 2 / mini 3, Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge and More: Cell Phones & Accessories

^^ Pretty awesome device. It is our charging station that covers everything chargeable by USB port. Phones, ipads, cameras, GPS etc.

We also have a bunch charging cables scattered throughout our house/cars/office. I don't think any of them have failed. Maybe buy a dozen and keep extras in a drawer.