I have a bit of a puzzler regarding USB cables. I use an audio interface to connect my guitar to my audio mixing software. It comes with its own USB-A to USB-C cable that works perfectly. However, I accidentally tried using a cheap USB-A to USB-C cable I picked up at an airport. This cable charges my phone just fine, but when I connected it to the audio interface, everything seemed fine on my laptop—the software showed a connection and even displayed sound levels, but I couldn't hear anything through my earphones. Initially, it worked for about five seconds and then cut out. I've switched back to the official cable, but I'm really curious about what could have gone wrong. Was the cheap cable incapable of handling the data transfer needed for audio? If so, why is that?
4 Answers
A ton of these cheap cables can be marketed to only allow charging without any data transfer, especially in public places. It’s frustrating when they look the same but have different capabilities!
Some USB cables are really just wired for power—like a two-wire setup instead of the four wires needed for data. If it’s just for charging, it won't help with your audio needs at all.
You're right about data transfer; a lot of these USB-A to USB-C cables are made to just handle USB 2.0 speed, which is good enough for charging but not for high-speed data. It keeps the costs down, but that's why many of them aren't suitable for audio equipment.
It's likely because that cheap cable you bought was designed mainly for charging, not data transfer. Many budget cables only connect the power wires and leave out the data lines, which is why it seemed to work for charging but not for your audio interface. Some manufacturers market their cables as safety features to prevent data transfer while charging in public ports. Totally frustrating!
Yeah, I had a similar experience! Bought a USB-C cable that claimed to support data but turned out to be just for charging. It's so annoying when they mislead you!