this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2024
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There is a reason for USB-C extensions not to be part of the standard. They can be bothersome in the best case and dangerous in the worst.

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[–] WraithGear 338 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (40 children)

So a standard cable needs to be chipped to show its rating to the device, its not that the device can pull what it wants or can get, but the cable itself tells it what it can supply. Extension cables can’t do that, because it doesn’t know what it’s plugged into, and that would be if they even bothered to put a chip in. They instead piggy back off the chip for the main cable. The problem comes when you you have a 240 watt cable hooked up to a cheap 120 watt cable, with the device being told it can push 240, and starts to super heat the extension cable

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 week ago (10 children)

This sounds solvable, doesn't it? Have the extension cable have a chip saying it can do X at maximum, then compare with whatever is to be extended and communicate the minimum of both upstream. Might not become a sleek cable-like design, but would extend the 240W cable with the extender safely staying at 120W

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Heh heh heh. Wait till you dive into the world of "That $15 cable costs 12c to make."

[–] iopq 5 points 6 days ago

I'm right now in China and those cables cost $0.50 shipped to your address, so not surprised

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