iPhone 5 Lightning cables sticking in USB ports Owners of the new iPhone 5 are reporting a sticky problem with the new "Lightning" cable used to connect their handsets to power sources or computers sticking in USB sockets. Lightning is Apple's replacement for its 30-pin connector and terminates in a standard type A USB plug, as featured in USB memory sticks and pictured at …
30 pins or 9 pins!! Who cares. The relevant point is the bit about them still using a proprietary interface at the other end.
And talking of which - what is it with Apple and this interface. Looks the same on the iPad / iPod / iPhone but you can't use the same devices with them. Even amongst the same product line (e.g. the iPod) they vary the spec.
"Looks the same on the iPad / iPod / iPhone but you can't use the same devices with them. Even amongst the same product line (e.g. the iPod) they vary the spec."
What does this mean? That you can't plug an iPod into an iPhone?
Can't say I've ever had any trouble with any 30-pin cable on any device but that said I haven't owned many for a long time...
The 'relevant point' is that it's crappy manufacturing of the USB plug end, not the proprietary end.
They could have continued using the existing 30 pin connector but used cables from a different manufacturer, and could still have the same problem.
They could even have used a micro-USB connector on the phone, and still had the same problem, as it's the USB plug on the other end that is the issue.
This could also have happened with any Android phone, camera, anything that uses USB cables. It's a bad manufacturing process due to trying to reduce the cost of goods sold to maximise profit. Could have happened to any company, as they all try to minimise costs and maximise profit.
'Wait - since when were USB connectors proprietary?' When you make a pigs ear out of building an industry standard item - but of course the [other guy] rest of the world was wrong for following the industrial specification.
Between this and the iPhone-4s-just-extruded form factor, St. Jony really phoned it in this time. Too busy hobnobbing with Bono, brainstorming AIDS-themed DSLR's or whatever the F it is this time. Or was it Livestrong he's involved with? So hard to keep track of the turtlenecked beautiful people.
It was probably the female sockets that are to blame. A lot of computer equipment has ones that aren't specced properly. I bet it works fine with all current generation Apple hardware. Not sure why people would use an iPhone with a non-Mac computer anyway. This is a usual Apple bashing by the Reg. Either make sure all your USB ports are up to spec or find another yourself another phone. This isn't Apples problem.
iPhones outsell Macs by about 7:1. Any notion that they sell exclusively to closed-minded sheltered people who buy nothing but Apple is demonstrably false. It's likely that the vast majority of iPhones are used with computers other than Macs, if they're used with computers at all.
Of course, you have absolutely no basis for that claim. And given that the iPhone 5 has it's own power brick IN THE BOX, that nice Mr. Occam would suggest that since postulating an random old piece of APPLE kit hanging around is hardly simple, the most likely explanation is the one that makes you look like a bit of a blowhard fanboi.
Still, if your point is that Apple has repeatedly produced non-compliant, non-interoperable USB stuff, so it's hardly surprising if they've done it yet again, then I'll agree with you.
(Tthe whole point of "Lighting" is so Apple can control the accessory market. It's not like it does anyone except them any favors...)
"... are up to spec..."
Hold on. Doesn't the USB spec say that plugs should have a feature on the top side to feel which way is up to help plugging it in by touch (including helping the visually impared?) Please tell me that the little white sleeves now have a braille type dot on or something now.
You mean... a *MARK!* Something to horrible to corrupt the clean Apple white? Blasphemous!
My mac pro (Which I only got for dual-xeon goodness) doesn't even have an eject button on the outside. I once got a disc stuck in the 'superdrive' and had to open the computer up to extract it.
Incidentially, as I imagine we all knew, the 'superdrive' is actually your plain sata-interfaced DVD-writer. Even has an eject button on, there's just no way to reach it while the computer is assembled.
I just checked the USB connector for my webcam, and one side of it has the USB logo on it, which corresponds to the part of the male connector that covers the contacts. (And, thanks for pointing that out, as I never really paid any attention to that spec requirement.)
Now, whether or not Apple includes a USB spec compliant cable is something I can not speak to.
Kit made by that rotten to the core company will never find its way into my home.
It's funny, because I've never EVER heard of this "issue" before, and I work with many many people, and many many different computers every day, and to date I can't recall anyone complaining that a USB cable and socket wouldn't connect/disconnect properly.
Is it a "not apples problem" thing in a classic "la-la-la fingers in ear, can't hear you, so no problem" way?
I was hoping the downvotes from people who didn't get sarcasm would cancel out by upvotes from fanbois... who didn't get sarcasm. I guess not. Oh well, at least I wasn't labeled a sexist for blaming female parts.
@Malcolm Weir
What's this Occam's Razor you speak of? Is that the one with expensive proprietary and incompatible cartridges?
It's now come to light that female USB A connectors have been manufactured incorrectly for years! Apple have 'got it right' and when hardware manufactures catch up it will 'just work'. If hardware manufacturers don't step up, Apple will have 'pioneered' a 'new standard' in connectivity, (and will probably patent it too).
This is just Apple reinforcing its walled garden and extending it to other hardware and peripherals: once you plug the usb end of the new connector into something, you can only ever use that connector in that usb socket - and therefore that socket can now only ever be used with an iThing.
Apple probably have a batch of slightly too tight connectors, a visit to the Apple store will get them replaced no question.
I guess the story here is that if I bought a new phone and found the cable was too tight I'd just use a different one out of the drawer. Apple makes you go to the shop and get one from their drawer.
"They even check cars these days, before they leave the factory"
And then they do the recall after thousand of models are fitted with the wong sized clutch or the brake pedal gets caught in the carpets or the steering wheel jams at full lock after 1000 miles or the airbag goes off after going over a speed-bump..
Quality control has never stopped things going wrong.
You haven't actually clicked any of the story links, have you? Peeps have had their Apple keyboard destroyed by this cable. And also things they keep calling 'wall warts', though I have absolutely no idea what those may be. Are some Fanbois plugging their shinies into hamsters out of mistake / curiosity? Or perhaps odd skin complaints caused by over-exposure to white product?
its obvious innit?
apple has altered the male usb connector 'just enough' to claim that its a different and 'new' product
now they will patent their 'new' usb end using their favorite sympathetic court of law
stand by to see them suing the ass off of every single manufacturer out their next year for making usb ends too similar to apples "original and innovative" proprietary design.
its what theyve done with everything else and its made them a fortune, why stop now?
"The Independent online reports that there are also complaints about poor finish on some iPhone5 units."
I think 'reports' is a little charitable. The hack writes that "some customers" have complained about issues - but how many is 'some'? How widespread is the issue? Now, I have read forum posts that have referred to the sort of problems that he's referring to, so I know the reports are coming from somewhere, but the Indy hack provides no details about where he got his information from - speaking as an ex-hack myself, that's just shockingly bad. Would adding a link or two kill him? As I've a base cynical mind, I suspect that the reason that he gave a link to another Indy story only is to do with trying to drive the site's Web traffic.
Still, it doesn't really matter. The sheer mention of Apple will generate hits - to hell with actual reporting.
I love how "Apple had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication."
Basically they see if there is a way they can side step their responsibilities, when at the end of the day they should just say we "are looking into it"
Just goes to show how little they respect the users of their technology.
That precision engineering Sir Jonathon Ive (or Jony Ive as it says on the video) waxes lyrical about.
It'll be fixed in iPhone 6 that is oh so much better than that iPhone 5 we launched last year as this one is made from pure diamond.
That'll be 900 quid please.
AC flameproof mask and coat donned to avoid the fanboi flames.
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