Unbreakable iPhone cables: Do they exist?

November 3, 2013 8:40 PM

I'm looking for recommendations for iPhone cables that last longer than a month or two. I have a 4S - so the old kind of cable, not the lightning kind.

I've had the original apple ones, Belkin, cheap ebay from China, whatever, they all stop working way sooner than they should. I bought a bunch of new ones (my husband and daughter each have a 4s, so we go through a lot of cables.) and they are all dying one by one so I need more, yet again. I've heard the same complaint from others, so it might not just be us. It does seem like we are especially hard on them, though. Are the new lightning cables any better?

posted by artychoke to Shopping (14 answers total)

The new lightning cables are much better. After a year with two devices I've seen no sign of wear or breakage.
posted by alms at 8:57 PM on November 3, 2013

What's the use pattern for your cables? If it's just daily charging kind of stuff maybe you should be using docks instead so you're not flexing or pulling on the cable portion.

The Lightning cables are a lot better in that the connector is a lot easier to grip so it's possible to pull out without putting tension on the cable.

I still use a 6 year old cable from time to time. I've also been another cable almost daily in my car for about 5 years. Those particular cables are the old style that have a much larger connector portion, like this. Like the Lightning cables it's possible to pull it out by gripping just the connector.
posted by zsazsa at 9:02 PM on November 3, 2013

There are very few data cables of any type that can withstand repeated sharp bending, and they are very expensive.

The trick to a long lasting cable is not to leave it sharply bent (bends near the plug ends are the most likely to destroy it, because they will happen repeatedly in the same place, but an extreme enough bend anywhere on the length will eventually destroy a cable).

Avoiding bends like this will eliminate most problems with cable wear, the second most common culprit is pulling from the middle of the cable when unplugging, instead of grasping next to the plug attachment.
posted by idiopath at 9:12 PM on November 3, 2013

If they're failing due to stress at the junction between the wire and connector, try molding some Sugru around that area to stabilize it.
posted by quince at 9:18 PM on November 3, 2013 [2 favorites]

The new lightning cables aren't much better at all... they fray very easily and come apart at that cable/connector junction. My lightning cable lasted less than a year before it had frayed too far, and I tried to use it gently, too.

Unfortunately I don't know of any better alternatives. The most common alternative people suggest is Amazon, who makes their own cables. They tend to hold up longer than Apple's in my experience, but the flip side is that the connectors are bulky and may not fit into cases for your phones or tablets. So, that might be one to look into.
posted by Old Man McKay at 9:22 PM on November 3, 2013

I am pretty rough on my devices and such but I have not had this problem, and I also have a 4S. Are you bending them when they're being charged? Maybe a dock is a better way to go? I used to charge my iPhone on a dock (until the dock got destroyed by mildew) and it was a lot less fiddly than using a cable.
posted by radioamy at 9:52 PM on November 3, 2013

Best answer: Seconding docks. Take note of the form of the dock if oyu're using them for anything outside the iphone/ipod form factor. Some look like a shallow cup with the docking connector inside, which would exclude any iPads, if any are present. Others allow large and small compatible devices to work with the 30-pin connector you're using. You'll still use a 30-pin-to-USB cable to connect the dock to power or computer.

Cheap USB cables in general can have a short lifespan; if you're getting a few months out of them, as cheap as they are, call it good. Cables get shortened lives from being wound up, knotted, shoved into pockets, etc. I find it's better to have a few cables at every likely location where the cables stay in place while the phones move. I buy them in quantity at monoprice.com, which is my favorite place for cables and adapters (and with whom I have no relationship other than as a customer). Looks like they also have docks. Here are the iPod/phone cables.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:11 PM on November 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

This might sound like I am delusional, but I'm not rough on my Apple cables and adapters at all, and yet, I always need to replace them. it seems to be a consistent design flaw, and I'm very cognizant of how I treat my cables because I don't like dropping the extra money to replace them. I've begrudgingly accepted it as a cost of being a Mac fan, but, as others have suggested above, I have had good luck with Amazon cables. I've also been quite happy with the cables that came with my Belkin car charger and it appears they have a newer model than the one I own.
posted by katemcd at 11:20 PM on November 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

You want the older apple 30 pin cables. the ones that had little push ins to release them on the sides. these, not these. And none of the off-brand ones.

The old apple cables were mostly metal under the plastic outer shell, even around the connector and had a heavy metal shielding mesh under the rubber cord. And also a real sawtoothed strain relief where the cable met the connector on the phone/ipod end.

I've had one of those original cables literally last me from the beginning of high school, all the way through college age, and up until now. I think i've had it since like 2006 and the mofo still works. The plastic shells will break off of the connector partially or entirely but underneath it's all freaking copper and other metal and just keeps working great.

I have never, ever had one fail that wasn't physically ripped in half. As in caught under a car seat and chewed up in the seat track or something. I've never had one die around the connector at either end.

I'm not sure where to source these older cables besides ebay, but they're the ones you want.

I'm actually still angry about the new style cables and especially the lightning cable too. I'm about to have gone through 3 in one year of very careful usage and seriously babying them(as in, it's extremely rare for the cable to leave my room. There's no load placed on it, it's never bent at any acute angles, and is only removed by the actual "head". they still fray to fucking pieces). My mother, who consistently unplugs the cables correctly but isn't particularly nice to them otherwise seems to go through one nearly every other month.

I really wish otterbox or lifeproof made cables.
posted by emptythought at 11:23 PM on November 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Buy the Amazon Basics cable. Just search for iPhone cable. They are thick and strong.
posted by squirbel at 4:34 AM on November 4, 2013

I have a belkin one that seems indestructible*, but on a bang-per-buck level, I found buying tons of shitty ones from dx.com works.

I like the sugru idea, but for the price of sugru, you may as well buy another cable or two.


*I bet I soon regret typing that.
posted by pompomtom at 6:20 AM on November 4, 2013

Best answer: I've been using the Amazon brand lightning cables and they're excellent. High quality, thick, feel substantial. Maybe the Amazon brand old school cables would be good, also? Or, what squirbel says!
posted by clone boulevard at 11:58 AM on November 4, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I've ordered a couple of Amazon Basic cables and I'll see how they do. If they crap out, I'll just buy more piles of cheap ones. I tried to save a cord with sugru once (I had some leftover from fixing a laptop cable) and it worked for a while and then the cord broke right below where the sugru was. The sugru was nice though - I stuck a little bead in it as it dried which meant I could plug in my phone in the dark on the first try. It seems like the older cords always had the white plastic cracking off of the cord and then eventually died much later. I think those were the ones with metal wire inside. The ones I've had lately just stop working while they still look perfect (including my super heavy duty Belkin one). I can't use a dock because I never take the case off. If I'm that hard on the cords, I can't be trusted with exposed glass.
posted by artychoke at 9:05 PM on November 4, 2013

I may be late to the game, but I wanted to pop in to say that I have decided to take the approach of buying the cable at the 100yen shop (like a dollar store), and just buying a new one when it eventually self-destructs. I don't know if they sell the cables in question in American dollar stores, but if they do, it is another possible solution to the problem. On top of that, I can say that the cable I bought at the 100yen shop shows no sign of breaking down at 6 months of use. I read somewhere that some people are having trouble with non-Apple cords being rejected by Macs, but I haven't had any trouble of that kind, at least not yet.
posted by segatakai at 5:29 AM on November 5, 2013