Expensive charging cables that are worth it
January 27, 2025 2:37 PM   Subscribe

I have broken yet another charging cable by using my phone while I charge it. Are the perpendicular cables actually better? Any other charging cables that won't break when used this way? Looking for things available in Canada.
posted by jacquilynne to Shopping (28 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
i use anker cables like this all the time and i have never had a problem with them breaking. i got mine at costco, but they are available on amazon or on the anker website. they are not cheap, but i have found them to be very durable.
posted by koroshiya at 2:42 PM on January 27 [12 favorites]


My experience is that the kind of cable with a thick woven or braided sheath tends to last longer than the plastic-coated kind. The main thing is getting a cable that is long enough so that you aren't putting any strain on it in use. Yes, a 90 degree plug can help reduce the strain on the cable if you are often using your phone while plugged in, but it isn't a magic bullet.
posted by ssg at 2:48 PM on January 27 [7 favorites]


Where are the cables breaking? I use cheap cables, I use my devices while they're charging, and I don't have any issues with broken cables. As a data point.

One of the life lessons my dad drilled into us as children was you don't put stress on an object in a direction it wasn't built to sustain stress in. So like, you don't do a monkey bar hang off the side of a car door and stress the hinges, you don't carry a laptop by its screen, you don't pry open containers with the end of a butter knife, and you don't put a hard bend on a cable where it's not designed to have a hard bend. It's served me well in life and hardly anything I own gets worn out or broken. Worth way more than the cost of new cables to incorporate more mindful use of your tools into your every day life.

tl;dr get a longer charging cable so you have plenty of slack on the line.
posted by phunniemee at 2:51 PM on January 27 [9 favorites]


If you find yourself charging while on the go, and your phone supports a wireless charging like MagSafe on the iPhones, getting a battery that charges wirelessly through the back will eliminate much of this problem.
posted by advicepig at 2:52 PM on January 27


Also a big fan of Anker. Very durable for the price point.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 3:20 PM on January 27 [3 favorites]


Response by poster: you don't put a hard bend on a cable where it's not designed to have a hard bend. It's served me well in life and hardly anything I own gets worn out or broken.

I mean, congratulations on living a mindful life and not being at all condescending about it, but the point of asking about the perpendicular cables is because I recognize a hard bend is not supposed to be there and I would like to avoid putting a hard bend where a hard bend is not supposed to be.

The problem isn't the length of the cable (it is at least 3 feet longer than it needs to be to reach the outlet) but that when I sit in a chair both charging and using my phone, the charging cable is pressed into my stomach and that causes a bend where a bend, as previously noted, is obviously not supposed to be. I realize that's not ideal and is what is causing the problem but there is no way for me comfortably hold and use my phone while charging that doesn't create this issue with a standard configuration charging cable that sticks straight out of the charging port.
posted by jacquilynne at 3:23 PM on January 27 [11 favorites]


If the cable is being stressed by pushing against your body, a 90 degree plug will definitely help.
posted by ssg at 3:34 PM on January 27 [4 favorites]


I recently switched to a perpendicular plug for my bedside phone charge situation for much the same reason. So far so good.

I agree with others that Anker is the brand to beat in this space.
posted by potrzebie at 3:36 PM on January 27


Agreed that after the followup, I'd buy a right angle Anker cord. If you have an older iPhone with a lightning port, you might need to buy a less fancy brand.
posted by advicepig at 3:48 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]


I always add some sugru to the weak points of all my cables, and they last for years not months. Been a gamechanger for a long time now. It has just the right amount of flexibility. And it comes in nice colors now too.
posted by octaviabutlerfan at 3:49 PM on January 27


I think I'd go with perpendicular cables.

But I can think of 2 other options, both of which I use and find useful, but Idon't use them to solve your particular problem.

Which phone-- is there a wireless charging option, possibly with magnets? A wireless charging cradle like this could work for you; you just hold the phone on the cradle

I use a magnetic charging cable like these ones but this isn't a perfect solution for you; though it can charge at 90 degrees, even a slight bit of pressure on the head of the cable will lever it off the magnetic receptor and disconnect the charger. But you could potentially position the cable such that it would work.

Also, if your phone supports it, look into fast charging. It means upgrading the charger, though not unreasonably, but less time on the charger could solve this issue by eliminating the need to charge in this position.
posted by Sunburnt at 3:49 PM on January 27


Response by poster: Thanks all, I have ordered an Anker right angle cable.
posted by jacquilynne at 3:54 PM on January 27 [2 favorites]


If it turns out you're particularly hard on devices, you might try one of those phone cases with an integrated powerbank through a different connector than the phone link, so you can keep that charged and just pop the phone in when it's low. Ideally, get two, so you can always have one charging while the other is in use.
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 4:10 PM on January 27


I purchased these 2 years ago and they are still going well. (Amazon link) Right angle cables.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 4:18 PM on January 27


If I want to use my device while it's charging, I turn on the auto-rotate function and turn the device so the plug can be inserted at the top instead of the bottom.
posted by fuse theorem at 4:33 PM on January 27 [7 favorites]


The perpendicular connection should help. FWIW, I have this issue with some combinations of device/location/ergonomics and at times I've ended up putting together some way of propping up the device such that the cable isn't stressed and I'm still comfortable. Sometime's that's with an actual phone holder/stand, sometimes with a pillow or similar, once I just made a makeshift little thing out of cardboard to stick the device's bottom in and give it some extra height and it was actually pretty great.
posted by trig at 5:16 PM on January 27


Just +1ing the Anker cables. Especially the braided ones. Ive had the regular plastic coated ones crack (just the outside - the cable still worked fine) but the braided ones are seeming to be damn near indestructible.
posted by cgg at 6:01 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]


Mod note: One removed. Let's stick to addressing the question / solution. Thanks.
posted by taz (staff) at 9:11 PM on January 27


I am so glad you ordered a perpendicular cable. I'm a huge fan. They are life changing.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:01 AM on January 28


Braided anker cables, like everyone else. But also: if your phone supports it, a magnetic wireless charger (e.g. apple magsafe or a qi2 charger with a similar design) would avoid the issue described in the update entirely.
posted by advil at 6:34 AM on January 28


FWIW, you may be one of the people who puts enough stress on cables that even the higher end Anker braided won't hold up as long as you'd like.

If that's the case, you have two options:

1. Try something a step up, e.g. Otterbox, Just Wireless Kevlar, Nomad Kevlar

2. Treat cables as disposable. Buy them in 6 packs for like $10. Have spares around. Toss them at the first sign of trouble.
posted by caek at 8:18 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]


I have broken multiple Anker cables because I am not demure or mindful and have a raging case of ADHD. I keep buying them because they have a great warranty.
posted by notjustthefish at 8:38 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]


I'm a fan of the magnetic charging cables (there are many) where you insert the magnetic lightning or usb-c adapter into your device's charging port and leave it there, and then just click the cable on or off as needed. They "stick" well enough that I can tether my phone to a power brick while out walking and playing Pokemon Go or Pikmin or whatever, and the cable stays connected. But if it does get tugged or knocked loose, it's just the magnetic connection "breaking" and no actual damage is done to the cable or the charge port. Most of those cables tend to be charge-only (and not data transfer) but in the rare case that I do need to actually hardwire my phone to a computer, it's also easy to just remove the adapter and use a standard cable.
posted by xedrik at 9:02 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]


Anker is definitely my go-to for cables, and I heartily recommend right-angle cables for the problem you're describing. Last time I was searching for right-angle USB-C to USB-C cables, they didn't seem to have what I wanted. I ended up getting some from the "UGREEN" brand, and they've been working great for me. I have a few different varieties that I've acquired over time, and the ones I originally bought in 2021 are still going strong with frequent use. And I use them for everything -- charging my laptop, phone, Switch, keyboard, tablet, etc. and they've worked without fail for power transfer. They haven't worked for data transfer in some cases (specifically some Android devices that get weird about cables and usually only with with USB-A to USB-C for inexplicable reasons) but overall they've been really reliable.

Depending on use-case I have both this variety with a right-angle on both ends and another variety with one right-angle end and one straight end. If you can't find the exact variation you need from Anker, these seem like a solid second choice brand for cables.
posted by duien at 11:24 AM on January 28


I use cables with a magnetic head. If you pull in the wrong direction with too much force, the magnetic head detaches and no harm to the cable or the charge port. However, these magnetic cables are a little iffy when it comes to fast-charging. Depends on how much you trust them. I've not had a problem with them, and they're available almost everywhere via Amazon.
posted by kschang at 11:31 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]


Treat cables as disposable. Buy them in 6 packs for like $10. Have spares around. Toss them at the first sign of trouble.

This is exactly what i do for my son. He is a teenager and (ab)uses the cables for stimming. We tried Anker, his father lectured him endlessly etc but finally last year i decided that this was not my hill to die on.
posted by 15L06 at 12:01 PM on January 28


I too treat my son as disposable and get a new one at the first sign of trouble. Haven’t had a problem with cables in years.
posted by RandlePatrickMcMurphy at 12:50 PM on January 28 [3 favorites]


I have mine permanently rotated so the cord is at the top. I had one app that didn’t recognize this so I used to have to flip around to use it but recently it sorted itself out.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:28 PM on January 28


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