Thursday, March 31, 2016

Amazon USB-C Policy


There’s good news in the fight against rogue USB-C cables, some of which have caused major problems with smartphones and laptops, after Amazon tightened the regulations around the type of cables that it sells.

The online retail giant has added non-compliant USB-C cables to its list of items prohibited for sale on its website, which already includes pirated DVDs and non-compliant electrical products.

Any USB-C™ (or USB Type-C™) cable or adapter product that is not compliant with standard specifications issued by “USB Implementers Forum Inc.”

In other words, at last, non-compliant USB-C cables, which can damage or shut down a device entirely, will be banned from sale on Amazon. This is a policy update though, and Amazon will need to police its seller community and shut down any who continue to offer dodgy cables.

This small but important update was spotted by Benson Leung, the Google engineer who has raised awareness of the dangers of faulty cabling after a USB-C destroyed his Pixel. Leung was tasked with testing USB-C cable compatibility with the Pixel and, among many things, he identified a flaw within the OnePlus type C charging cable and has generally championed increased vetting and standards.

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