USB Type-C cable so bad it fries Google engineer’s

Benson Leung, the Google engineer who moonlights as an analyzer of dodgy USB Type-C links, has unfortunately played out his last demonstration of tech vigilantism—in any event for the time being. When testing a Surjtech 3M USB A-to-C link, the link was terrible to the point that it seared his Chromebook Pixel PC and two USB PD (power conveyance) analysers.

At the hour of distributing, it would appear that the Surjtech link has just been expelled from Amazon, however Leung's survey lives on. Essentially, when the link was connected and turned on, it totally seared the Vbus line on the Twinkie USB PD analyser. "This is perpetual harm. I took a stab at resetting the Twinkie analyzer and having the firmware reflashed, however it keeps on showing this disappointment," Leung composed.

Not exclusively did the link slaughter the analyser, however, yet it likewise singed both USB Type-C ports on Leung's Chromebook Pixel: "Neither would charge or go about as a host when I connected a USB gadget, for example, an ethernet connector."

Upon further investigation, Leung found that the link had slaughtered the Chromebook's inserted controller, a chip that oversees undertakings, for example, console initialisation, USB charging, and perusing temperature sensors. Lamentably this implied the PC could no longer boot up: in light of the fact that Chrome OS's Verified Boot tech could no longer confirm the installed controller, it would just boot into recuperation mode. (Undoubtedly, the controller might've been undermined here and there.)

To discover what kind of devilry had seared his apparatus, Leung then investigated the link with a breakout load up and a multimeter. What he discovered was actually very stunning: "apparently they totally miswired the link. The GND nail to the Type-An it help desk pay attachment is attached to the Vbus nails to the Type-C plug. The Vbus nail to the Type-An attachment is attached to GND on the Type-C plug."

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