Why cables stop working
Cables for charging stop working when we need them the most, like when our phone battery is running low. A lot of people think they are being careful with their cables. It is the small things we do every day that usually cause them to break.
The people who test how long electronics last say that most of the time cables do not just break for no reason. They break because of the stress that happens over and near the part where the cable meets the plug.
Cable testing reveals a truth
Michael Pecht, who is in charge of a research lab at the University of Maryland that focuses on how well electronics work wants to know why devices break. He and his team test cables by bending them pulling on them. Plugging them in many times to find the weak spots.
They also use X ray pictures to look at damaged cables and understand what is going on inside when they break.
After testing cables for a time Michael Pecht found out something simple. Wrapping cables carefully does not really make a difference in how they last. Even if we wrap cables tightly they do not usually break just because of that.
The real reason cables break
Most experts agree on one thing. Cables usually break at the part where the cable meets the plug not because of how we wrap them up.
Kyle Weins, who co founded the company iFixit, which helps people fix things and knows about repair says that cables always break where the cable meets the plug.
That spot gets the stress. Every time we bend the cable sharply near the plug the tiny wires inside get weaker over time.
Everyday habits that damage your cable
There are things we do every day that can hurt our cables without us even noticing.
One big problem is using our phone while it is charging, like when we’re in bed or on the sofa. When we pull the cable at an angle it puts pressure on the plug all the time.
Another problem is leaving the cable hanging down from a device that is plugged in. The weight of the cable pulls on the joint, which makes it weaker.
When we unplug our cable by pulling on the wire instead of the plug it can hurt the connections, inside the cable over time.
