I have two cell phones..LG Lucid vs840 4G verizon and LG 840G 3G Trackphone (believe ATT)I was looking on Amazon for USB cables and am confused.. they have some listed as data and some charging and some data/charging. A couple vendors list some with the same product number for both phones, and then other vendors list different product numbers for each phone. Looking on the internet it says1) most micro USB cables work on both phones.2) some cables are charging only and some are data only3) most cables do both and are dependent on the phones software to determine if it will charge via USB4) some chargers say they have "something" so not to overcharge the phone ... some are cheap and some are expensive that have this feature..?I only need a USB to trans back and forth pictures from both phones.Charging would be nice.I have a car charger for the Lucid and the end fits the 840G as well as the wall charger and I plugged in the wall charger and it saidcharging... so ... I am of the belief that BOTH cells are compatible with the same USB, Wall Carger and Car charger?Then back to the data/charging USB... pricing is all over the place,there are some that come with car, wall and USB and the reviews arepretty good $9. the USB only from $5 to $19. I could use the extracar charger and wall charger in the RV & not have to carry back & forth.Help pleaseGrammaDy

They are not all the same. Some cables do not have the pins connected correctly or missing for data transfer and charging. Sometimes it will work on one device and not another. Generally, if the cable is listed as charge/data it will do both. I have bought ten dollar micro usb cables at Walmart that are marked charge/data and they have worked for both on all of my devices. The best thing about buying this cable off the shelf at Walmart in the electronics department is that if for some reason it doesn't work, you can bring it back for refund.

GrammaDy, I am not at all surprised at your confusion.... Do you Know the difference between a:USB - Micro USB Data/Charging cable - 20$us USB - Micro USB Data and Charging cable - 5$us???(it is 15$us) - cheap shot, but I couldn't pass it up.Some cables are more durable than others, but I have not found that to be related to the purchase price in any way. They all come from China and are all suspect quality these days, but some people have the gall to charge more. The answer is to plug the cable in and if it works, it's the right cable. As to USB chargers - do not pay for hype. USB stipulates a 5V+/-0.25V. So, if it looks like a USB port, it should charge what ever is hooked into it. I hope this answers your question. Oh, before I forget I believe LGs are Android, and if it is, buy FoxFi. That will let you hook the 3G to your laptop (or any computer for that matter) and it is still faster than most of the campground WiFi out there. But, when you do that it may be tempting to try to power the handset from the computer USB. This may be a problem as often the handset needs more power than the computer USB will supply. So, use the WiFi mode and charge the handset from a charger (and watch the battery condition). Matt - much too young to be a grandfather of 4 already

Just go to any Goodwill, Salvation Army, or Thrift Shop and grab a handfull of USB cables for .50 each and several will work for your needs.

My experience is that all the micro-usb cables will work for the same purposes. However, some are a lot faster at charging/transferring data. Though I've no facts to back it up, it seems logical to me that a thicker cable will work faster than a thin one.

There is a difference. A data cable will charge while a charging cable will not carry data and charge only. A charging only supposedly charges faster. The data pins on it are shorted out.http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Difference_between_usb_data_cable_and_usb_charging_cable_used_for_mobile_phone_fly_b430This link has a video on converting a data/charge to charge only:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9-rfImR86gThis may work only for Samsung devices. I do my three Samsung gizmos are picky about cables.

USB data/charging cables Micro.. are they all the same?

12 Replies

Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Oct 29, 2013
I forgot my charger on a trip last Spring and tried that trick at the hotel desk as I had heard the same thing. They had nothing at all!
Hopefully, next time I will just remember to take my charger.
schneid
Explorer
Oct 29, 2013
wa8yxm wrote:
First.. Data cables have all their leads.. A "Charging" cable may not have the data wires in place... but usually does.. A Data cable SHOULD work for charging, a charging cable MAY work for data (Note the lesser likelyhood of "May" as opposed to "Should")

The other thign. .There are 4 different USB "Device" ends

B (The large one like on your printer
Mini (Used on my Android Tablet
Micro (Used on my cell phone)
Special (I have no idea what the dang thing is called) used on my Bullet Speaker

So long as the ends match however any matching cable works with all devices it fits.

Actually more complicated than that. More than you want to know here:

Wikipedia USB

The "large one" actually has Type A and Type B ends NORMALLY. Most have Type A ends at the Source/Host end. There are both Mini-A, Mini-B, Micro-A and Micro-B flavors at the Client end.

As for OP's question, a charging only cable will not carry data as the data pins are shorted. I understand that allows more amps for faster charging. An an engineer needs to pop up to verify that.

Some devices do have proprietary connectors. Mixing and matching can result in no connection or the device being bricked. Samsung reportedly is going to add a chip to their connectors. If it is not a Samsung cable, it will not handshake and connect. WONDERFUL. We'll have to carry around several dedicated $30 cables everywhere we go.
bwanshoom
Explorer
Oct 29, 2013
They cost $2.50, even for a premium cable. Is that too much that you have to resort to lying to get one? Wow.
mchero
Explorer
Oct 29, 2013
hershey wrote:
Just go to any Goodwill, Salvation Army, or Thrift Shop and grab a handfull of USB cables for .50 each and several will work for your needs.

Goodwill??? You got to be kidding!!

Walk into ANY hotel front desk

Tell then you had checked in a week ago for a few days & left your phone charger behind.

98% of the time they will reach under the counter & pull out a box with 100's of adapter\cables & tell ya to take a look & take one.

ALL cabes should be wired the same. I have seen phones BALK if the AC adapter does not put out enough to satisfy the device.
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Oct 29, 2013
First.. Data cables have all their leads.. A "Charging" cable may not have the data wires in place... but usually does.. A Data cable SHOULD work for charging, a charging cable MAY work for data (Note the lesser likelyhood of "May" as opposed to "Should")

The other thign. .There are 4 different USB "Device" ends

B (The large one like on your printer
Mini (Used on my Android Tablet
Micro (Used on my cell phone)
Special (I have no idea what the dang thing is called) used on my Bullet Speaker

So long as the ends match however any matching cable works with all devices it fits.
mlts22
Explorer II
Oct 28, 2013
I just pay the ten bones for an Amazon Basics cable and call it done. Their stuff is of decent quality. It works well with Kindles, and they even have Apple approved cables for Lightning connectors (newer iPads, the iPhone 5, the iPhone 5C, and the iPhone 5S.)
gkas
Explorer
Oct 28, 2013
A great place for cables is Monoprice. They have great prices, and their stuff WORKS. Great place for USB cables, HDMI cables, and lots of other stuff.
schneid
Explorer
Oct 26, 2013
There is a difference. A data cable will charge while a charging cable will not carry data and charge only. A charging only supposedly charges faster. The data pins on it are shorted out.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Difference_between_usb_data_cable_and_usb_charging_cable_used_for_mobile_phone_fly_b430

This link has a video on converting a data/charge to charge only:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9-rfImR86g

This may work only for Samsung devices. I do my three Samsung gizmos are picky about cables.
obgraham
Explorer
Oct 26, 2013
My experience is that all the micro-usb cables will work for the same purposes. However, some are a lot faster at charging/transferring data. Though I've no facts to back it up, it seems logical to me that a thicker cable will work faster than a thin one.
hershey
Explorer
Oct 26, 2013
Just go to any Goodwill, Salvation Army, or Thrift Shop and grab a handfull of USB cables for .50 each and several will work for your needs.