March 20, 2025

Black Pill boards - F411 USB -- connectors and durability

I was surprised to read that micro_USB and USB-C have the same rating, 10,000 insertion cycles.

mini-USB is rated for only 5000.

full size USB is rated for only 1500.

I find the last pretty funny because those big ports on my desktop PC get far more used than any other USB device.

Even more hilarious are claims that USB is rated for "a lifetime of use". Well, what is a lifetime? Doesn't it depend on the device? My phone has a USB-C that I use to charge it, and I charge it at most 3 times per week. So that is 3*52 insertions in a year, and that would be 65 years. That would be a long lifetime for a phone, so I guess the lifetime claim is reasonable.

My desktop though, figure 20 times a week -- it should be worn out in less than 2 years.


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Tom's Computer Info / tom@mmto.org