Here is a very interesting and timely topic regarding the vagaries of USB cable quality that I have come across in Thailand.

First, I am not bashing Thai quality, and I assume this situation is about the same everywhere.

I am, though, BASHING the Chinese Suppliers that sell us this garbage, as well as the importers that encourage them.

Here is the situation:

1. I have a laptop by ASUS, which is one year old, and has one 2.0USB and one 3.0USB port.

2. Recently, I have been having plenty of trouble with connection interruptions, or non-connections when I connect both my Smart Phone and my Tablet to the Laptop. The laptop runs Win8.1, and the Phones run JellyBean 4.2, or 4.1, or maybe 4.3, I don't have time to look.

3. When I try to tether the tablet and phone, sometimes I will be able to see the directories of both devices, and sometimes only one, and sometimes none.

4. Will it make a difference if I am trying to connect two devices to a 2.0 or a 3.0 BESIDES speed? I am not sure yet.

But anyway, it just seems to me that I keep having to throw out USB cables like they were dirt cheap, which they are not.

What is the best way to buy one USB cable per device and use it for a reasonable period of time before needing to replace it.

5. The USB Hub I am using is an ANITECH, which I thought was fairly good, or the best I could find, but now I think is not so good.

Anitech provides a 2 year warranty, as far as I know, but it is probably hell to pay to actually jump through their hoops to get them to service it, and even taking it back to the store where you bought it is going to cost you more than the HUB itself.

WHAT A MESS these cables seem to be, as far as quality.

What can be done with them?

Some cheap cables are charge only but few are clearly marked so. I've built up a collection of different sizes and anytime I've had a problem connecting to a computer I've found using the original one that came with the device fixes any connection problem. There is a reason some are more expensive than others. You see the same with cheap versus not so cheap USB electric plugs. Tablets especially will not always charge using the cheapest (40 baht) plugs however I've never had a problem with the two I have that cost 200-300 baht each. They look very similar to the cheapies but have a brandname so I guess the circuitry inside differs e.g. the cheap ones are minus a wire or two to save on production costs but from the outside you can't tell unless maybe they have some specs on a label somewhere.

Some cheap cables are charge only but few are clearly marked so. I've built up a collection of different sizes and anytime I've had a problem connecting to a computer I've found using the original one that came with the device fixes any connection problem. There is a reason some are more expensive than others. You see the same with cheap versus not so cheap USB electric plugs. Tablets especially will not always charge using the cheapest (40 baht) plugs however I've never had a problem with the two I have that cost 200-300 baht each. They look very similar to the cheapies but have a brandname so I guess the circuitry inside differs e.g. the cheap ones are minus a wire or two to save on production costs but from the outside you can't tell unless maybe they have some specs on a label somewhere.

I would be very happy to pay more, provided I know which one is worth the extra cost.

The cables I have are 1 meter long:

a. It is white with blue green and red lights on it (which is very useful because then you know when it is charging, or sending or receiving data) and worked for about 2 weeks. Now, it will only charge but will not tether anything anymore.

b. Then I have various other cables which have no LEDs and some it feels as if you really need to force them into the micro socket. I think this is not good because it could alter the socket shape or damage a pin.

c. Then I have some which have long plugs on the micro plug metal part, and some are shorter and sort of click into place.

So yes, I would just like to buy three good cables, one for my batter pack, one for the Tablet, and one for the Phone.

I can't buy an Apple plug for an Android phone. And I could not find an ASUS plug for the tablet, or an ACER plug for the phone.

So, then which plugs should I be using? Belkin used to be a good brand. As were others. Now, most everything I see here seems to be garbage.

IS THIS AN IMPORTANT issue? You bet it is, because I waste more time trying to get tethered due to poor cables than I thought possible.

My experience with these cables is similar. The 100-150 Baht cables are generally not very durable and normally the Micro USB end fails. I have had better success with cables around the 300 baht level that seem to last a lot longer. If you use these cables ever day for charging and data transfer then be prepared to replace them when they fail and it worth having a spare already for when they do fail.

A few years ago i forgot to take my UK charger for my 1st Gen i-pod touch so i went and bought a copy looked good pluged it in to charge up nothing i mean nothing i had to wait until i got home to do factory reset to get it working.

Most people do not wish to pay for good quality cables. Anything with "lights" and colourful ones just a trash.

The most reputable brands on the market here is:

BELKIN - US Supplier

Elecom - Japanese supplier

Their cables are expensive, but top quality. BELKIN can be found in IT-CITY and other chains, like BANANA IT, however Elecom is a BANGKOK - only and I saw in Fortune IT, Emporium and Siam Paragon.

Expect about 450 THB for one cable.