Google engineer Bensen Leung raised concerns over the safety of OnePlus’ cheap and stylish USB Type-C cables earlier this month. Leung has been proactive in warning people of USB Type-C connectors that don’t meet the required official standards and OnePlus is one company to have fallen short of the spec.
OnePlus admitted in a forum post today “our cable and adapter use a 10kΩ resistor, but according to version 1.1 of the Type-C port standard, these products should be using a 56kΩ resistor.” In practical terms, the weaker resistor means the cable may let devices draw more power from a USB port than it can provide, causing damage to the port, charging unit, cable and potentially phone or tablet being charged.
The cables are safe for use with OnePlus’ own devices, such as the OnePlus 2, because the company does not use Qualcomm’s Quick Charge technology in its products. The issue arises in phones that do support quick charging and have USB Type-C ports, including the Google Nexus 6P and 5X and Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL.
Devices with this feature draw progressively less power as they reach capacity. Therefore, the high current requested when at a very low charge could be more than the cable can safely deliver. OnePlus admits its USB Type-C cable and USB Type-C adapter “may not be fully compatible with some third-party devices” and has set up a refund offer for people who own the cables and use them with non-OnePlus devices.
Customers in North America and Europe can fill out an online form and receive a direct refund via PayPal. Customers in India and China will have to return the cable in person to a OnePlus repair centre, upon which point they will receive their refund.
OnePlus says it has begun work developing new Type-C cables and adapters that fully support the required specification and include 56kΩ resistors. The company reiterates that its existing products are safe for use with the OnePlus 2 and will not be offering refunds on cables that come bundled with the phone.
