Linus Tech Tips
4 HN mentions · mentioned in 4 months, 2019–2022
9:00 · 2.5M views · Jun 6, 2017
Linus Tech Tips tests whether USB Type-C connectors are more durable than Micro-B by repeatedly plugging and unplugging them. In the test, Micro-B failed at around 8000 insertions while USB-C kept working.
HN cites it whenever someone asks whether USB-C holds up better than micro USB, as a small sample but concrete test.
4 comments from Hacker News
Did you actually manage to break that tiny wafer or it's more of a theoretical concern? I admit I had the same concern as you, but I'm not a mechanical engineer, and I'm sure a lot of thought was put in the mechanical design of the connector. It seems to me that the outer metal sheet on the connector will prevent a "wrong" angle on the wafer. Linus Tech Tips actually tested 10000 USB-C insertions: this video Spoiler: USB MicroB failed at 8000, USB-C was still working at 10000
The cable plug is supposed to fail instead of the socket on the device. Actual testing[1] demonstrates that the microUSB socket on the device does not last the rated 10k cycles and also that the cable lasts longer than the socket on the device. [1] this video TL;DW- Repeated insertion and removal led to the socket on the microUSB SSD failing after 8000 cycles, cable was still fine. USB-C still worked after 8000 cycles.
In this (sample size of 1!) experiment, microUSB failed at 8000 insertions device side. USB C lasted beyond 8000 insertions. this video This isn't the first time I've heard someone suggest Lightning is more durable than USB-C, but I've not seen evidence of it.
This honestly reminds me of this "experiment" in which the conclusion was, if I remember correctly, that USB C becomes loose faster, but continues to work for longer in total: this video