USB Cable Quality Tester

This USB cable quality tester provides production a means to test and instantly know the quality of the USB cable.

It is also known as the USB wire connector resistance tester.

Things that affect USB cable performance

USB cable issue can depends on the following factors.

• Cable wire material
• Quality of contact between the wire and the USB connector.
• Cable length

What can happen if a low quality cable is used?

List of common problems due to poor USB cable quality

• Problem charging phone with USB cable.
• Intermittent Linux OS hanged while running Raspberry Pi

Miniature connector on USB cable are commonly used for mobile phone, computer and electronic devices.

USB cable have pretty small connector (USB-C, USB-micro, Lightning connector) and may not be properly manufactured.

Improper manufacturing process can result in poor cable connectivity quality. When these imperfect USB cables are deployed on site, it may result in intermittent failure.

This is especially happening frequently in high current usage like mobile phone charging. Using poor quality cable, you may find that your phone charge very slowly, or charging inconsistently and perhaps at times not even charging at all.

In high current consumption like a Raspberry Pi computer, the Linux system may get hang or buggy because of a poor quality USB cable.

This is often due to the poor quality joint between the wire and the miniature USB connector. A poor joint result in a higher contact resistance. This will cause a drop in voltage when more current is drawn from the supply.

It is important to ensure that the USB cable is of good connectivity quality before it is shipped out to the customer.

What you need is a tester where you can plug in your USB cable to, and it will tell you whether this cable is suitable for high current application.

Suitable for

• USB-C
• USB iPhone
• USB micro
• Any other connectors.

USB Tester Features

Quick test and simple to use tester.

• Plug in and auto start testing.
• Test for Pass or Fail result (base on 3A load).
• Buzzer sound and light indicator for Pass or Fail result.
• Display resistance of the wires.
• Voltage drop (base on 3A load).
• Report print out for the measured parameters.
• Check for missing wire or mis-connected wiring.

Check resistance of each wire. For USB-C it is up to 24 wires.

Recommended USB Cable Specification

For a good quality USB cable, it is recommended to use USB cable that can handle at least 3A of current without much drop in voltage. This will ensure that devices that requires high consumption will work as it should using a good quality USB cable.

Go for cables of size 24AWG or lower. The lower number indicates a thicker wire which is also smaller wire resistance. Thicker wire can allow more current to flow without causing significant drop in voltage.

It is best to keep the cable wire resistance at about 0.1Ω and below. This is especially for power supply wires conducting a current of not more than 3A. This will help keep the voltage drop within 350mV.

USB Cable Tester tool available on the market

Tester Not Recommended

These USB cable tester only perform basic connectivity test. They do not test for the USB cable’s resistance. They are very low in cost, but not recommended as a useful tester tool.

Custom Tester

Contact us for custom design and development of your quality tester for your cable.

Check out more USB cable tester from our DIY cable tester page.
Or visit this page for other more commercial general-purpose cable tester for your USB cable testing.

Universal Cable Tester Tool CCT-01