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Comment by postalrat | Hacker News Reader

Is it even possible to fry a device with the wrong USB c? I thought at worse you get longer charging times or slower data

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I think this meme started due to Nintendo (very inadvisedly) adopting a non-standard USB-C implementation for the Switch. It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if they'd used a proprietary connector on top of their modified implementation, but they left the connector unchanged and simply added a "use only official Nintendo chargers" warning which of course no one was going to follow.

This did then, in fact, predictably lead to people frying their Switches, and has only further muddied the waters around the standard (which, to be sure, if you're using chargers and cables from at least minimally reputable manufacturers, will never fry a device under normal circumstances).

is it still a problem?? recently bought a switch and only plugged to the official adapter that came with it, but my first thought was “too bulky” so was wondering if I can use my M1 air USB C charger on the go instead.

I've certainly charged my Switch with the charger and cable that came with my 2018 MacBook Pro, and it never caused an issue. Nor is the Switch in question of particularly new vintage (it's closing in on three years old now).

Apparently it's the voltage output of the charger that matters with the Switch, and the damage is done over time rather than with sparks and smoke: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/nintendo-switch-brick-docks

> To oversimplify things quite a bit: The Switch uses a M92T36M Power Delivery (PD) chip, which isn't quite like anything else on the market. The chip can tolerate six volts of power — and that's it. Docks like Nyko's can provide up to 9V of power, meaning it's only a matter of time until the chip burns out.

Note that the PD signal is supposed to be something like 2 volts.

I've charged the switch with the charger that came with my Samsung phone. I have the impression charging the dock with a third party charger may be more dangerous than the device itself.

Wasn't that meme only due to one third-party docking station putting 12V on the data lines? I never heard any stories about regular USB-chargers or USB-C cables frying the Switch.

Correct (though I think it was 9 volts). The switch and especially the switch dock do some things wrong but not in a dangerous way.

Astonishingly, yes. There was a big thing a while back with a Googler reviewing USB-C products and highlighting if they were dangerous: https://www.computerworld.com/article/3002159/usb-c-benson-l...

It's not astonishing that not following the spec can lead to things getting fried, though? Splice a mains jack onto a USB cable and you'll see some smoke too ;)

But I agree that the level of incorrect implementation was shockingly high initially. Luckily it's much better now!

I still stay well clear of MOOZOOM-style alphabet soup cables on Amazon and buy Anker for this reason.

Looks like the Etherkiller[1] needs updating for modern times. I wouldn't be surprised if usb -> serial plus the serial etherkiller would do the trick though.

OTOH, USB Killers do exist, but they only kill hosts; Mains -> USB-C could kill hosts and targets indiscriminately.

[1] http://www.fiftythree.org/etherkiller/

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