Even if you’ve done a great job looking after your devices, chances are you will have a few much-loved USB cables that look worse for wear. Fraying or breaking cables will mostly work when you need them to, which makes it easy to fob them off as a problem to be sorted out later. But there are good reasons why you should pay closer attention.
The biggest has to do with safety. Fraying USB cables pose a very small, but albeit still noteworthy, risk of causing electric shock or fire. It’s for that reason most experts will err on the side of caution and recommend you just bite the bullet and throw out worn cables.
If that’s not enough to motivate you to let them go, then perhaps this fact will: Fraying USB cables can actually damage your devices. They have been known to partially or fully short circuit, cause fluctuating electrical charges, and their USB connectors can heat up and fry internal componentry.
Further reading: The best USB-C cables
On that note, a common mistake that people often make is to wiggle the frayed part when they stop charging or transferring. This can get them operational again, but it can also cause wires to short out. Two common consequences are a fried charging port or an overcharged battery. In a worst-case scenario, an overcharged lithium-ion battery will even explode.
Another thing you should look out for with USB chargers in particular is the location of the fraying. Fraying at the AC end — that is at the end closest to the wall outlet — is generally considered more dangerous than at the DC end near your device, so take care if you have any cables like that!
Can fraying USB cables be repaired?
Of course, the internet and especially YouTube, is awash with tips on how to repair fraying cables, and that is an option if you think the risks to you or your devices are slim. If you do decide to repair your cables, it’s best to start at the first signs the cable splits.
One of the most common ways to repair a USB cable is with heat-shrink tubing. A pack with hundreds of tube pieces costs as little as $7 on Amazon, only slightly more than a coffee, giving you ample materials to fix your collection of cords.
A piece of tubing is typically placed over the fraying wire and then heated so that it shrinks down to be a tight and secure covering. A heat gun will do the shrinking for you, otherwise a hair dryer can also do the job.
Just a word of caution, though: There have been a few instances of people melting their USB cable’s connectors in the process, so you’ll want to keep it well clear of the heat source.
Prevention is easier than a cure
If you’re now thinking, “Oh, heck! Now I have to throw out all my fraying USB cables,” the consolation here is that there are ways to minimize the risk of fraying in any future cables you buy.
The number one way to do that is to simply pay a few extra dollars to buy cables that are made from tougher materials — cheaper cables will mostly work just fine, but the lesser-grade cabling tends to wear out quicker.
For the strongest and longest-lasting cables, look for ones that are thicker rather than thinner and made from braided nylon or metal rather than plastic.
Cables from well-known brands like Belkin, Apple, and Anker are a good first port of call to ensure a quality product. These companies put a lot of time and effort into research and development and often have quality control processes, too.
One such cable that’s a favorite of PCWorld is the Belkin Boost Charge 240-watt charging cable. Not only is it braided, has a beefy overmolding and is tested for 30,000 bends, it also features eMarker chips that can detect if it’s overheating, and signal devices to pause until it cools down.
Another good tip is to buy cables that have been reinforced at the joints where they are most prone to breaking. It may not prevent fraying altogether, but it could at least ward it off from happening too quickly.