[freehorse]

In usb-a cables you can actually see the pins themselves missing looking into the connector from the outside; in usb-c not so much (or at least i could not really see anything there). I could never figure out how to determine a no-data usb-c cable, though I have only even seen one anyway.

The problem with stiffness etc is that there is already a lot of variability on usb-c cables, though there could definitely be something there that I just did not notice.

[SAI_Peregrinus]

I just bought a tester from Treedix. It's a small board with a bunch of USB connectors (host side has 3.0 A, 2.0A, C, device side has micro-B, lightning, mini-B, 3.0 micro-B, C, and 3.0 B), a CR2032 coin cell, and a bunch of LEDs that light up when there's continuity for that link. So you can see when a cable has a USB-C connector but only USB-2.0 D+ and D- lines and CC vs one with the extra differential pairs. Faster than trying to mess with a breakout board & a multimeter.