[namuol]

If switching to a type-A charger fixes it, it’s probably the device manufacturer’s fault, not the cable. Many manufacturers that need the 5v standard you’d normally get from an old type-A charger screw this up.

For universal USB-C power support that works with modern power bricks, you need to tie 5k resistors to two pins of the port on the device. This tells the charger to use 5v. I can’t tell you how much cheap stuff out there omits these. They cost almost nothing but they still screw this up over and over, and people blame the standard or the cable…

[starkrights]

I know of something expensive that omits it too! My insulin pump controller is a junkpile android phone (a NUU Mobile N5004L for the curious) whose only purpose in life is to run a singular android app.

The device charges via usb-c, but refuses to do so if the charger is any relatively modern usb-c based brick. Only usb-a!

[namuol]

Ugh, that’s infuriating to read, if not at all surprising. This sounds at once totally over-engineered (in the modern day, negative sense of the word) while being simultaneously under-engineered (in the traditional sense).

[starkrights]

It’s definitely a weird scenario.

It seems everyone in the Durable Medical Equipment space for diabetes stuff just wants everything to be a smartphone app now- which is fine honestly, it’s convenient for those that want to use it, but I’ve been informed that many manufacturers (at least a good number of Continuous Glucose Monitor makers) have completely forgone native controllers these days. Omnipod just seems to have said “we’ll make one program because maintaining two could be problematic for consistency (and probably certification) reasons”, and then made the logical-enough extrapolation that their native controller can just be an android device. They just chose a cheap/shit one- which is fair! It runs AN app! But it also means I have to keep USB A to C chargers on me 24/7 :/

I’m just glad they at least do that, as smartphone-only options are problematic for a number of reasons, among them being the lack of ability to bring them into restricted areas. I hadn’t thought about it before, but it’d also be a problem for events where they use those stupid yondr bags, or even schools that use them now.

I guess you could just get your own little junkpile android for the sole purpose of being a controller, but still. sigh

[Gigachad]

I don't think it's cost reasons these are being omitted. The customer refunds would easily exceed the savings. It's most likely designers just swapping a micro usb port with a usb c one in an old design while making no other changes and seeing it works with the A to C cable they have.

[namuol]

I share your theory about micro usb, yeah. I know it’s not cost savings, it’s just lazy/ignorant. If they’re changing the footprint on the board for a type-c port, they can add some smd resistors.