5 tips to prevent your charging cables from breaking

True, cables are relatively affordable and can be easily replaced every now and then if they get missing, stolen, or broken. It’s a bit rare to find someone who hasn’t, at one time or another, have had their USB charging or data cables damaged because they got broken and just stopped working. This can get annoying when your cable breaks at the wrong time (e.g. when you need to charge your phone or send an important file from your PC to your phone).

Cables could be stylish and appear durable when newly acquired but as you use them, it almost seems like they were designed to eventually break — so, you know, you can keep purchasing new ones. If you are tired of constantly breaking your cables, check out the tips listed below on how to prevent such reoccurrence in the future. If, on the other hand, you have never broken your phone’s USB cable, you’d Alos find these tips handy.

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1. Remove cables with care

One of the most common causes of cable breakage is improper removal from computers and power adapters. When removing your cable, you shouldn’t pull the wire midpoint. Instead, pull the cable carefully at the end that plugs into the device you’re removing it from. Roughly pulling out a cable from your device will cause them to quickly break.

Hold your cables by the plug when removing it from your computer, charger, or any USB port.

2. Avoid frequent bending/folding

You should try as much as possible to avoid frequently bending your cables. When you bend your cables too many times and you do it too tightly, you are gradually cutting short the lifespan of the cable. Excessively bending your cables often damages them at the point where the cable joins the plug, breaking the internals wires of the cable and subsequently rendering it useless.

If you need to coil your cables, ensure that you do it properly and avoid coiling it at the point where it connects to the plug. Additionally, avoid using your cables in places and positions (on the bed, for example) that will have you bending them unnecessarily.

3. Use “Cable Protectors”

prevent cable breaking

Cable protectors are accessories that prevent cable breakage and damage by protecting them at vulnerable point i.e. the point where your cable joins the plug. Cable protectors are usually made of rubber or any flexible materials that are able to withstand pressure. If you cannot avoid bending and coiling your cable, then you should invest in cable protectors.

4. Spring it up!

Attaching a spring to one (or both ends) of your USB cable. The spring could be the one from your pen or any spring that would fit your cable’s width. Simply roll the spring around your cable to keep it protected from breaking/wearing out whenever you fold or bend it. See the GIF below for a visual explanation.

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Alternatively, in lieu of using pen springs, you can simply braid both ends of your cables.

Source: aplus.com

5. Avoid using your device during charge

There a number of negative effects of using your smartphone while charging it and one of them is cable damage as a result of constant twisting, bending, pulling, and shaking.

prevent cable damage

Asides breaking your cable, excessive pulling of your cable during charge can also disrupt the flow of power, damage the connector and subsequently lead to bad connection. To prevent this, avoid using your smartphone while charging it.

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