Amazon Bans Sale of Potentially Dangerous USB-C Cables

Amazon has tightened restrictions on the sale of USB-C cables and adapters on its online store in an effort to protect customers from risky substandard products (via The Verge).

The online retailer added non-compliant USB-C cables to its list of prohibited items, following a flood of potentially damaging third-party cables onto the market. The new note on Amazon's page of undesirables prohibits "any USB-C™ (or USB Type-C™) cable or adapter product that is not compliant with standard specifications issued by 'USB Implementers Forum Inc.'"

The update was spotted by Google engineer Benson Leung, who has been testing USB-C cables sold by Amazon in an effort to highlight the risks of non-compliant products. Leung was spurred into action after a USB-C charging cable he bought destroyed a Chromebook Pixel he was working on in compatibility tests.

USB-C MacBook
Apple introduced the USB-C standard to its Mac range with the release of the 12-inch Retina MacBook. The new standard allows charging, data transfer, and video over a single connector. As a result, USB-C cables are capable of carrying a lot more power than traditional USB connectors, making faulty units a risk to computers and power supplies, and potentially a fire hazard.

Apple states in a support document that the 12-inch MacBook will charge from USB-C power adapters not manufactured by Apple if they adhere to the USB Power Delivery specification. Based on Leung's extensive testing, 30 percent of third-party USB-C cables currently available do not meet USB-IF standards. Apple's USB-C ports are designed to shut down if a larger-than-expected amount of power is detected flowing through cables, however Amazon's ban should mean cables that can damage or shut down a device will no longer be offered through the site.

Apple suffered its own USB-C problems when a "design issue" in charging cables shipped with certain Retina MacBooks failed to supply sufficient charge when connected to a power adapter. Apple is providing new, redesigned USB-C charge cables to MacBook owners with faulty cables at no cost.

Tags: Amazon, USB-C
Related Forum: MacBook

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
Apple Card iPhone 16 Pro Feature

Visa and American Express Vying to Win Apple Card Deal in 'Fierce' Fight

Tuesday April 1, 2025 1:50 pm PDT by
Visa wants to pay Apple approximately $100 million to be the new payment network for the Apple Card, reports The Wall Street Journal. As of right now, the Apple Card is on the Mastercard payment network, but that is set to change because Apple is ending its partnership with Goldman Sachs. Both American Express and Visa are vying to replace Mastercard as Apple's card services provider, while...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

Apple Seeds First Beta of iOS 18.5 to Developers

Wednesday April 2, 2025 10:11 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming just two days after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. We don't yet know what Apple is introducing in the iOS 18.5...

Top Rated Comments

justperry Avatar
118 months ago
Buy Apple cables only people, until Apple do some sort of 'MFI' for USB-C or something.
Why?
This is NOT about Apple, this is about certified USB-C cables, if you buy a certified USB-C cable from ANY manufacturer you're good to go.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheShadowKnows! Avatar
118 months ago
Buy Apple cables only people, until Apple do some sort of 'MFI' for USB-C or something.
Nonsense. USB-C needs no MFI. Or, Apple tax. Be an educated consumer before you post bollocks.

USB-C is a mechanical specification that must comply with the USB-IF specification for power delivery. Independently of its mechanical characteristics for power delivery, USB-C cables are data-rated to either USB 3.1 (10 Gbps nominal), USB 3.0 (5Gbps nominal), and of course legacy USB 2.0.

My suggestion: Buy cables from monoprice.com. Their select series cables are the bees knees at great price. (No links with them, just a happy customer.)
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
shareef777 Avatar
118 months ago
Until such time as said cable destroys your $1200+ laptop, and Apple shrugs and says "where'd you get that cable?".
The smartass forum posters who brag about buying cables for $0.20 instead of $20 will not turn up to help you when it happens either.
Are you helping them pay for the $20 cable that's worth $0.20? As they noted, buy certified cables. Just doesn't have to be certified by Apple. Also, that language isn't necessary.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SBlue1 Avatar
118 months ago
Buy Apple cables only people, until Apple do some sort of 'MFI' for USB-C or something.
This is not about Apple cables or cables for Apple laptops. Its about genuine certified USB-C cables used to power other laptops as well as Apple laptops.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Glassed Silver Avatar
118 months ago
Until such time as said cable destroys your $1200+ laptop, and Apple shrugs and says "where'd you get that cable?".
The smartass forum posters who brag about buying cables for $0.20 instead of $20 will not turn up to help you when it happens either.
He specifically recommended CERTIFIED cables.
Speaking of cable quality, Apple is far from the golden standard.

I'd rather get a well built (maybe less beautiful) third party cable that is certified and sturdy.
Probably at the same price, maybe less, but at least it's safe and doesn't break after 6-12 months.

Glassed Silver:mac
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
just.in.time Avatar
118 months ago
I'm sorry, but it has to be said...USB-C is a disaster.
No way. It's amazing that everything has the potential to use one port... It would just be nice if the MacBook had two of them instead of one. However, that is an Apple design issue, not an inherent problem with USB-C.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)