PieFed DKFairphone’s new cables and chargers are LONGTIME®-certified. Here’s what that means.
Señor Monowww.fairphone.com/en/2025/09/11/fairphones-new-…
cross-posted from: https://piefed.ca/post/225422
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Who are all these people that have outlets next to where they usually use a phone and can use a 1m cable? All my cables are 2m because power sockets tend to be near the ground and phones and other items you charge tend to live on tables, desks and shelves. I don't understand why the USB spec considers 1m to be enough for anything.
The length limit is because the data rates are so high in USB 3.2 that timing is very tight and signal integrity degrades very quickly with natural cable capacitance. Charging via USB-PD does not have the same limitations, but it's suffering from the one-cable-does-it-all nature of USB-C
real_squidsIt made some sense when the primary function was to sync the phone (iPod, camera, etc.) with a computer. Then I honestly think that companies just never wanted to take the on cost of the cable being longer and heavier especially when they could sell you a second one for more profit and claim some green wins in the weight and material reduction.
I feel like having to hug a power socket constantly is a worse solution to just having all my USB cables be 2m long especially if you want a clean desk.
For example this setup is not possible with just 1m if you actually want to also use the phone
There are these nifty little devices that let you extend and even multiply your wall outlets away from the wall. I have one attached to my nightstand and one on my desk. Both also have USB outlets so no need for adapers.
A pro tip is to run one of these genious things behind your media furniture so you no longer need to plug every single device into their own wall socket.
Both also have USB outlets so no need for adapers.
Technically, usb chargers are converters, not adapters. Also, I'd never trust the usb ports on a power strip. But hey, you do you.
Ackchyually they're both. They convert AC to DC, and adapt Schuko (in my case) to USB. They're most commonly called adapters though. People will look at you funny if you call them converters.
IKEA electronics are pretty safe to use. They're quick to recall any failing product and don't want a loss leader like power strips or power-adapters to be a drain on their reputation. Just by the shear amount they sell, issues will become apparent quickly.
What? Schuko is an AC power plug. So no, it doesn't adapt that to usb. It converts ac to dc and the plug is directly usb.
Even if you think they're "safe to use", I doubt they have the same longevity, capabilities and protections that a proper GaN charger has.
I like a 2m cable for sure but a 3’ cable should reach most any table, desk, or nightstand. I only have one 6-10’ cable and it’s because it’s routed through my desk. A 3’ standard has been working fine for most people for a long time and saves on materials.
Average desk height is like, 30in. If the outlet is 6in off the ground, that gives you 1 foot of leeway to the nearest outlet. Hopefully it's next to the desk.
Average elbow height for men seems to be about 1m, give or take. Have to stand next to the outlet to use it plugged in.
I'm only buying 2m+ cables for wall charging, data transfer cables can be shorter and so can cables for battery banks.
Buy whatever you want, but as a standard 3’ is fine. My desk is cable managed properly and the powerbar is mounted under my desk. You can use zipties or 3M tape, and if you’re worried about aesthetics 1) if you do it correctly then it’ll be nice and 2) you’d already be the kind of person to use individual wall outlets for everything so yea I doubt it worries you that bad.
There are these nifty little devices that let you extend and even multiply your wall outlets away from the wall. I have one attached to my nightstand and one on my desk. Both also have USB outlets so no need for adapers.
A pro tip is to run one of these genious things behind your media furniture so you no longer need to plug every single device into their own wall socket.
I'm a bit surprised I've never heard of LONGTIME. Seems like they're doing exactly what I've wanted - searching out products designed to last.
That said, not sure I need a Buy It For Life cable. Far more interested in BIFL appliances.
☂️-I've heard a lot of people use Anker cables for BIFL? Or perhaps just they are the longest lasting I've heard of
If I make a "love you LONGTIME®" joke will it get deleted?
etherphonI was going to say that's my goddamn trademark see you in court. /s
https://shop.fairphone.com/shop/long-life-32-cable-1m-1883
Nice they got proper specs
Clocks [They/Them]WTF, they want 35€ for a 1m cable?! I'm sorry, but Im gonna take 6 cables for 6€ that do exactly the same thing.
Thats quite unlikely, try to find a usb c cable that actually speaks 40 gig or at least 20 like this one, they are a bit cheaper what fairphone is asking, but the cables that can actually deliver are quite pricey. The cheap ones you see only do 480 mbit or power online and not 240 watts
It actually isn't that hard to find.
I totally trust that cable from scamazon to not be counterfeit.
Sure buy that thing, but 240watts is lots of power in a small diameter, that's surely were you trust the cheapest biddet am i right.
People in the oh so trust worthy comments note that it does not quite deliver the speed but seems to be up to speed.. Or at least the first batch did
Hm, I mean expensive brand products often enough still fail spectacularly or are revealed to be produced from the same factory as the cheap products, so price alone isn't a trustworthy decider.
On that front Fairphones certification is actually good.
Hey, I'm not saying I'm not willing to pay extra for proven quality and fair working conditions, I just think that 6 times more is too much more.
By "do exactly the same thing" you mean exploiting Chinese children and producing waste by failing early? Because they dont do that.
I get where you are coming from, but 6 times the price of a normal cable can not be explained by fair working conditions.
That would mean that their Phones also have to cost around 3000€
Im not an expert, but pretty sure you cant extrapolate costs of two completely different products and expect them to match. A cable probably requires more manual labor which is way more expensive in Europe. Add the costs for the certificate, which isnt cheap and also not irrelevant. Pretty sure some cheap China cable doesnt survive 10k bends, so over time these might even be cheaper.
If it was easy, wouldnt someone provide an alternative for high quality ethical USB cables? The ones Ive found are also around 30-35€.
Ok, so if your theory is correct then this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bkXTbCL53U&t=4
Would be, relatively speaking, much more manual work than this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCPNH5QzEB8&t=125
It does not seem to make sense to me, but I could be wrong.
Fair materials costs shouldn't be the cause because the materials are similar in smartphones and cables. (Copper and Plastic, a cable is arguably a good chunk more Copper but ist shouldn't be too far off.)
Since they got rid of the headphone jack and started selling disposable Bluetooth earphones I don't pay any attention to fairphone.
It's not just the headphone jack quality has plummeted since the 3, yes you can get security updates but the warranty returns mean you're probably putting more into landfill than buying a Motorola every 2 years.
i have the fairbuds because i was tired of my batteries running dying. but man, these headphoned sound like shit and cant even sync to video. i bought them in 2025. also the replaceable battery looks off the shelf but is proprietary. so if they decide to stop selling them my headphones die anyway.
The headphones they sell are actively the least disposable ones you can buy. That being said, it's not the most sustainable way to listen to music. Imo, they removed it too make engineering the phone easier. If that means they can reduce the price from what it would have been and make the phone more repairable, then I'm happy for that compromise.
Have you owned a fairphone? From experience with my gf's fp4, she has not had to keep sending it back in due to hardware issues. If it was such a big issue as you seem to think, they would have gone out of business with all the replacements they would need to do...
It's too bad I'm in the U.S. 😒