Skip to main content

Performance art: Google USB Type-C cable reviewer fries his own Chromebook

Be careful what you wish for. The latest generation of USB cables might be universal and capable of delivering much more power to our devices, but not all of them are working as intended. In fact, one crusading Google engineer who hoped to name and shame Amazon sellers shifting dodgy cables, has found one particularly bad one that fried his Chromebook during testing.

The man is Benson Leung. We covered the story of his journey to enlighten us all on the safe USB Type-C cables that are out there and the ones that are much less so. While some have proved to be duds, the Surjtech 3M USB A-to-C converter cable proved to be the worst of the bunch.

Recommended Videos

When Leung plugged it in and powered his devices on, he found that not only had his Chromebook Pixel’s USB ports been completed fried, making them unusable, but he’d also lost two USB power analyzers that were attached to the same line.

Related: Confused about USB Type-C? These stickers will help sort it out

When he investigated what had  happened, Leung found that the cable had actually destroyed the Chromebooks’s USB controller (as per Ars). While this might be annoying in itself, as that controller handles everything from USB charging to the use of external peripherals, it’s also made the Pixel unable to boot, as the controller could no longer be verified.

It turns out this was all caused by the developers of the Surjtech cable wiring it up incorrectly. They also used weaker resisters than they should have, which ultimately led to the problems Leung discovered.

Although he may have lost out on a functioning laptop, Leung may well have saved many others from a similar fate. While his review still remains online for posterity, the product in question has been pulled.

The question now remains whether Leung can get his bosses to fork over another Chromebook for him to continue testing with. He should get a decent staff discount at least.

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is a freelance evergreen writer and occasional section coordinator, covering how to guides, best-of lists, and…
This compact HP Omen gaming PC is on sale at 39% off today
The HP Omen 16L gaming desktop sitting on a desk.

For those who want a proper gaming desktop but don't have enough space for a big and bulky machine, the HP Omen 16L could be what you need. You're in luck because it's on sale from the gaming PC deals of HP right now, with this configuration featuring the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card available at 39% off. You'll only have to pay $800 instead of its original price of $1,330, but you need to push through with your purchase immediately if you want to make sure you pocket the savings of $530.

Why you should buy the HP Omen 16L gaming PC

Read more
SpaceX’s Starlink rival is about to launch more internet satellites — here’s how to watch
Amazon's KA-01 mission for Project Kuiper gets underway from the Space Coast.

[UPDATE: A technical issue with the rocket has caused the launch to be postponed. We'll update this article with the new launch schedule just as soon as it becomes available.]

Amazon is preparing to launch its second batch of Project Kuiper internet satellites to orbit as it seeks to build out a constellation to take on SpaceX’s Starlink service.

Read more
Weird Mac mini issue prompts Apple to take action
A top-down view of the Mac Mini.

Following multiple reports of specific Mac mini computers failing to power on, Apple has launched a global repair program to sort the problem out.

Apple launched the  M2 Mac mini in January 2023, though the affected units were made between June 16 and November 23 of 2024, according to a notice about the repair program that was first spotted by MacRumors.

Read more