Cables: why they fail, and how to make them last

Cables rarely fail in the middle. They fail at the strain relief, where the cable meets the connector.

What is actually breaking

Copper conductors inside the jacket are fine wire. Repeated sharp bending at the same point work-hardens them until strands snap. The jacket looks perfect; the cable charges intermittently.

Four habits that extend life

• Pull the connector, never the cable.
• Do not wrap tightly around a charger. Loose coils, or a loose figure-of-eight.
• Do not use the phone in bed with the cable bent hard against a mattress.
• Keep connectors dry and free of pocket lint — most charging faults are a blocked port, not a dead cable.

Multi-head cables

Convenient, and the trade-off is honest: more connectors means more failure points, and shared conductors mean charging is slower than a dedicated cable. They are a travel tool, not a daily driver.