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Asked: 2021-11-21T09:54:48+00:00 In:

Thickness Of a USB Cable?

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Hi Everyone,

I was just wondering if there is a difference between two USB cables having same set of connectors, but having different thickness.

Actually, the USB Cable for my WD 500 GB External Hard Drive got damaged. I tried replacing the cable but no other cable seems to detect the hard drive. Then i got an original cable with the same thickness from a friend and only then my hard drive showed up in My Computer.

So it just had me wondering, does the thickness of a USB Cable matters? if yes how do we measure it ? I mean i just thought that USB Cables were differentiated by their connector types (A,B, Mini etc)

Can anyone shed some light on this? Would be thankful.

P.S. since my friend took his cable back, now i am again searching for a perfectly compatible USB cable for my HD, but haven’t found any yet.

Regards

SK.

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    1. Best Answer
      The USB cable for an external hard drive (or an external optical drive) must be able to supply 500ma (1/2 amp) of current from the USB port it connects to. Generally, the thicker the USB cable, the more likely the individual wires inside the cable have a thick enough wire gauge to be able to supply that current. If the USB cable is rated for USB 2.0 or higher use, it will have thick enough individual wires for sure.

      Also, the USB port you plug the cable into must be able to supply 500ma of current – not all USB ports can.

      Troubleshooting USB device problems including for flash drives, external drives, memory cards.
      See Response 1:
      https://computing.net/answers/ha…

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