Is anyone successfully using a usb 3.0 flash drive connected to an extension cable of any length?

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[U]ber|Noob

Limp Gawd
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Apr 4, 2013
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I want to know if anyone is successfully using a usb 3.0 flash drive through any length of extension cable.

I have had no end of trouble trying to use extension cables or hubs. I want to know if it's just inferior quality cables etc. or it's not supposed to work. I even tried a very short adapter with no cable, but it was a cheap one from ebay.

One problem is it works some of the time but sometimes fails to detect and mount.
Or through a usb 3.0 hub very slow performance. ie. slower than directly connecting a usb 2.0 flash drive without a hub.


Also another question, does it matter if the outer casing of a usb connector is touching a large metal object?
 
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Yes. I have a 33 foot active USB 3 extension cable. It has some quirks, but it works. It was also $60 or so, so take that with a grain of salt.
 
Ok thanks, I need one with no quirks. Any more experience with short ones?

Needs to be 100% reliable all the time.
 
The probably is likely power delivery if you're talking about length of a run, or just quality of the cable for shorter lengths.

How long are you talking about? Are you running the extension cable to a hub, or direct to the USB 3 device?
 
I've gotta head to bed, so I figured I'd just post before you reply.

The cable I use is linked here: https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-SuperSpeed-Female-Extension/dp/B00DMFFL2W

It's worked well, and the brand has a number of other shorter lengths that I presume would work too. All of the 'quirks' I described are due to the extreme length of my cable, both in terms of power requirements (I had to add the external power supply) and in terms of maximum number of hubs you can daisy chain (the cable I use counts as two hubs, and you can only daisy chain up to 5).

If you get a shorter cable, you likely wouldn't have any of these problems. If you run the cable to a hub, just make sure the hub is *powered* from an AC adapter and not bus powered from the USB port and you should be fine.

If you're looking at long cables like I bought, I'd probably have to have a longer conversation with you to issue all my various warnings and cautionary tales.
 
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If you've got 20 bucks to spare, you could grab this one (hub that comes with a 3.3 foot extension cable).
They don't seem to just sell the cable, though you could email and ask?
 
Ok thanks, I am talking about 1m or less. The shortest length I can get really.

Also I'm in Aus so id like to order one from here instead of overseas.

The biggest problem seems to be sometimes when the computer turns on it doesn't detect the drive when connected to a cable (it's set to mount on startup).
So is no one else having this issue?
 
I use a regular 3 foot USB 3.0 extension cable with a Vantec 3.5" powered enclosure and a non-powered 2.5" Seagate spinner external hdd. No issues ever. Aso works with my USB drives.
 
[U]ber|Noob said:
I want to know if anyone is successfully using a usb 3.0 flash drive through any length of extension cable.

I have had no end of trouble trying to use extension cables or hubs. I want to know if it's just inferior quality cables etc. or it's not supposed to work. I even tried a very short adapter with no cable, but it was a cheap one from ebay.

One problem is it works some of the time but sometimes fails to detect and mount.
Or through a usb 3.0 hub very slow performance. ie. slower than directly connecting a usb 2.0 flash drive without a hub.


Also another question, does it matter if the outer casing of a usb connector is touching a large metal object?
Click to expand...
It should work. The problem is inferior cables. The Internet is filled to the brim with cheap garbage cables. When you buy cables and sort price low to high on eBay or Amzon and buy the cheapest crap, your buying garbage quality cables that don't meet spec. Buy name brand cables, or from legit economy brands like Monoprice or Amazon Basics.

Read up on Benson Leung's work.
 
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