I've a collection of USB-A to USB-C cables supplied with rechargable LED lights.
A couple of them have a label - 'only for use with this product'. What's that all about?! What would happen if I use a different cable, or I use these cables on different products?
As if USB-C wasn't baffling enough . . .
It may only provide power and no data. They're common with lots of items.
It's not uncommon for cheap things that have USB-C sockets for charging not to work if you try to use a proper USB-C charger and cable. This is because the cheap device does not properly indicate, even by the basic fixed resistor fallback method, what charging current it requires, so the charger refuses to supply anything. The USB-A to USB-C lead will prevent this, as any USB-A charger will supply a default 5V low-current charge whatever is plugged in. So the warning might indirectly be saying "only charge with this cable".
Also, I've found several charging cables with cheap things to only have
2 wires for power and no data connections, so they won't work except for charging.nib
I suspect its 'underpants' - to cover their arses and limit liability if you use it with a 3kW heater and it catches fire and burns your house down.
Well at least you dont have to worry about which way is 'up'...
Defence against litigation? If one of these cable happened to be wrongly wired, the worst result for the supplier could be having to send out a replacement device.
If you had used that cable on your brand new iPhone (or whatever), you might start demanding the cost of a replacement iphone. I doubt if you would win, but a specific warning prevents any such claims from being made.
They might have worded that differently.
The cables with D+ and D- disconnected, are not compliant with USB cabling specs. Consequently, the manufacturers have to cover a portion of their anatomy. A user could plug that in, assuming it was a data cable. There might not be a marking on the outside of the cable, identifying it as a charging cable.
Initially, USB.org didn't have charging specs, but other people outside the organization started doing things. There were a couple generations. The bodge-it-with-resistor-straps generation. Then, there was a smartphone generation, where every smartphone maker had to design and describe their own flavour of charging method. If the default computer current was 1 amp for charging (without the computer knowing you were doing that), then an Apple device had to draw 2 amps.
Then USBPD came out, it's up to version 3 or a bit more now, and I think all the pins stay connected for that one. A charging cable can have some sort of declaration chip inside it (for super high power cables at least).
Paul
Could be useful if you plug it into a socket in a hotel (&c.) so you can be sure no-one can steal your data.
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