USB-C cables are not all the same: 60W, 100W and 240W

USB-C solved the problem of which way up the plug goes. It created a new one: every cable looks the same, and they are not the same.

The three tiers

• 60W - the default. Fine for phones, tablets, earbuds and most accessories.
• 100W - needed for most laptops. Contains an internal chip that tells the charger it can handle more current.
• 240W - the current maximum, for high-draw laptops and future-proofing.

Why your laptop charges slowly

If a laptop charges but very slowly, or only while asleep, the usual cause is a 60W cable on a 100W charger. Nothing is broken and nothing warns you - the cable simply refuses the higher current and everything falls back to a safe rate.

Data is a separate question

Charging rating tells you nothing about data speed. Plenty of 100W cables carry data at USB 2.0 speeds, which is fine for charging and painfully slow for moving files off an external SSD. If you are buying a cable for a drive, check the data spec, not the wattage.

A practical rule

Buy 100W cables as your default. They cost a little more than 60W ones, work with everything smaller, and remove the guesswork entirely.

See cables and adapters, or check what your device needs with LYNQ.