Terence Eden’s Blog

Gadget Review: Treedix USB Cable Tester

shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/06/gadge

Cables aren't just copper wire and plastic sheath any more. Modern USB-C cables contain little microchips called eMarkers which allow them to transfer data and power at terrifying speeds. But, sadly, there's no way you can look at a USB-C cable and see whether it supports the baffling array of features available.

Enter the catchily-named Treedix TRX5-0816-AC.

It will test just about any sort of USB cable and tell you what it does - and doesn't - support. It will also show you which pins are connected, how fast it can transmit data, and what the eMarker shows. Nice!

Let's put it through its paces.

Inputs and outputs

On one side are your output ports - you have a choice of USB-C or USB-A 3.0.

At the bottom you have this range of ports to choose from:

So you can go A-C, C-micro, C-lightning etc.

Finally, on the other side you have a button, a switch, and input power:

The power switch toggles between the internal AAA battery (included) and a 5V supply from a USB-C cable (not included). Pressing the white button moves between the different diagnostic screens.

Power Only

I tried with a short USB-C power-only cable designed for charging low-power devices. I plugged in the USB-A end and the USB-C end.

It correctly identified that it couldn't do data transmission.

With a power-only USB-C cable, it had much the same display. Pressing the button on the side of the Treedix told me what it knew about the eMarker.

Perfect!

Passive USB-C

What about a data and power USB-C cable? This is the ChubbyCable I reviewed a few years ago.

USB 3.2 Gen2 and power of up to 100W. It has also correctly guessed the likely length of the cable by measuring the latency.

Interestingly, when looking at the basic functions, it says it can only do USB 2.0 speeds and correctly identifies that it doesn't do PowerDelivery 3.1 (which goes up to 240W).

Finally, which pins are connected?

That looks about right!

ThunderBolt 4 or 3?

Let's compare two high-performance cables. The one I usually have plugged into my Framework Laptop and USB-C hub

Thunderbolt 4 capable of 100W of Power and 40 Gbps of data. As expected, no PD3.1:

Let's test a different high-quality cable I bought recently. The labelling claims 20Gbps and 240W of power. We can see that it does have PD3.1:

But! Looking at the eMarker, it reports that is only a ThunderBolt 3 device capable of 10Gbps!

I asked the cable manufacturer if that's a problem with the cable or the eMarker or the diagnostic machine. They said:

eMarker tester can only show single channel transmission rate 10Gbps, devices supporting dual channel can show 20Gbps. our products have 18 months warranty, if there is any problem, please feel free to contact me, I will provide you with satisfactory after-sales service.

I've contacted Treedix to see if they can shed light on this.

Of course, my laptop only supports 10Gbps, so it is a bit moot!

Weird Cables

As well as your standard USB-C, it will also do the ugliest plug known the mankind - the USB Micro-B SuperSpeed.

It'll also do Lightning cables - as long as they also have a USB-A or C end.

Downsides

Other than having to replace all your duff cables, there are a few annoying little niggles.

The battery compartment is really stiff. I had to unscrew the back of the device to get it open.
The power switch feels a little flimsy.
The function button is a little small and fiddly.
Screen brightness can't be changed (but it is pretty bright).
No USB-B (the chunky one often used for printers).
No firmware updates.

Those are all minor complaints.

The biggest complaint is that USB-C terminology is hard. Which is better, 40Gbps but only 100W or 10Gbps but 240W? How does ThunderBolt relate to USB? What is EPR and why does it matter? Where does DP Alt Mode fit in?!

Verdict

It powers up and detects all features instantly. It goes to sleep after a few minutes of not being used. It will even show you the electrical resistance of the cable if you think that's useful.

Total cost? £40 at the moment from Amazon. I reckon that's a bargain. It is an indispensable piece of kit - especially if you have a big box of ancient USB cables. This will allow you to quickly and easily see which ones are broken, which are mislabelled, and which deserve pride of place in your collection.

If you're running a hackspace, this is a no-brainer. If you've ever wasted time trying to diagnose a USB problem, this should be your first port of call.

#gadget #hardware #review #USB #usbC

Gadget Review: Treedix USB Cable Tester

Cables aren't just copper wire and plastic sheath any…

Terence Eden’s Blog
Terence Eden

🆕 blog! “Gadget Review: Treedix USB Cable Tester”
★★★★⯪

Cables aren't just copper wire and plastic sheath any more. Modern USB-C cables contain little microchips called eMarkers which allow them to transfer data and power at terrifying speeds. But, sadly, there's no way you can look at a USB-C cable and see whether it supports the baffling array of features…

👀 Read more: shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/06/gadge

#gadget #hardware #review #USB #usb-c

Gadget Review: Treedix USB Cable Tester

Cables aren't just copper wire and plastic sheath any…

Terence Eden’s Blog
Terence Eden

Hmmm. Might have found my first mislabelled USB-C cable!

Silkscreen claims 20Gbps - but the eMarker reports 10Gbps. Power rating is correct though.

Have contacted the cable manufacturer - but wondering if it is a limitation of the Treedix?

#USB

Terence Eden

Hey, #USB-C nerds!
The Treedix cable tester is now down to £40 on Amazon UK.
amzn.to/44eJ7YL

Just been playing with it - so useful to see which cables are actually top speed / power or not. It even reads eMarkers.

adingbatponder

#nixos 25.05 with #gnome is unable to #format a #usb drive at all using the right click format command, #ubuntu with #gnome does it straight away.

adingbatponder

Not for the first time I had to use my #macbookpro #macos to #format a #usb drive becaues the linux machine did not see it in the file manager where the GUI command for formatting is present ... this is really very disturbing indeed...

Kevin Karhan :verified:

@micr0 does that 8K monster even support the #USB-#UVC driver at all?

日落

Type C 好棒
#usb #usbTypeC #fun #XD

Jun 07, 2025, 02:15 · · · 0 · 0
Kevin Karhan :verified:

@wyatt yes, @EUCommission mandates it for #Laptops soon as well.

Granted enforcement is shotty at best and many manufacturers don't even bother to get a proper IC to trigger the correct #USB #PowerDelivery output [voltages and amperages] but just put DC voltage straight onto a #USBc connector, which is a dick move and will kill devices down the line.

Brad Linder

Microsoft is setting minimum USB Type-C capabilities for Windows 11 PCs

Some of the USB Type-C ports on modern computers will let you charge your PC with up to a 240W power supply, transfer data at speeds as high as 80 Gbps, or connect multiple 4K displays. Others… do not.

That’s because some USB Type-C ports are USB 2.0 or USB 3.x ports, while others support USB4. And even within those categories, there’s some variation – the USB Implementers Forum doesn’t […]

#thunderbolt #usb #usbTypeC #usbC #whcp #windowsHardwareCompatibilityProgram

Read more: liliputing.com/microsoft-is-se

Portada Hardlimit

El USB-C define un conector físico por el que puede moverse potencia, salida de video y datos USB. Pero la definición del conector, no dice nada sobré cuál de estos elementos deben existir, por lo que a día de hoy se ven todo tipo de implementaciones, una veces con las tres funcionalidades a la vez y otras con solo una. Microsoft quiere normalizar esta inconsistencia para que USB-C signifique el poder cargar dispositivos, tener salida de video y... #usb #microsoft -> hardlimit.com/archivo.php?n=23

Primera página | Portada Hardlimit

Toda la actualidad del hardware y el software. Visita…

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↯ Klaatu - Some Brave Apollo ↯

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