I have had myself two cables that failed like this. So far, that is 2 out of 3 USB-C cables that have frayed like this. They are still functional, but scary, especially with the higher power going through those cables now…
The remaining one I have that’s undamaged is the (unused) one I have recently ordered (2025-06-18). It is different than the other ones: more flexible, and the angled end has this stubby end that’s a little different than the original.
That’s the same cable I posted previously in August 2024, in today’s state. It is now practically completely stripped, and the softest push is enough to remove the remaining sheath. I put shrink wrap in two places to prevent that but as you can see, it didn’t help much, and also made these sections of the cable too stiff to be practical.
I consider this cable too dangerous to use. Even if all the signals are still passing through, the shielding wire mesh feels really rough and the hair-fine strands are beginning to tear up. So that’s it.
While this is disappointing, I would not blame Framework at all. They reached out far to prove that the concept of a beautiful, slim, maintainable, long-lasting product is possible, and this is a minor flaw, nothing compared to what was achieved. Just makes you wonder if they shouldn’t publish the materials used for these cables as a warning to other manufacturers so they won’t use the same formulation.
This cable is far from dead. Both its conductivity and its shielding are good. The only thing broke is the outer non-conductive layer. I’m just offering a way of repairing other than completely replacement. It’s actually pretty rare for a cable to have the rubber completely ripped but the inner layers completely intact, and heat shrink tube repair is ideal for that.
Well, I would also prefer to discard the cable no matter how much is left of it. That 90 degree corner will always be troublesome as there is no means of bend protection and the sheath is missing right up to the plug. This is the buckling point where sooner or later wires are going to break and cause shorts. Shrink wrap will make the entire cable way too stiff and probably ugly as hell. Moreover, some of the shielding strands have already ripped. Overall, that’s too much damage already. A comparable new one can be had for around 15 USD tops, so why bother?
