
What's wrong with USB sticks that you need 3 tries to plug them in correctly? - Alupis
https://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/123560/whats-wrong-with-usb-sticks-that-you-need-3-tries-to-plug-them-in-correctly
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IshKebab
Very wordy answers, and as far as I can see no single answer has both points:

1\. The connector is symmetric. If it was asymmetric like HDMI for example it
would be easier. 2\. There's no bevel to guide the connector into place, so
you can be _very_ close and it still won't go in. That feels exactly the same
as if you have it in the incorrect orientation.

All the stuff about the logo is misguided. Nobody reads the logo of HDMI or
ethernet cables to plug them in.

~~~
chrisseaton
> The connector is symmetric

No it's asymmetric. That's the whole point of this discussion. If it was
symmetric it could go in either way and there wouldn't be an issue.

~~~
yjftsjthsd-h
The outside, which is readily visible, is symmetric. The inside of the plug
isn't. The difference is the problem.

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Yen
An additional reason why people may not be confident in their initial
alignment -

Even if a user knows about the icon indicating "top" of a USB plug, and is
aware of the top side when plugging in a plug, there's no such affordance for
the socket.

The top side of the socket _should_ be on top, but the socket might be rotated
90 degrees, and might be on the backside of the device, requiring _correctly_
rotating your mental model of the socket just to know which way the plug goes
in!

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hateful
I'll answer this like most of my software vendors do:

Please upgrade to USB-C to solve this issue, we are no longer supporting USB
3.0 or below.

~~~
sebazzz
* incomplete protocol support may exist and vary by cable, host or client device

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chris_mc
Here's a trick I use: most PC ports have the flat plastic (inside) on the top
half [0], I have noticed. So, if you look at the USB dongle/stick/cord it will
have some small holes punched in either flat side usually. Just look for the
holes that aren't blocked by the flat plastic part [1] and make sure those are
up, then you should get 95 percent of them correct.

[0] [http://i.imgur.com/k09dgzL.png](http://i.imgur.com/k09dgzL.png) [1]
[http://i.imgur.com/6sChr0E.png](http://i.imgur.com/6sChr0E.png)

~~~
beatgammit
Or just try plugging it in, and if it doesn't work, flip it over. It's not a
big deal.

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leggomylibro
I really do not understand how people still have trouble with this. We've had
years and years to get used to these plugs.

The 'top' of every USB-A plug I've ever seen is smooth, while the 'bottom' has
a seam down the middle. And you can tell the receptacle's orientation from a
glance just as easily, but you don't have to because the 'top' side of the
plug should face the 'top' of the device it is plugging into in almost every
consumer device I've used.

Top of plug = top of device. Easy. It seems more like a cheesy running joke
that people just go along with at this point.

(Wow, of all the things to become a touchy subject...what am I doing with my
life, typing stuff like this out? This isn't helping anyone. Please ignore my
pedantic bullshit.)

~~~
chrisseaton
> The 'top' of every USB-A plug I've ever seen is smooth, while the 'bottom'
> has a seam down the middle. And you can tell the receptacle's orientation
> from a glance just as easily, but you don't have to because the 'top' side
> of the plug should face the 'top' of the device it is plugging into in
> almost every consumer device I've used.

I can't tell if you're joking. You've just written three hundred characters
about how to plug in a cable. Why is it that complicated? Why didn't they
design it to go in in any orientation?

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leggomylibro
Okay, how about this?

"Plug in the cable face-up."

It's just less accurate for edge cases like tower PCs with slots facing the
side. And fair's fair, I hadn't thought about how annoying it is when you have
to reach behind a machine to plug something into one of those.

But then again, it's usually hard to plug things together when you can't see
them. I dunno, it just really doesn't seem like an issue in practice.

~~~
chrisseaton
> "Plug in the cable face-up."

What's the face? Which way is up? Can't you see that these descriptions don't
work?

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CamperBob2
USB type A connectors are fermions with spin 1/2\. You have to rotate them 720
degrees to orient them correctly.

~~~
b_tterc_p
[http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2011-10-04](http://www.smbc-
comics.com/comic/2011-10-04)

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woodandsteel
The point about superpositions and observations is because USB memory is based
on semiconductors, and semiconductors are based on quantum physics.

