Can we talk about cheap HDMI cables failing after three months?

My TV setup started flickering last week and I thought the port was dying. Turns out that $4 cable I bought on Amazon just stopped working for no reason. I swapped it with the one from my old Xbox and everything was fine, so the cheap cable was the problem the whole time. I always thought a cable is a cable, but now I'm wondering if spending a few extra bucks is worth it for something that actually lasts. Anyone else have a random cable just give up on them out of nowhere?

4 comments

4 Comments

norathomas1mo ago

a cable is a cable" but you just proved they're not lol

elliot451mo ago

@norathomas I've got a box of dead cables in my garage that'd beg to differ with that theory. My own track record's so bad I half expect new ones to fail before I even unbox them. Guess the real test is how long you're willing to keep swapping them out.

hayden7091mo ago

You know what, your dead cable box reminds me of my own graveyard of cables that just mysteriously stop working for no reason. I had this one HDMI cable that worked fine for two years then just started flickering one day, and I swear I didn't even move it or anything. It's like they have some kind of built in timer or something, haha. I ended up buying a pack of five cheap ones online and three of them were dead on arrival, but the other two have been going strong for three years now. It's honestly just a mystery at this point why some last and some don't.

olivia_bailey1mo ago

Oh man, I gotta push back a little on this one, @norathomas. I don't think your test really proves cables are all that different. A cheap cable can die, sure, but a more expensive one can too after the same amount of time. I've had a $15 cable fail on me in four months, and I've got a $3 one from five years ago still working fine in the back of my closet somewhere. The thing is, most of these cables are made in the same factories and just have different stickers slapped on them. So yeah, you got unlucky with a bad one, but I wouldn't say it's because of the price tag. It's more about random luck and maybe how the cable was handled or stored before it got to you.