Treedix USB-C cable tester
Hacker ApprovedCable tester in Tools & making
Shoppers use it to check what USB-C cables really support, sort loose cables and spot faulty ones. Critics say it mostly just reads the cable's marker.
Shoppers use it to check what USB-C cables really support, sort loose cables and spot faulty ones. Critics say it mostly just reads the cable's marker.
18 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 17
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 94%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 17 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 17 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Sorts loose cables, discards bad ones
“This device let me categorize all my loose cables (and throw out the truly terrible ones). It was worth every penny.”
Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “I'm a USB-C Maximalist” “Super handy for identifying the nonsense C-C cables you can chuck.”
Comment from 11 Sep 2026 in “Don't let anyone take away your big box of cables” “i've found a few bad cables that would intermittently fail.”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “WhatCable: Know what your USB-C cable can do” - Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “WhatCable: Know what your USB-C cable can do”
Shows what cables actually support
“for my use case, i.e. verify what's actually in the cable (not blindly trusting the marker) the latter is sufficient and very ergonomic”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “WhatCable: Know what your USB-C cable can do” “I have enjoyed my Treedix - now almost every cable I have has coloured labels for what it supports and what ends it has”
Comment from 3 May 2026 in “The USB Situation” “Gives you all sorts of information very quickly, including resistance levels and capabilities.”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “WhatCable: Know what your USB-C cable can do” Tests resistance as well
“Gives you all sorts of information very quickly, including resistance levels and capabilities.”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “WhatCable: Know what your USB-C cable can do” “it's definitely better than having nothing, and tests resistance as well”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “I stopped trusting USB-C cable labels and started testing them”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Only reads markers, limited checks
“Your $40 toy won't help with that scenario and you will be back at square one.”
Comment from 15 Aug 2026 in “WhatCable: Know what your USB-C cable can do” “it's definitely better than having nothing, and tests resistance as well”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “I stopped trusting USB-C cable labels and started testing them” “All those cheap $40 boxes are doing IS reading the marker.”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “WhatCable: Know what your USB-C cable can do”
What people recommend instead
The same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treedix USB-C cable testerThis page | 17 | 1 | 94% | 5 | — | Approved |
| USB Cable Checker 2 by BitTradeOne | 11 | 1 | 92% | 4 | — | Approved |
What people said
19 of the 23 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Super handy for identifying the nonsense C-C cables you can chuck.”
“Your $40 toy won't help with that scenario and you will be back at square one.”
“Thank you for the feedback - I ordered one just now.”
“i've found a few bad cables that would intermittently fail.”
“All those cheap $40 boxes are doing IS reading the marker.”
“for my use case, i.e. verify what's actually in the cable (not blindly trusting the marker) the latter is sufficient and very ergonomic”
“Gives you all sorts of information very quickly, including resistance levels and capabilities.”
“I have a crap ton of cables so this will come in handy.”
“I was just a happy customer”
“It definitely looks to be one of the better ones.”
“The Treedix cable tester is awesome.”
“it's definitely better than having nothing, and tests resistance as well”
“for the price of a tester, one can buy 2, maybe even 3 good quality cables and just throw away the rest”
“one can also get this info easily in a computer, if you find out what to look for”
“This device let me categorize all my loose cables (and throw out the truly terrible ones). It was worth every penny.”
“I have enjoyed my Treedix - now almost every cable I have has coloured labels for what it supports and what ends it has”
“I got one a few months back and have quite enjoyed using it.”
“Like the price point and portability of the base Treedix testers.”
“That's exactly the problem the Treedix from the article solves.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.