USB charging cable

[vishnumrao]

Background info: I have two USB cables

1. Came with my Nexus5. Charges my phone at ~1.2A from the wall charger. Also in the battery usage menu, it shows Charging(AC). I connect my phone with this USB cable and the phone is instantly recognized by my desktop. All is well.

2. Second USB cable came with a URGE Bacis Bluetooth speaker. If I use this cable with the phone wall charger, it charges the Nexus5 at only 500mA. In the battery usage menu, it shows Charging (USB). Also if I connect the phone to my desktop, using this cable, its not detected by the desktop.

Question: What is the difference between these two cables? Is there any disabled pins in the cable, that prevents data protocols and limits charging?

Question: If I go buy a cable from monoprice like this one: http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030307&p_id=5137&seq=1&format=2

Will it have the data connectivity and fast charging capability? Or is it going be like the 2nd cable above?

 

[hang-the-9]

I've seen some USB cables not work properly as well, from what I can tell, the ones that don't work well are all thin. The issue is likely that the wire inside has too much resistance because it's not thick enough to allow a good flow of electrons.