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I got a USB-C hub with a broken plug (the end which is inserted in the computer) from a friend. Since the connector was completely destroyed inside, he did cut the cable behind it (probably that wasn't too smart...).

Now I'm trying to find out which wire has which function to solder it on a new plug I got from AliExpress. There are 16 wires, 8 of which are loose (I found that these are the same as for standard USB-A 3.0) and 8 of which are in shielded twisted pairs.

These seem to be the ones needed for the higher transmission or additional functionality like HDMI. Which pair (which color) is which function/which pin on the connector? Colors of the pairs are yellow/white, red/white, blue/white, brow/white.

Loose wires at the connector

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  • 21
    Would it not be easier and better to get a new Hub. They usually are not expensive.
    – John
    Nov 19 at 18:08
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    You would need a minimum a multimeter to characterize each cable. There isn’t a guarantee color, it seems, it would be easier to replace the cable.
    – Ramhound
    Nov 19 at 18:18
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    Use the other end to determine which wire is connected to which pin on the other end. I strongly suggest NOT moving forward with this repair attempt. You seem to be out of your comfort zone
    – Ramhound
    Nov 19 at 22:35
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    Probably electronics.stackexchange.com is a better forum for such questions. Also I think there's a standard color-coding for the wires.
    – U. Windl
    Nov 20 at 13:56
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    Rather than linking to a Wikipedia page about the shop you bought the connector, linking to the actual product you hope to use might help us to help you.
    – Chris H
    Nov 21 at 9:10

2 Answers 2

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The best thing to do here is replace the hub. Incorrect wiring could lead to damage to the device and/or the controller. And there is no guarantee the colors of the wires match any normal convention. Its not worth destroying hardware, for something as cheap as a USB hub.

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    And, the OP could spend the money on the replacement connector, attach the wires, and still end up with it not working/working marginally due to bad shielding/EMI issues. Better to spend that money towards replacing the hub.
    – spuck
    Nov 20 at 22:04
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The colors of the signal wires do not appear to follow any common conventions. As such you are left guessing a bit.

  • The thick red and black wires are almost certainly VBUS and GND.

  • Unshielded green and white wires are likely to be USB2.0 D- and D+

  • One of the other 4 unshielded wires is CC, which is necessary for the host to detect hub connection. You can find this wire by measuring resistance to GND, it should be between 4.6 kohm and 5.6 kohm.

  • The other three wires are some of CC2, SBU1, SBU2, PWM_Vconn. None of these would be normally required for a hub, unless it has some special options like audio or HDMI output.

  • Four shielded differential pairs are the SuperSpeed TX and RX pairs

As long as you get VBUS and GND correct, there is little risk of damaging equipment. You can work step-by-step:

  1. Once you get VBUS, GND, D+, D- and CC correct, it should work as USB2 hub.
  2. When you also get the SuperSpeed pairs correct, it should work as a USB3 hub.

It is pretty unlikely to be able to just guess right the order of all these wires. The hub PCB might contain some clues, for example you can track the traces to the chip and compare with the chip's datasheet.

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    I would suggest a compromise connecting only as many cables as are needed for the USB 2.0 to work. Less risk.
    – h22
    Nov 20 at 12:27
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    I agree with @h22 and I'd plan to do that by splicing to a standard USB-A cable, with adaptors as required. The higher speed connections will be much fussier about having consistent lengths between the cores, getting the right twist on the twisted pairs, etc.
    – Chris H
    Nov 20 at 13:47
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    USB2 is less risk, but also less useful. People are much less likely to have a surplus of USB3 hubs than USB2 ones. USB-C connectors that only support USB2 speeds and capabilities are also problematic since they're less capable than people would generally assume. Lastly, because OP mentioned HDMI explicitly I wonder if they have a device that includes both USB and HDMI ports.
    – Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight
    Nov 20 at 19:37
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    @DanIsFiddlingByFirelight as an exercise for someone used to electronics repair and splicing cables, attempting a full repair would be worthwhile but far from guaranteed. I'd maybe have a go but in addition to buying a replacement, so I had a backup.
    – Chris H
    Nov 21 at 8:58
  • ... especially given my latest comment under the Q
    – Chris H
    Nov 21 at 9:07

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