I believe the USB standard specifies the labeling on cables so that you can distinguish 5A & 3A capable cables from "lesser" cables. The issue is that many lower grade USB cables makers do not adhere to the standard. My 5A capable USB cables are labelled appropriately.Labeling of USB power is pathetic for many power supplies and most cables. A big problem will be Pi 5 on 6 amp supplies or cables not supporting the 5 amp mode. If a future Pi power has a separate cable, the cable will have to be labelled as Pi 5 compatible or 5v 5amp compatible. If there is a new power block, I suggest the block and cable support some of the other common options.
I have a USB block with four sockets with total of 6 amps. There are Type C and Type A sockets. I think the idea was to use just two Type A sockets then progressively switch to Type C. There are multiple power options on each Type C. My compatible USB Type C cables handle some of the power modes but not all. The combinations list is longer than the T&C pages for proprietary software.![:o]( "Surprised")
The block lets me run a Pi 5 on one 3 amp socket and the Pi 15" screen on the other 3 amp socket. If the screen is in the Pi 5 using the Pi 5 5 amp power mode, the screen reaches only 60% brightness. That is my main reason for a future Pi 5 power block supporting 6 amps across two Type C sockets.
The fact that 5V/5A is an optional USB-PD mode is a completely separate/distinct issue. I just wish there was better labeling on USB-PD supplies so you could more easily determine what modes they offer.
Statistics: Posted by bjtheone — Thu Oct 30, 2025 2:34 pm