https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/This group discusses the latest trends, products, assembly, and applications of interconnect tecnology, including wire-to-board, board-to-board, wire-to-wire, card edge, stacking connectors, high spped connectors, and terminal blocks.en-USTelligent Community 12https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238828Fri, 30 Oct 2026 13:37:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:cbc2e9b0-d991-416f-b8c5-264df54dbe76OwainMThe Samsung Galaxy S5 also used the connector, tucked behind a little plastic cover with a gasket to achieve the IP rating it had at the time. I was amazed that they shipped that connector on such a mass-market product.https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238824Fri, 30 Oct 2026 09:23:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:354b8631-5d2b-4dd2-b565-041f46b25610balajivan1995That monstrosity got into some other products as well? I am sure people who designed this had good intention of bringing high speed communication but that's a short lived connector and less commonly available cable.https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238818Thu, 29 Oct 2026 22:07:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:f2dccbd2-d132-4074-8889-659ea216990agpolderthe Ettus USRP B205mini-i SDR board also does have a high speed Micro-B.https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238735Wed, 21 Oct 2026 15:14:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:3a579101-3e91-42cf-adb6-6e3c4fdc628bbalajivan1995Micro-B, and I mean the high-speed version that's only used on SATA HDD/SSD enclosures. I've never seen it used anywhere else, and it usually just come bundled with the enclosure as a free accessory. One time I lost the cable and ended up buying an entirely new enclosure, because a new cable cost almost as much as the enclosure itself.https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238715Mon, 19 Oct 2026 19:07:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:51822932-a00c-4734-87e7-ffe4e0774f26beacon_daveA lot don't have an outer connection to start with... bzzzzzz.... Also ground tends to mate after signal.https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238714Mon, 19 Oct 2026 19:04:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:db0f08c8-8684-42b5-8995-6f192811bd8cbeacon_daveNot so much the connector itself but rather some of the attempts to make a connector retractable to avoid the need for a cable, but then you end up needing a cable anyway. The current one is a Sony digital voice recorder It's probably fine if you are plugging in vertically to a charger socket but not so good directly into the front of a PC, or even the side of a laptop where it may block access to other ports. I've been meaning to get a USB A extender with a dock base so as it can stand vertically.https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238713Mon, 19 Oct 2026 19:01:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:cf7e4e15-064d-4009-96ed-c6aa9c588da3shabazA lot of RCA connectors are quite bad because they get used in the wrong environment : ( in-car hi-fi. After a while, poor connection and crackly sound appears : ( One or two mnfr make really nice RCA connectors though; Pomona from memory, their outer connection doesn't loosen as easily.https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238712Mon, 19 Oct 2026 18:21:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:9937bc92-dfd1-4477-a73f-ed0e3f0d1dfeshabazThey are the gold standard of connectors : ) Gold might actually be cheaper : )https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238711Mon, 19 Oct 2026 17:45:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:17ae1b99-00cd-445a-8273-797ea194ae97beacon_daveLooks like France mandated it to be present on TVs from around 1980 to 2015.https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238710Mon, 19 Oct 2026 17:41:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:93f8fdb8-6846-4764-8d1f-9c8fcb07ea89beacon_davePerhaps not so 'contemporary' though ? It was designed half a century ago...https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238709Mon, 19 Oct 2026 15:38:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:e3b6c347-97df-4752-a0bc-069e5f000dbeOwainMMy 5-year old TV doesn't feature SCART either, and an RCA to Four-pole 3.5mm jack is needed for an RCA Connectionhttps://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238707Mon, 19 Oct 2026 15:32:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:cdcdd5ec-a3dd-43ce-8631-38f3be667634geraldsAbsolutely, yes. I use these LEMO's for smaller devises. Round connectors are easier to use than flat, rectangle connectors.https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238706Mon, 19 Oct 2026 15:26:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:6d8ffe59-6358-4d6c-8d9b-cce10c323263kk99The LEMO connectors are good, too.https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238705Mon, 19 Oct 2026 15:22:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:93d49d63-0912-4a47-9e68-ef7fa5da6232kk99In case of cheap RJ45 often the locking clip/tab breaks.https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238704Mon, 19 Oct 2026 15:18:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:568d143a-e19c-4764-b791-5042354a4b54kk99Probably a bit less complex than matching the correct colors in the case of RCA.https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238703Mon, 19 Oct 2026 15:17:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:ba252926-c475-43f6-a17f-2fd4fcf573e2geraldsI hate any connector that wobbles inside its socket. This includes USB-B and Micro-USB. USB-C is another such case: you only have to plug it in a few times before it starts to feel loose—which can even cause individual contacts to fall out. The bulky SCART connector is another example: i t would frequently fall apart whenever you tried to plug it in or unplug it. The heavy, thick cable would constantly pull the connector out of the socket’s spring contacts, bending them open in the process. "The smaller, the better"—that’s often the sentiment, and it seems to be the philosophy adopted by many manufacturers—or perhaps the standards bodies themselves. The only connectors I would consider good are the screw-on coaxial types. Of course, that brings us to the issue of the number of conductors required and the physical size. Starting in the early 2000s, I worked with LAN - "EC7" connectors. These connectors are very similar in design to coaxial connections. https://image.schrack.com/katalogseiten/k_datend7-075-082_de.pdf You could use a twisted-pair (PiMF) cable and connect various devices using adapters. With these connections, I was able to transmit TV signals—up to UHF frequencies; up to > 1GHz) —over distances exceeding 100 meters. I used them to equip many server rooms and their associated patch panels. It’s incredibly frustrating when the contacts are loose or wobbly...https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238702Mon, 19 Oct 2026 14:58:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:db666802-6027-4470-bab1-65e9101e89c6Jan CumpsMy last one - a 5 year old smart TV - doesn't. The previous one still had one.. Also, no more SCART on the recent cable decoder that I got from the provider. Previous version had it.https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238701Mon, 19 Oct 2026 14:44:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:a4705bb7-b427-471e-8e12-e32c157ade86dang74Just curious, do newer TVs for the European market still have SCART?https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238700Mon, 19 Oct 2026 14:44:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:d3345b40-d804-463a-9d5c-8ea6f0c75260BigGExactly! IMO, the Olimex boards get it right. www.olimex.com/.../https://community.element14.com/technologies/connector/f/forum/57356/what-s-the-worst-contemporary-connector-you-could-have-on-a-piece-of-hardware/238699Mon, 19 Oct 2026 14:26:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:4ac426ae-b8cf-4428-84e5-2572e64e9a9cralphjyIn my old age with poor eyesight and arthritic hands, I find that the smaller connectors are the worst problem - always have been to some extent. The worst is the u.FL connector that is used to connect parts on PCBs to external antenna cables. It is a pain to connect and disconnect those, especially if the PCB designer doesn't provide enough clearance to other components to enable use of a tool. It is a miracle, but I've never damaged one of those yet. My other issue is with some of the flat ribbon cable PCB connectors like those that are used to connect cameras and displays (CSI, DSI). The plastic piece that is used to clamp the cable end is very fragile. And I have broken a few of those. My other peeve that is not related to connector design but to standards is the 2mm JST connectors that are on small Lithium battery cables. The RC toy/model standard and the one used by vendors like Adafruit have the + and - connections reversed and not many boards are protected against incorrect polarity. I am very careful and have never damaged anything, but I have many of both styles of batteries and mating cables/connectors.