Written by adriel

What’s inside a USB C to 3.5mm adapter?

I’ve got a cheap passive USB Type C to 3.5mm 4-pole AUX audio adapter from AliExpress here to open up (which reverses stereo channels, would not recommend).

This is a passive adapter, not an active one with a DAC, like the ones needed for most USB-C laptops, iPads, Google Pixels and some other phones. Though the majority of USB-C phones do use the DAC built into the phone and will work fine with a cheap passive adapter, like the ugreen ones I sell here in New Zealand, which have the 3.5mm stereo channels set correctly.

Anyway, here are the photos of what’s inside a passive adapter.