Removing Front port USB3 cable from MB connector

[HCHTech]

I had a motherboard swap to do this weekend, a warranty job due to a failed HDMI port. The case had USB3 ports on the front panel with the standard keyed connector to the motherboard header. Unlike USB2, the USB3 headers have a plastic surround with a key slot so you don't put it in backwards. There are a couple of very low profile "barbs" on the cable that hold it in place once connected. We've been building units with this setup for probably a year now. I guess we've been lucky, because so far, we've never had to take one back apart again.

I must have struggled with this thing for 20 minutes! You don't want to apply any twisting force which would torque the pins on the motherboard. You don't want to pull too hard, for fear of pulling the plastic port right off the board. Because of the way the cable is made and the "slot" is made on the motherboard, you can't (or I couldn't) get any sort of tool in there to help release the thing. What a PITA, I can't believe I didn't damage the thing. I was complaining to one of my techs, and he said he had similar problems when he did a upgraded his home computer. He actually pulled one of the pins out along with the connector when it finally gave way. He wasn't reusing that motherboard anyway, but man, this seems like a design built to fail.

Am I missing something here? A special tool maybe?

 

[Larry Sabo]

I don't suppose you have any close-up pictures?

 

[HCHTech]

It's already gone, but I will take some on the next build we do. Seriously, I'm thinking of taking a dremel and grinding off those barbs - that was ridiculous.

 

[Markverhyden]

Make and model of the MB?

 

[HCHTech]

Asus B450M-A. Here is a high-res shot of the header with arrows pointing at the ridges/indentations that grab onto the edge of those barbs. You can see a matching ridge/indentation on the other side of the key slot.

 

[Markverhyden]

Sneaky little devils. Looks like once the cable is in you don't really have any idea how it's secured. If it was me I'd use a small flat head screw driver and slide it between the cable head and connector head at each point, simultaneously lifting it a little. All you need is a mm or two to clear those notches.

 

[HCHTech]

Yes, I tried. With the motherboard in-situ (even with the power supply removed), it is next to impossible to get a tool situated correctly. I might sacrifice a screwdriver and bend it 90 degrees. May two of them one bent 90 degrees to the side and one bent 90 degrees to the front/back. I think that way, one might be able to pry outward using the key slot, and one might be able to pry upward by rotating it.

I remember wrestling unreasonably with a molex connector back in the day, only after it was removed did I see the barbs that made it so difficult.

On the USB3 thing, I want to find the engineer person that thought that was necessary and make them disassemble about a hundred of them.

 

[Larry Sabo]

Is it the same as the one in this video? If so, it looks like he just rocks it back and forth, end-to-end, rather than pulls straight up.

 

[HCHTech]

If so, it looks like he just rocks it back and forth, end-to-end, rather than pulls straight up.

I'm guessing that my doing this over time was what finally let it come free. You can see on the shot of the MB port that the ridges are clearly a bit "manhandled". Reading the comments on that video, at least I know I'm not alone -ha. I've got my sacrificial screwdrivers ready for the next time I have to do this. I'll try to remember to post my results!