> Reddit says, no joke, it's the cable that's the problem.

Not surprising. My experience across a few different Android devices over the years is just about all USB-related functionality is a flaky mess, and that includes things like ADB and installing new ROMs. How it's flaky varies from device to device which makes it extra fun.

Not knowing anything about Pixel 2's USB functionality, but I have encountered cases where new cables have solved the problem I was encountering. One time was when I've tried to transfer files from my phone to the desktop and the speeds were ludicrously slow, like ~2Mbps where normally it would be 80-100 Mbps. The cable was rather old at that point and I bit the bullet and bought a new one and at that point I've realised that cables can worn out eventually.

Can confirm with Android phones and vr headsets that ADB access can definitely be affected by choice of cable. Talk about face palm, but it is what it us

> Literally tried to upgrade my Pixel 2 XL to Lineage and it failed repeatedly. Reddit says, no joke, it's the cable that's the problem.

I recently started having issues with the data functionality of the port. I can't get ADB to run at all, it will only charge. The power button also doesn't work so I've had to set it to shut off the screen by holding down the "Recents" button.

> Bought a dumb phone but found it lacking for your exact reasons

I like the idea of dumb phones, but I don't want to have to buy separate things like a digital camera, GPS, mp3 player, etc. Seems like it's just adding more complexity.