Hero 3/4 Charging Cable

The Hero 3 and the Hero 4 require a MICRO USB cable connection. Both the SS and the GP-PRO automatically ship out with a 3-wire and a 4-wire cable. What is the difference between the 3-wire and the 4-wire cables? Great question!

3-Wire:

This cable will only charge your Go Pro while plugged in. It does only charge your Go Pro and cannot keep it powered on if your Go Pro's battery is completely drained. Another thing to keep in mind is it will not charge while you are recording. This is not a feature Go Pro's have so even while using your Hero 3/4 charging cable supplied from Go Pro and connected to a wall outlet, the Go Pro cannot be charged while it is recording.

4-Wire:

Meanwhile, your 4-wire cable will charge your Go Pro just like the 3-wire, but will also activate the AV port on your SS or GP-PRO. What this allows you to do is use an external field monitor. Since that is the case, when you use the 4-wire cable, your Go Pro's screen will go black so you don't want to use the 4-wire cable to charge unless you plan on using the external field monitor.