Hi, Benson here.

I didn't use a digital multimeter, because mostly that would have required taking apart the cables to get to the pins in question.

I used this to test a live cable attached to a Nexus 5X/6P or a Chromebook Pixel : https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/twinkie

It's a CC line traffic sniffer along with an inline voltage/current monitor.

You can actually buy one yourself, but it's not cheap, unfortunately. http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Type-C-USB-C-Delivery-Sniffer/dp/B015X29HLM

Another option is if you have a Chromebook Pixel 2015 in dev mode, and then there's a few easy terminal commands you can run to check if the cable is legit. (again, not a cheap option, as the Pixel is $999).

Hi. This is Benson (the guy doing the Amazon reviews).

Your assertion that 1.5A is all that's possible over legacy USB cables to Nexus 5X/6P phones is actually incorrect. I tested earlier this evening I tested a Bullhead (5X) using a compliant USB cable (the i-Orange E cable) and a Samsung adapter and a Dell DCP adapter.

From the Samsung adapter, I was able to draw 2.1A, and from the Dell adapter, I was able to draw 1.8A. Both of these are higher than the 1.5A limit.

For those interested, I'm using this that our team built to check these cables : https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/twinkie

It's a USB PD CC line sniffer that also functions as an inline power meter.

You can buy it on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Type-C-USB-C-Delivery-Sniffer/dp/B015X29HLM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446601379&sr=8-1&keywords=plugable+usb+pd