New Report Finds That 99% of Fake Apple Chargers Are a Safety Risk

[Maura]

AppleInsider reports that Underwriters Laboratories (UL) have tested 400 fake Apple chargers that have been obtained from sellers in Australia, China, and the US, and found that 99% of them are unsafe.

UL subjected the chargers to high voltage in order to find out if they were correctly insulated, as well as making other important safety checks.

After carrying out the tests, UL said that chargers made by unknown manufacturers and purchased online were an “unknown entity” and were therefore dangerous to use.

In October Apple stepped up its efforts to tackle the growing problem of counterfeit chargers by suing counterfeit accessories seller Mobile Star for violating copyrights and trademarks by selling fake goods on Amazon and Groupon. The lawsuit particularly refers to fake 5-watt USB power adapters and Lightning-to-USB cables that Mobile Star sold online.

Apple said that it has an ongoing program designed to combat the sale of fake accessories, and that in the past 9 months it purchased “well over 100 iPhone devices, Apple power products, and Lightning cables sold as genuine” from Amazon’s “Fulfillment by Amazon” program, finding that nearly 90% of them were fake.

Back in 2012 engineer Ken Shirriff found that Apple’s official chargers had better and safer components that those in the fake ones, and following that Apple launched its still-running fake charger buy-back program.

Source: UL safety testing shows 95 percent of counterfeit iPhone chargers lack safeguards, are unsafe

 

[brixtonboy]

As posted in iPad forum l would like to see proof of these claims please.

 

[giradman]

As posted in iPad forum l would like to see proof of these claims please.

Well, there is more specific information by checking the link w/i the link HERE - Dave

 

[twerppoet]

Hold in mind that they are talking about 'fake' Apple Chargers, not third party chargers in general. These are chargers that are deliberately made to look like official Apple Chargers, including the Apple Logo and printed info.

The people who make these chargers are already skirting, if not breaking, the law. They have no reason to make a quality, safe product. They are offering prices so low that people will grab them without out question, thinking they've just gotten a great deal. Any uncut corners or extra expenses are just lost profit on a hit and run product.

Third party manufactures, especially those with an established brand, have more reason to build safe reliable products. You should still be careful buying third party chargers, since some of them do cut corners; but it's more of a buyer beware situation than the buyer run-away advisory.

Fake products are a problem everywhere. People end up buying something they think is the same quality as the original, but is just as cheaply made as it was cheaply priced. Sometimes that does not matter. Maybe you're good with cheap. But with electronics and other products that may impact your safety, fakes are dangerous.

 

[scifan57]

Any third party products that Apple sells in its stores or are offered for sale in an authorized reseller are tested and approved before being offered for sale.

 

[twerppoet]

Any third party products that Apple sells in its stores or are offered for sale in an authorized reseller are tested and approved before being offered for sale.

Those products are part of Apple's MiFi certification program. A guarantee that they meet or exceed Apple's own quality standards. They should display that certification somewhere on the box. Products that do not have the MiFi certification are not necessarily of poor quality. The companies may have decided not to participate in the program. It's not free.

 

[Brian 244]

As posted in iPad forum l would like to see proof of these claims please.

Go to the ifixit forums. There are examples everywhere of the damage caused by fake chargers. Besides the extremes of fire and risk of explosions, these chargers do not have the proper components to regulate the voltage going into your device. This causes damage to the internal circuitry resulting in a nonworking device which requires expensive board level repair. The iphone 5/ 5c and 5s are common victims of this problem along with the iPad 4 and iPad Air.

 

[MailFlys92]

Hmmm, thanks for your sharing

 

[Thomas1977]

How do you tell if the chargers are fake?

 

[J. A.]

How do you tell if the chargers are fake?

This will help:
Identify counterfeit or uncertified Lightning connector accessories

 

[Thomas1977]

Hmm that's very helpful. Thanks for the link.

 

[J. A.]

Hmm that's very helpful. Thanks for the link.

You're welcome.

 

[brixtonboy]

Thanks you

 

[scifan57]

You still see those counterfeit chargers for sale almost everywhere.

 

[brixtonboy]

I am pretty sure that we know when buy these if they are
Apple or not. Just by the price. I to have non-Apple cables and chargers. Yeh, yeh silly boy an all that.
I remember buying 3 chargers and cables for about €10
1 cable didn't work so l complained they sent me 3 more.
These companies don't like
Anything less than 5 Stars not that l ever take the Michael.

Here are the items l use to charge my iThings at this time, the big thing from Telekom.

You need good eyesight or a magnifying glass to check the but it is Apple it does get warm however.