What i find fascinating is that a USB cable that was designed to deliver 5V and maybe 1A was able to survive intact the voltage (up to 220V) and amperage that was enough to kill man. One would think there would be signs of overheating, even if the deadly voltage/amperage was brief.
I learned a lesson about cheap knock-off chargers/cables...nothing terrible happened to me, but my friend bought a 10' charging cable for his iPad for mere cents off eBay from China. A month after getting it, one night he smelled smoke and then saw the cable shoot a few sparks and burn out at the 30-pin connector. Thankfully the iPad is ok and the cable replaced with a much shorter genuine Apple cable.
He bought it so he could charge his iPad and watch movies at the same time in bed and the nearest outlet to his bed was too far for the standard length Apple cable. He'll just have to charge it to full and watch movies unplugged from now on.
Or your friend could buy a $5 extension cord. Good lord.
Is this article a reprint or did an AI staffer write it? Because if it was written by an AI staffer they should be let go. The first sentence is misleading and could have been written by Samsung itself.
“Another iPhone electrocution...” should have been “Another third party charger electrocution...” The iPhone, assuming it was indeed being charged by a knock-off charger, didn’t electrocute anyone. The charger did. Does Apple have to suffer at the hands of so-called friendly blog sites too?
I'm not sure that's correct. Looking at the burns on the iPhone, it seems to me that while the third-party charger was the source of the problem, the metal on the iPhone becoming live probably caused the electrocution. Maybe Apple should start including a fuse into the power jack so it will blow before high current is passed. And even with a third-party defective charger, how did the case become live? Does one of the power pins on the Lightning connector attach to the case? Did the third-party charger pass AC instead of DC because of a rectifier failure? What is it that drew all the current?
And I also am bothered by the fact that Apple's power chargers don't have a third pin. It's not like it's a smaller power plug - the big square thing could certainly have easily included the third pin. Of course that wouldn't have made a difference in a country that doesn't use the third pin grounding or someone who is using a third-party adapter. Also, why are so many people using third party adapters if one is included with every phone? And as much as I hate legal disclaimers, I think Apple's got to place a big sticker right on the phone that says (in an appropriate language) "USE OF THIS DEVICE WITH UNAUTHORIZED THIRD PARTY POWER ADAPTERS MAY RESULT IN ELECTROCUTION".
Is this article a reprint or did an AI staffer write it? Because if it was written by an AI staffer they should be let go. The first sentence is misleading and could have been written by Samsung itself.
“Another iPhone electrocution...” should have been “Another third party charger electrocution...” The iPhone, assuming it was indeed being charged by a knock-off charger, didn’t electrocute anyone. The charger did. Does Apple have to suffer at the hands of so-called friendly blog sites too?
I'm not sure that's correct. Looking at the burns on the iPhone, it seems to me that while the third-party charger was the source of the problem, the metal on the iPhone becoming live probably caused the electrocution. Maybe Apple should start including a fuse into the power jack so it will blow before high current is passed. And even with a third-party defective charger, how did the case become live? Does one of the power pins on the Lightning connector attach to the case? Did the third-party charger pass AC instead of DC because of a rectifier failure? What is it that drew all the current?
And I also am bothered by the fact that Apple's power chargers don't have a third pin. It's not like it's a smaller power plug - the big square thing could certainly have easily included the third pin. Of course that wouldn't have made a difference in a country that doesn't use the third pin grounding or someone who is using a third-party adapter. Also, why are so many people using third party adapters if one is included with every phone? And as much as I hate legal disclaimers, I think Apple's got to place a big sticker right on the phone that says (in an appropriate language) "USE OF THIS DEVICE WITH UNAUTHORIZED THIRD PARTY POWER ADAPTERS MAY RESULT IN ELECTROCUTION".
It does look like the iPhone case went mains high, but including a fuse in the charging circuit probably wouldn't help much, since the design-mode charging current is already much higher than the threshold current for fatality.
As for how the case went high - that's probably due to component breakdown in the phone when the charging circuit saw 220 V AC rather than a few volts DC.
If that is what happened, then it's probably because the switching transistor in the charger failed short circuit and passed the full supply voltage to the output.
I think there are several reasons for not including a ground pin. Firstly - notice that the Apple laptop power supplies are two-pin if used via the integral plug, and three-pin if the power cord is used - probably a compromise to allow their use with two-pin outlets. The iPhone chargers don't come with power cords, so they just have the regular two-pin plug. Secondly, ground pins are primarily designed to protect users from a fault mode that takes the conductive casing of a device live, which is why most non-metallic appliances don't have them. Since the charger is non-metallic, and only intended to provide a low-voltage output, a ground pin is not required.
I bought a fake Thai charger by mistake last time I was in the country. Totally had me fooled....until it started falling apart 1 month later. The Power cord perished at a rapid rate with the outer insulator literally crumbling away in front of my eyes.
The father believes his son may have been talking or lying on the iPhone while it was charging, ....
Talking .... ok I understand that .... but why he was lying on his iPhone while charging?!?!
It's quite possible (and I'm speculating without any verifiable evidence whatsoever) that he was sitting or laying on the floor, was shocked, then fell on top of the iPhone.
Great point, But likely he was holding it improperly. That said, however... I wonder if the 4S has the same PMIC chip as the 3G/3GS did. My 3GS had spilled coffee on it. Three weeks later, the Power Management Chip shorted out, and the battery fully discharged within 5 minutes. I replaced the battery with a full one, and quickly synced it to get my photos and data off the bad phone.
I think there's something funky with the PMIC chips Apple manufactures. Again, this happened three weeks after coffee was spilled on it.
I wonder how many phone batteries you'd have to link together to get enough voltage and amperage to kill a person by electrocution?
What i find fascinating is that a USB cable that was designed to deliver 5V and maybe 1A was able to survive intact the voltage (up to 220V) and amperage that was enough to kill man. One would think there would be signs of overheating, even if the deadly voltage/amperage was brief.
1 amp doesn’t sound like much but it is. You can have 100 gallons of water (high voltage) come out of a pipe at a slow rate (low amps, milli amps) or 20 gallons of water (low voltage) come out of the same pipe at a very fast rate (high amps, 1), which would most likely be deadly?
But where did you buy it and how much did you pay? Was it at an authorized reseller or from some random street vendor?
I paid standard prices (Same as if I had bought in Apple store) in a shop which certainly gave the impression of being an authorised dealer in Pantip Plaza Bangkok.
I paid standard prices (Same as if I had bought in Apple store) in a shop which certainly gave the impression of being an authorised dealer in Pantip Plaza Bangkok.
All one has to do is to touch the 2 plug prongs when plugging or unplugging any plug. This can be done with a lamp, a printer, a phone, any type of device. Don't believe it, then touch the two (2) prongs with your fingers when carelessly plugging / unplugging a device. Don't believe this, then plug a pair of eyebrow tweezers into a wall outlet and see what happens. I know. As a kid, I did this and it burned the ends off of the metal tweezers & knocked me down. There is no law against being stupid; this I know for certain. Only a few microamps thru the heart will kill someone. Note the heart shock paddles deliver only a small amount to start the heart. Want to stop yours, then don't stand clear when the paddles are energized.
For instance, how does their AC power differ from other countries? How do their plug designs differ? Is it inherently more or less dangerous? IOW, do any of these a factors increase the odds of injury in a way that would not occur in another country even if using the same wall charger?
I thought most countries outside North America use 220-240VAC. More kick for the mule.
Comments
What i find fascinating is that a USB cable that was designed to deliver 5V and maybe 1A was able to survive intact the voltage (up to 220V) and amperage that was enough to kill man. One would think there would be signs of overheating, even if the deadly voltage/amperage was brief.
The USB cable is fake too.
How about your proofreader?
Yes, I suppose Safari needs a Grammah app update.
Indeed; that was stupidity to the max.
Is this article a reprint or did an AI staffer write it? Because if it was written by an AI staffer they should be let go. The first sentence is misleading and could have been written by Samsung itself.
“Another iPhone electrocution...” should have been “Another third party charger electrocution...” The iPhone, assuming it was indeed being charged by a knock-off charger, didn’t electrocute anyone. The charger did. Does Apple have to suffer at the hands of so-called friendly blog sites too?
I'm not sure that's correct. Looking at the burns on the iPhone, it seems to me that while the third-party charger was the source of the problem, the metal on the iPhone becoming live probably caused the electrocution. Maybe Apple should start including a fuse into the power jack so it will blow before high current is passed. And even with a third-party defective charger, how did the case become live? Does one of the power pins on the Lightning connector attach to the case? Did the third-party charger pass AC instead of DC because of a rectifier failure? What is it that drew all the current?
And I also am bothered by the fact that Apple's power chargers don't have a third pin. It's not like it's a smaller power plug - the big square thing could certainly have easily included the third pin. Of course that wouldn't have made a difference in a country that doesn't use the third pin grounding or someone who is using a third-party adapter. Also, why are so many people using third party adapters if one is included with every phone? And as much as I hate legal disclaimers, I think Apple's got to place a big sticker right on the phone that says (in an appropriate language) "USE OF THIS DEVICE WITH UNAUTHORIZED THIRD PARTY POWER ADAPTERS MAY RESULT IN ELECTROCUTION".
Is this article a reprint or did an AI staffer write it? Because if it was written by an AI staffer they should be let go. The first sentence is misleading and could have been written by Samsung itself.
“Another iPhone electrocution...” should have been “Another third party charger electrocution...” The iPhone, assuming it was indeed being charged by a knock-off charger, didn’t electrocute anyone. The charger did. Does Apple have to suffer at the hands of so-called friendly blog sites too?
I'm not sure that's correct. Looking at the burns on the iPhone, it seems to me that while the third-party charger was the source of the problem, the metal on the iPhone becoming live probably caused the electrocution. Maybe Apple should start including a fuse into the power jack so it will blow before high current is passed. And even with a third-party defective charger, how did the case become live? Does one of the power pins on the Lightning connector attach to the case? Did the third-party charger pass AC instead of DC because of a rectifier failure? What is it that drew all the current?
And I also am bothered by the fact that Apple's power chargers don't have a third pin. It's not like it's a smaller power plug - the big square thing could certainly have easily included the third pin. Of course that wouldn't have made a difference in a country that doesn't use the third pin grounding or someone who is using a third-party adapter. Also, why are so many people using third party adapters if one is included with every phone? And as much as I hate legal disclaimers, I think Apple's got to place a big sticker right on the phone that says (in an appropriate language) "USE OF THIS DEVICE WITH UNAUTHORIZED THIRD PARTY POWER ADAPTERS MAY RESULT IN ELECTROCUTION".
It does look like the iPhone case went mains high, but including a fuse in the charging circuit probably wouldn't help much, since the design-mode charging current is already much higher than the threshold current for fatality.
As for how the case went high - that's probably due to component breakdown in the phone when the charging circuit saw 220 V AC rather than a few volts DC.
If that is what happened, then it's probably because the switching transistor in the charger failed short circuit and passed the full supply voltage to the output.
I think there are several reasons for not including a ground pin. Firstly - notice that the Apple laptop power supplies are two-pin if used via the integral plug, and three-pin if the power cord is used - probably a compromise to allow their use with two-pin outlets. The iPhone chargers don't come with power cords, so they just have the regular two-pin plug. Secondly, ground pins are primarily designed to protect users from a fault mode that takes the conductive casing of a device live, which is why most non-metallic appliances don't have them. Since the charger is non-metallic, and only intended to provide a low-voltage output, a ground pin is not required.
It was probably made in China.
It was probably made in China.
It could've been China, Thailand, Vietnam, India... any number of places.
The father believes his son may have been talking or lying on the iPhone while it was charging, ....
Talking .... ok I understand that .... but why he was lying on his iPhone while charging?!?!
The father believes his son may have been talking or lying on the iPhone while it was charging, ....
Talking .... ok I understand that .... but why he was lying on his iPhone while charging?!?!
It's quite possible (and I'm speculating without any verifiable evidence whatsoever) that he was sitting or laying on the floor, was shocked, then fell on top of the iPhone.
Great point, But likely he was holding it improperly. That said, however... I wonder if the 4S has the same PMIC chip as the 3G/3GS did. My 3GS had spilled coffee on it. Three weeks later, the Power Management Chip shorted out, and the battery fully discharged within 5 minutes. I replaced the battery with a full one, and quickly synced it to get my photos and data off the bad phone.
I think there's something funky with the PMIC chips Apple manufactures. Again, this happened three weeks after coffee was spilled on it.
I wonder how many phone batteries you'd have to link together to get enough voltage and amperage to kill a person by electrocution?
At a guess, I'd say it would be more than one.
Or your friend could buy a $5 extension cord. Good lord.
Obviously this friend would have to get out of bed to turn the light off, having nowhere to plug a bedside lamp in.
Maybe a power board and extension lead would make a good Xmas present for such a friend.
1 amp doesn’t sound like much but it is. You can have 100 gallons of water (high voltage) come out of a pipe at a slow rate (low amps, milli amps) or 20 gallons of water (low voltage) come out of the same pipe at a very fast rate (high amps, 1), which would most likely be deadly?
But where did you buy it and how much did you pay? Was it at an authorized reseller or from some random street vendor?
I paid standard prices (Same as if I had bought in Apple store) in a shop which certainly gave the impression of being an authorised dealer in Pantip Plaza Bangkok.
Yes, that is a problem.
This is an "shocking" article! LOL!
This is an "shocking" article! LOL!
Someone died. I don't see how that's funny.
It isn't funny.
I thought most countries outside North America use 220-240VAC. More kick for the mule.
ohhh god thats really sad...apple should take care of such issues..