UL safety testing shows 99 percent of counterfeit iPhone chargers lack safeguards, are unsafe

AppleInsider

A commissioned report of 400 fake Apple chargers bought from all over the world found that 99 percent of them were unsafe, and didn't have sufficient safeguards to protect users and plugged-in devices.

According to BBC News, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) applied high voltage to the chargers to test for sufficient insulation and other safeguards. As a result of the testing, the agency concluded that unknown chargers purchased online were an "unknown entity" and hazardous.

The chargers were purchased from vendors in Australia, China, and the U.S.

In October, Apple started stemming the tide of counterfeit chargers, and sued vendor Mobile Star, accusing it of violating copyrights and trademarks by selling counterfeit accessories on Amazon and Groupon. The suit specifically targets 5-watt USB power adapters and Lightning-to-USB cables sold by Mobile Star, the same as those cited in the BBC News report.

Apple said that it discovered the issue with Mobile Star's gear as part of its regular efforts to combat fake accessories.The company notes that in nine months, it bought "well over 100 iPhone devices, Apple power products, and Lightning cables sold as genuine" through Amazon's "Fulfillment by Amazon" program, and found that almost 90 percent of them were inauthentic.

In 2012, engineer Ken Shirriff examined Apple's chargers, and found them to include better and safer components than knock-offs. A year later, Apple implemented a fake charger buy-back program, which appears to still be operating.

wiggin

The article title is missing a critical word:

"UL safety testing shows 95% of third party CONTERFEIT iPhone chargers lack safeguards, are unsafe"

To lump all 3rd party USB chargers into this claim of poor quality is a bit misleading. Bottom line...don't buy cheap crap online. "Too good to be true" still applies. But it probably is in the same category as recent studies that have shown that certain portions of the population have demonstrated an inability to identify fake vs real new stories they read online.

hexclock

Is it then reasonable to assume that a significant fraction of the Samsung charger accessories on Amazon are fake as well?

netrox

The problem is really Apple. Apple has made recharging technology way too complex to the point that you literally need to have ram and CPU inside cable to do proper charging and also to do data transfer. 

Lightning cables need to go away. It had caused too much grief. 

Its no wonder we are going with wireless recharging which should be safer. 

soli

netrox said:

The problem is really Apple. Apple has made recharging technology way too complex to the point that you literally need to have ram and CPU inside cable to do proper charging and also to do data transfer. 

Lightning cables need to go away. It had caused too much grief. 

Its no wonder we are going with wireless recharging which should be safer. 

Apple has used exactly two different port interfaces for their iPhone, and those same two for the iPod, every iPhone, and every iPad, all with a USB cable that would detach from the PSU when the industry was using a different power cable connected to the PSU, not just between vendors, but multiple versions within the same vendor. Gee, how fucking wonderful would it be to go back to a time when there were entire kiosks of cellphone chargers in a plastic blister cases with a ringed binder hanging off the side to tell you which model would fit your cell phone¡

mike1

wiggin said:

The article title is missing a critical word:

"UL safety testing shows 95% of third party CONTERFEIT iPhone chargers lack safeguards, are unsafe"

To lump all 3rd party USB chargers into this claim of poor quality is a bit misleading. Bottom line...don't buy cheap crap online. "Too good to be true" still applies. But it probably is in the same category as recent studies that have shown that certain portions of the population have demonstrated an inability to identify fake vs real new stories they read online.

Correct. There is a difference between counterfeit parts and 3rd-party parts that may or may not be of poor quality. Counterfeit parts are most dangerous as they appear to be the real thing and often can fool the naked eye of even the most careful consumer. The poor quality crap that you see at 7-11 should definitely give pause to the consumer, but many people would still buy one. That's on them.

mike1

netrox said:

The problem is really Apple. Apple has made recharging technology way too complex to the point that you literally need to have ram and CPU inside cable to do proper charging and also to do data transfer. 

Lightning cables need to go away. It had caused too much grief. 

Its no wonder we are going with wireless recharging which should be safer. 

Huh?!
By complex do you mean well-designed chargers with proper safety and performance considerations? Or do you mean sophisticated software and circuitry in the device that properly regulates voltage and temperature to ensure maximum battery performance/life and DON'T BLOW UP?

soli

mike1 said:

netrox said:

The problem is really Apple. Apple has made recharging technology way too complex to the point that you literally need to have ram and CPU inside cable to do proper charging and also to do data transfer. 

Lightning cables need to go away. It had caused too much grief. 

Its no wonder we are going with wireless recharging which should be safer. 

Huh?!
By complex do you mean well-designed chargers with proper safety and performance considerations? Or do you mean sophisticated software and circuitry in the device that properly regulates voltage and temperature to ensure maximum battery performance/life and DON'T BLOW UP?

maybe he means too complex as in too safe.

• http://www.righto.com/2012/05/apple-iphone-charger-teardown-quality.html
• http://www.righto.com/2015/11/macbook-charger-teardown-surprising.html

mike1

Soli said:

mike1 said:

netrox said:

The problem is really Apple. Apple has made recharging technology way too complex to the point that you literally need to have ram and CPU inside cable to do proper charging and also to do data transfer. 

Lightning cables need to go away. It had caused too much grief. 

Its no wonder we are going with wireless recharging which should be safer. 

Huh?!
By complex do you mean well-designed chargers with proper safety and performance considerations? Or do you mean sophisticated software and circuitry in the device that properly regulates voltage and temperature to ensure maximum battery performance/life and DON'T BLOW UP?

maybe he means too complex as in too safe.

• http://www.righto.com/2012/05/apple-iphone-charger-teardown-quality.html
• http://www.righto.com/2015/11/macbook-charger-teardown-surprising.html

I posted this one too a while back. This was for an iPad charger.

http://www.righto.com/2014/05/a-look-inside-ipad-chargers-pricey.html?m=1

frac

netrox said:

The problem is really Apple. Apple has made recharging technology way too complex to the point that you literally need to have ram and CPU inside cable to do proper charging and also to do data transfer. 

Lightning cables need to go away. It had caused too much grief. 

Its no wonder we are going with wireless recharging which should be safer. 

Bizarre logic. 
Cheap, unsophisticated solutions are even cheaper to clone with dangerous reject quality components. 
But you go ahead and....and be a victim of your own folly. 

charlesatlas

I may not always buy Apple chargers, but when I don't, I prefer the known name brands like Kensington, Belkin or even Rocketfish.

wood1208

Amazon allows seller's to use words like "Genuine" "OEM" Apple products on their web site. Same on eBay and other sites. Why there are no legal consequences of using these words in their product title or advertisement to misguide customers and make money.
Users all over experienced (including recent Chinese government iPhone shutdown probe concluded) their gadgets misbehave when their chargers are not true OEM.

edited December 2016

kaladorn

Apple's products are (with some notable exceptions) manufactured with some attention to quality of components and design. The dumb design decisions they've made here and there were not from skimping on quality or design; those are owned by a peculiar 'my-way-or-the-highway' perspective. (The latest things they've done to the Macbooks more or less spiting the graphic designers and others who use their products regularly are one example - the new Macbook has the quality, but odd design decisions are the issue). In terms of charging technology, Apple has elected to develop an expensive approach. They also tend to charge a fair bit of change for licensing. So... lots of people find that a tad hard to swallow. Those people often don't buy apple products. On the other hand, one piece of perspective missing (not counting any misrepresentation of what the actual UL study said...) is how many charge cycles on iDevices have been successfully executed with third party chargers with no bad outcome? I'm guessing it would be in the hundreds of millions or billions. There have been some bad outcomes, but by en large, even the crappy cheap chargers work. They may not offer the best protection and they may shorten battery life, but they work. It is hard to understand people spending $700-1300 on a new iPhone then hooking it to a $12 charger. Penny wise, pound foolish...

tokyojimu

Amazon bears much of the blame. I recently bought a "Panasonic" product on Amazon that ended up being a no-name brand. When I complained Amazon merely said I can return it, but they continue to allow the listing showing the manufacturer as Panasonic. I have lost my trust in Amazon. 

hungover

Kudos to Trading Standards for reminding people that fake products can be dangerous but why would they have commissioned UL to test products not sold in the UK?

According to Trading Standards, 

"Several tests were conducted including an electrical strength test in which high voltages are applied to the units to see how much voltage will flow between the input and output. If the current is above the threshold the unit is determined to have insufficient isolation with potential for electric shock. Only three of the 400 passed."

So what threshold was used? And does that mean that they stepped the voltage up to levels that can't be provided by the typical domestic power outlet/wall socket? 

Are these tests more or less stringent than the regulations require in each of the countries where the chargers were purchased?

I am mindful of the fact that UL are a certification company that makes money from firms that pay to display their certification logo... 

That said, no one should be selling fake products, period.

chris_ca

wiggin said:

But it probably is in the same category as recent studies that have shown that certain portions of the population have demonstrated an inability to identify fake vs real new stories they read online.

macpro

wiggin said:

The article title is missing a critical word:

"UL safety testing shows 95% of third party CONTERFEIT iPhone chargers lack safeguards, are unsafe"

To lump all 3rd party USB chargers into this claim of poor quality is a bit misleading. Bottom line...don't buy cheap crap online. "Too good to be true" still applies. But it probably is in the same category as recent studies that have shown that certain portions of the population have demonstrated an inability to identify fake vs real new stories they read online.

Does Apple give its seal of approval to third party chargers then? Is that where the distinction between counterfeit and third party products lies in your thinking? I've never thought about that before.

macpro

This reminds me of a similar situation with Mac chargers. A friend of mine bought a third party charger that caused his 17" MBP to literally give him small electrical shocks from its casing and was probably the cause the end of his MBP, it totally died not long thereafter (although no way of being sure). The charger he bought had a plastic earth connection instead of a metal one inside at the coupling part of the extension cable and block.