How Safe Are Counterfeit Phone Chargers?

The Danger Of A Counterfeit Phone Chargers In Murrieta!

Counterfeit phone chargers are dangerous and may damage your equipment. The fact that distinguishing between safe and unsafe counterfeit phone chargers is not easy, and that whether or not you should replace your charger is in the end up to you. The plugs included with the counterfeit phone chargers are also fake and easily identifiable.

A counterfeit phone chargers are now one of the main fake electrical products entering and have given some people electric shocks or even started fires. Counterfeit phone chargers are bad, but there are still many third party manufacturers that are far cheaper and just as good as Apples. Counterfeit phone chargers are also known to be unsafe due to cheaper parts and lower quality control. Railings in the slots of counterfeit phone chargers are mostly made from iron, a material with poor corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity, and easily attaches to magnets.

5 things you didn’t know about a cheap USB charging cable

1. Some USB charging cables can’t tell the difference between a wall port and a USB port

If you buy a cheap generic micro USB charging cable from the internet or the guy on the market stall it might come as a surprise to you to discover that it may not actually be able to tell the difference between a wall port and a USB port. This in itself isn’t usually a problem, unless you want a surge of juice from your wall power charger and you’re limited to 500mAh USB speed.

2. A cheap USB charging cable can actually cause your device to charge more slowly

Most USB charging cables have both a data wire and a charging wire. But not all are the same. Buying a cheap USB charging cable will usually result in a low quality 28/28 gauge cable, not the 28/24 gauge cable that you will usually get when you buy a phone or tablet. This 24 gauge cable can handle up to 2amps, not only the 500mAh that the 28/28 can, meaning your phone should charge faster.

3. They’re rumoured to be able to break your phone

It was reported back in 2014 that cheap USB Lightening cables were actually damaging iPhone 5’s by breaking a logic board component called the U2 IC chip – the chip that controlled the battery, sleep button and USB port. That’s an expensive piece of kit to break by saving a few quid on a cheaper cable. And who’s to say it won’t happen again? Read more here.

The teardown revealed that most of the time, the counterfeit phone chargers are a 5-watt charger instead of a 10, are poorly constructed, and have major safety issues.

Make sure your charger is the real deal.

Apple recently announced their USB Power Adapter Takeback Program, to deal with customer safety issues related to counterfeit products in the marketplace. Here’s how you can avoid purchasing counterfeit products.

Check the Box. For example, Griffin Technology is one of the original members of Apple’s Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad (or MFi) program. When you see the MFi logo (right) on our box, it means the product you’re buying meets rigorous safety and testing standards laid out by Apple.

Check the source. Make sure you buy from a seller you trust. As long as you buy your charger from a trusted retailer like Best Buy, Walmart, Target, or directly from our website, you’ve got nothing to worry about. You can find a complete listing of Griffin retailers in your area here.

Check the price. If a deal seems like it’s too good to be true, then it probably is. If you think you might have ended up with a counterfeit, make sure you check your charger before you head down to the Apple Store. Apple’s Takeback Program only applies to wall chargers at this time. If you have a counterfeit cable or car charger, it won’t be covered under Apple’s program, but you should still stop using it, just to be safe. See more here.

The problem is the counterfeit phone chargers are often poorly designed and can fail in a way that shorts the USB cable to the device power.

The Hidden Dangers of Cheap USB Chargers and Cables

The dangers of cheap USB chargers and cables
Cheap and generic USB chargers and cables can be found in convenience stores and on online shopping sites like eBay from as little as $1. But when something is available for such a cheap price, you’ve got to wonder whether costs are being cut during the manufacturing process. And these cheap USB chargers pose very serious dangers, including:

• Fire risk
  A PCWorld report states that Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency has recorded almost 100 cases of smoke, fire, or overheating involving smartphone chargers and cables in 2014. In one incident, a person was slightly injured in a fire after using a Topland phone charger unit that was sold at a convenience store. These chargers were subject to a fire hazard recall in July that year, involving 224,000 other units. The chargers contained lithium-ion batteries, which were associated with overheating and fire cases.
• Electrocution
  According to a Sydney Morning Herald report, a Sydney woman died from apparent electrocution after using an unbranded USB phone charger purchased from a stall in the suburb of Campsie. The woman was wearing headphones and holding her laptop at the time of death, and was found with burns on her ears and chest, suggesting electrocution. Read full article here.

Counterfeit Phone Chargers Is Dangerous

The counterfeit phone chargers can be fairly dangerous are often not certified for safe use and if they do have such a mark on it, there’s no promise the manufacturer didn’t just slap that logo on without getting it tested. Counterfeit phone chargers can often be several pounds cheaper than their genuine alternatives. Some counterfeit phone chargers can be bought for as little as 99p and, as well as putting people at risk of fire and injury, investigators warned they could cause damage to the Phone being charged.

We all know that using counterfeit phone chargers can severely impact our phones, but what many of us didn’t realize is that it can also impact our physical health as well. Counterfeit phone chargers can appear on the outside as very convincing and the outer casing may not appear any different to the genuine charger. The counterfeit phone chargers can catch fire, for more information for your electrical safety contact us here: (951) 805-1262.

 

Related Articles:
Fire Extinguishers Safe for the Home
New Year’s Safety Tips from RJL Contracting