dangerous phone charger

The Danger Of Unofficial Phone Chargers

Sales of Unofficial Apple chargers are rising sharply as people choose cheaper chargers .

iPhone users looking for a the official cable will be set back roughly €20, while a MacBook charger works out about €80.

Unbranded versions of these cables can cost as little as €5 and €35 respectively.

dangerous phone chargerNow, an independent safety specialist has found that 99 per cent of fake chargers fail a basic safety test, and the consequences for users could be fatal.  UL applied a high voltage to each of the 400 fake chargers to test for sufficient insulation.

Trading Standards, who commissioned the checks, claim that fake chargers bought on the internet are an ‘unknown entity’ for users.

Chief executive of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute Leon Livermore said: ‘It might cost a few pounds more, but counterfeit and second-hand goods are an unknown entity that could cost you your home or even your life, or the life of a loved-one.’

SIGNS OF A FAKE CHARGER

Trading Standards has provided a list of telltale signs for dangerous fake chargers.

–  Plug Pins

  1. Plug your charger into a socket without switching it on or connecting it to a device.
  2. If the charger doesn’t fit well, the pins may be the wrong size.
  3. Look for a minimum of about half an inch between the edge of the pins and the edge of the charger.

–  Markings

  1. Check for the ‘CE’ safety marking, though be aware that this can easily be forged.
  2. Look for a trusted manufacturer’s brand name or logo, model and batch number.

–  Warnings and instructions

A legitimate charger’s user instructions will include limitations of usage, details of safe disposal, basic electrical safety advice and a guide on how to operate the charger safely.

The finding comes after Apple complained of a ‘flood’ of fake chargers on Amazon last month.

Apple said it had been buying Apple chargers and cables labelled as genuine on Amazon.com, and had found nearly 90 percent of them to be counterfeit.

The revelation came in a federal lawsuit filed by Apple against a New Jersey company over what Apple said were counterfeit products that were sold on Amazon.

Our Advice

Belkin, Griffin, Aukey, Amazon Basic are all recommended non official brands. With that many to choose from so avoid the danger and purchase an original charger or one of the approved Apple Approved Suppliers.