14 DAY TRIAL // Genuine iPhone chargers manufactured by Apple are certainly super-expensive. Heck, even the cheapest cable costs $19 at Apple, and when adding another $19 for the power adapter, it’s no surprise that so many iPhone owners are looking at cheap counterfeit chargers.
But according to one British organization, doing this is a very, very risky thing. Electrical Safety First conducted a research to determine how dangerous fake iPhone chargers are for their owners, discovering that out of 50 such chargers, no less than 49 failed event the most basic safety checks.
The knockoffs were purchased from the UK, but it goes without saying they were made elsewhere, mostly in China. They are widely available, though, so pretty much anyone can buy such a thing for just a couple of bucks.
Exploding iPhones
Researchers, however, warn that no less than 50 percent of the tested non-genuine chargers pose a severe risk of electric shock when plugged in, and several “had the potential to deliver a lethal electrical shock or cause a fire.” In other words, these chargers can kill you or burn down your house in a second.
No less than 68% of the chargers suffer from lack of insulation and poor quality internal components, which in turn means they carry a sever risk of electric shock. Again, this means they can kill you when touching the cable.
“This report shows that anyone purchasing an iPhone charger from an online marketplace or at an independent discount store is taking a serious risk with their safety. The vast majority of chargers we tested had the potential to deliver a lethal electrical shock or cause a fire. We’re urging people to take care when buying a charger and recommend buying directly from trusted retailers only. When you buy a fake, at best you could damage your phone but at worst you could be putting your life, your family and your home at risk,” Martyn Allen, Technical Director at Electrical Safety First, said.
Reports of iPhones that caught fire are nothing new, and despite Apple remaining tight-lipped on each and every case, there’s no doubt some of the incidents were caused by third-party chargers that weren’t certified by the company. So the next time you’re thinking of buying a cheap cable or charger from eBay, you better consider the risks you take pretty much every day from that point on.