European iPhone Chargers Prone To Overheating

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European iPhone Chargers Prone To Overheating

Posted by Soulskill on Friday June 13, 2014 @06:30AM from the marketed-as-the-only-incendiary-device-you'll-ever-need dept.

jones_supa sends word that Apple has launched an exchange program for European iPhone USB power adapters. The company says its A1300 adapters were bundled with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S models, and were also sold on their own from Oct. 2009 to Sept. 2012. The reason for the recall is that the adapters "may overheat and pose a safety risk." No further details are provided (a YouTube video shows a teardown of the device).

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That sucks. by B33rNinj4 · 2014-06-13 06:34 · Score: 4, Funny

Looks like global warming is impacting everything now.
"May" is not a synonym for "prone". by Kenja · 2014-06-13 06:40 · Score: 1

Anyone have a real world example of these overheating?

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1. Re:"May" is not a synonym for "prone". by i+kan+reed · 2014-06-13 06:55 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Usually they don't issue recalls over completely unsubstantiated hypotheticals.
2. Re:"May" is not a synonym for "prone". by gstoddart · 2014-06-13 07:10 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Apple obviously does.
  This isn't a 3rd party saying it, this is Apple themselves.
  
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3. Re:"May" is not a synonym for "prone". by Desler · 2014-06-13 07:38 · Score: 1
  
  Apple didn't even say "may". They said "in rare cases". Sure, that is CYA wording but twisting that into saying it is prone to overheating is simply baiting.
4. Re:"May" is not a synonym for "prone". by i+kan+reed · 2014-06-13 07:38 · Score: 1
  
  I think you're mistaking prone for meaning "more likely than not" or some other highly specific threshold. That's not the definition.
  adj. Having a tendency; inclined: paper that is prone to yellowing; children who are prone to mischief.
  That's a totally reasonable usage of the word, and not even remotely hyperbolic.
5. Re:"May" is not a synonym for "prone". by thetoadwarrior · 2014-06-13 07:48 · Score: 1
  
  It's spanned 3 generations of the iPhone with no mention until now so it can't be that frequent that you'll find someone on here with a real world example.
6. Re:"May" is not a synonym for "prone". by i+kan+reed · 2014-06-13 07:49 · Score: 1
  
  No, I'm "blinded" by basic respect for the conventional understanding of the English language, and not being literally insane.
  What the hell is wrong with you?
7. Re:"May" is not a synonym for "prone". by jedidiah · 2014-06-13 07:59 · Score: 1
  
  On the one hand, I have used cheap generic chargers bought in the US with no problems in European outlets.
  On the other hand, there are different electrical standards in play here.
  Still. I've used the cheapest parts I could lay my hands on and never managed a fire or explosion.
  
  --
  A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
8. Re:"May" is not a synonym for "prone". by jones_supa · 2014-06-13 09:53 · Score: 1
  
  Submitter here, thanks for the feedback.
9. Re:"May" is not a synonym for "prone". by mirix · 2014-06-13 10:19 · Score: 1
  
  I think 'Prone to' is fine here. Apparently the iPhone chargers are more prone to starting on fire than a standard charger would be expected to. It's a relative thing.
  Ford Pintos were prone to starting on fire. Not even a small minority of them actually did, though.
  
  --
  Sent from my PDP-11
10. Re:"May" is not a synonym for "prone". by zwarte+piet · 2014-06-13 21:50 · Score: 1
  
  They may have been tested insufficiently for use on 240V wallsockets or they try to save a buck by using 250V caps in Murica instead of the proper 400V ones.
11. Re: "May" is not a synonym for "prone". by cerberusss · 2014-06-14 03:48 · Score: 1
  
  I used to buy cheap chargers but after reading this article, I changed my mind: www.righto.com/2012/03/inside-cheap-phone-charger-and-why-you.html
  
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Sigh by ledow · 2014-06-13 06:54 · Score: 5, Funny

From the "geniuses of design" that brought you "drag the cd to the wastebin to eject it", "no physical cd eject button", "imacs with power buttons you can't feel on the back of them", "phones that you lose signal on if you hold while using them to call" and more...
Now we have "over-stuffed proprietary charger that overheats".
1. Re:Sigh by jones_supa · 2014-06-13 07:15 · Score: 1
  
  What I found surprising is that the iPhone home button has no LED to illuminate it.
2. Re:Sigh by Anonymous Coward · 2014-06-13 07:25 · Score: 1
  
  Neither does a clitoris or a nipple, but people have successfully used them for millennia. ;-)
  theres no part of the clitoris or the female orgasm that is necessary for anything.
3. Re:Sigh by Desler · 2014-06-13 07:39 · Score: 1
  
  Butthurt over what? Care to show that even 1% of 1% of iPhone users have even voiced such a complaint?
4. Re:Sigh by jellomizer · 2014-06-13 07:45 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  Wow for a multi-billion dollar company.
  6 Problems over the course of 20 years. Not too bad.
  And a lot of these Problems you stated are just your personal gripes not actually real problems.
  
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5. Re:Sigh by thetoadwarrior · 2014-06-13 07:53 · Score: 1
  
  It never moves so why would I need it?
6. Re:Sigh by king+neckbeard · 2014-06-13 08:04 · Score: 1
  
  That appears to not be an eject button, but a manual override. It would typically require something like a paperclip to operate, which is different from an eject button.
  
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7. Re:Sigh by newcastlejon · 2014-06-13 08:04 · Score: 2
  
  perhaps you can show us where the "eject" button is?
  Top-right hand corner of the keyboard.
  
  --
  If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
8. Re:Sigh by jedidiah · 2014-06-13 08:05 · Score: 1
  
  THAT is not an eject button.
  Tell your average granny or joe sixpack off the street to go take a paperclip to that stupid little hole an they will look at you like you've got a second head.
  
  --
  A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
9. Re:Sigh by jones_supa · 2014-06-13 08:28 · Score: 1
  
  I dunno, the position just screams for a LED. The button "looks dead" without it.
10. Re:Sigh by mythosaz · 2014-06-13 09:00 · Score: 1
  
  Home plate is base after third in baseball.
  Players run from third to home when they score.
  As such, those are all home runs.
  Also, you're an idiot.
11. Re:Sigh by ArcadeMan · 2014-06-13 09:07 · Score: 2
  
  Tell your average granny or joe sixpack off the street to go take a paperclip to that stupid little hole an they will look at you like you've got a second head.
  I know how that feels.
  signed,
  Zaphod Beeblebrox.
  
  --
  Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
12. Re:Sigh by MikeMo · 2014-06-13 09:11 · Score: 1, Informative
  
  Here's a bit of history for you. Way back in the computing dark ages (you know, the early 80's), all desktop computers had a common problem: people would remove the floppy disks (sometimes the boot volume) in a rather rude way. They would simply push the eject button. Sometimes, this resulted in computer crashes. Sometimes, it resulted in corrupt files, as the system had not yet flushed all of the data to the floppy and closed the file.
  
  Along came Macintosh, and Apple was determined to do things "right". They removed the eject button and made it a software action. This way, silly humans could not remove the floppy (or any other disk) unless the software allowed it - no open files, no application in use, not the boot volume, etc. Even when CDs came along, this still made sense, as you could be running a program from that very CD.
  
  Now, personally, I always thought the trash can thingy was confusing, but there was also an "Eject Disk" menu. The drag to trash can is a short cut.
  
  The point is, the lack of an eject button was not some stupid aesthetic thing, something to make the computer look better - it grew out of a very real problem that needed solving.
  
  Now get off my lawn!
13. Re:Sigh by ArcadeMan · 2014-06-13 09:12 · Score: 1
  
  Disconnect data cable from CD/DVD drive. Power up PC. Press eject button. It works.
  
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14. Re:Sigh by ArcadeMan · 2014-06-13 09:17 · Score: 1
  
  Aren't we supposed to call embedded software "firmware"? You're grasping at straws here, anyway. It's a physical button that's part of the drive, talking to a controller that's also part of the drive.
  
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15. Re:Sigh by sjames · 2014-06-13 09:19 · Score: 1
  
  That is not a button, it's a HOLE. It says so right in the picture.
16. Re:Sigh by sjames · 2014-06-13 09:21 · Score: 1
  
  Push the eject HOLE with your finger and see what (doesn't) happen.
17. Re:Sigh by thetoadwarrior · 2014-06-13 09:45 · Score: 1
  
  Thinking about it, I can't think of any phone that's had an led in the button. I'm kind of glad too, I'm not sure if that would look tacky or not.
18. Re:Sigh by jones_supa · 2014-06-13 09:49 · Score: 1
  
  There is this Android thingy.
19. Re:Sigh by AmiMoJo · 2014-06-13 10:07 · Score: 2
  
  If only it were those six... Overheating CPUs due to excessive thermal paste, moisture sensors that invalidated your warranty due to high humidity, using cheap 6 bit panels but claiming "millions of colours", batteries that die quickly due to having to support an inadequate charger during heavy loads, being able to crash any app by typing "file:///"... Of course many other companies are no better, the point being that Apple screw up as much as anyone.
  
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20. Re:Sigh by thetoadwarrior · 2014-06-13 10:08 · Score: 1
  
  Neither me or my friend's android phones had buttons that lit up. Unless it's an optional thing they disliked. But still I don't think it's that big of a thing.
21. Re:Sigh by AmiMoJo · 2014-06-13 10:12 · Score: 1
  
  It's the worst possible solution to that problem. The route everyone else took of putting a physical eject button on the CD drive that made the drive's firmware spit the disc out is the correct way to go. The computer gets notified and burners won't eject during a write, and most importantly even if the computer locks up or won't boot you can always get the disc out. Apple even forgot to make the emergency eject hole accessible.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
22. Re:Sigh by jones_supa · 2014-06-13 10:20 · Score: 1
  
  It is a common thing in the Android platform.
23. Re:Sigh by Hamsterdan · 2014-06-13 10:46 · Score: 1
  
  Tell that to g5 iMacs, intel iMacs, all powerbooks, all macbooks, the mac mini, and ibooks
  
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  I've got better things to do tonight than die.
24. Re:Sigh by MikeMo · 2014-06-13 13:40 · Score: 1
  
  The computer does get notified (sometimes) but the disk is already gone - the open and incomplete file is not fixable, the OS the system booted on is no longer available. Maybe you weren't there, as I can tell you this was one of the big issues being debated in the industry - how to solve this very problem - and Apple was the first and only company to fix it.
  
  You CAN get the disc out on a Mac, two ways: 1) Power up while holding down the mouse button. This causes the boot firmware to eject the disc; and 2) use the paperclip in the ol' hole method, which is exactly the same as pushing the physical button on a PC, just a bit harder to get to.
25. Re:Sigh by thegarbz · 2014-06-13 20:13 · Score: 1
  
  The point is, the lack of an eject button was not some stupid aesthetic thing, something to make the computer look better - it grew out of a very real problem that needed solving.
  False and you have proven that when you mentioned that CD's also have that "problem". The presence of a button means nothing at all. Try ejecting a CD while burning it, or while ripping an ISO, or while doing any action with any software that has the sense to lock the eject button.
  Post floppy disk, all eject buttons ARE software actions in control of the OS, hence the physical hole next to the CD which allows you to override the locking mechanism with a paperclip.
26. Re:Sigh by jrumney · 2014-06-13 21:23 · Score: 1
  
  My guess is cheap universal chargers, that are designed to provide sufficient charging current at 100V (as used in Japan), and anything in excess above that results in excess power being dumped as heat. 240V is just a worst case.
27. Re:Sigh by MikeMo · 2014-06-13 22:11 · Score: 1
  
  No one could. I don't know how many Windows crashes I've seen caused by this. Heck, Windows didn't even used to notice when you changed the disk without a refresh. You, sir, are a dolt. Exactly what do you expect the OS to do when the OS itself has been physically ejected? How can a program write to and close a file that is no longer in the drive?
28. Re:Sigh by ledow · 2014-06-16 05:56 · Score: 1
  
  It's not a question of it being soft or not. It was a question of getting it out when the machine crashed. The models in question would not let you eject the discs even on boot-up (unlike every other CD drive I've ever seen - supply power, push button, out comes CD - worst that happens is you have be quick before the OS sucks the drive tray back in, or press Pause/Break on the BIOS to give yourself time).
  That's not even counting the fact that ALL non-Mac CD drives have a MANUAL emergency eject hole. Paperclip to the rescue.
  There were numerous incidents with many models of Mac where people basically had to have the machine physically repaired to get their CD back out because there was no way to open it.
  And, as pointed out, a read-only medium? Who gives a shit. Even read-write, sometimes you still need to tug it and the OS should know that. That's what the write-cache options are FOR and why they're disabled for removable media (even though that's a huge performance drag).
Obviously... by Fire_Wraith · 2014-06-13 07:04 · Score: 5, Funny

They're holding it wrong.
1. Re:Obviously... by mu51c10rd · 2014-06-13 08:01 · Score: 2
  
  They're holding it wrong.
  Quite incorrect. I believe the late Steve Jobs would tell them they are charging it wrong.
2. Re:Obviously... by Tablizer · 2014-06-13 08:05 · Score: 1
  
  Careful there, this is a family website.
  
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In Europe by rossdee · 2014-06-13 07:53 · Score: 1

Didn't the EU mandate that phones had to charge with microUSB connectors?
That has to be the stupidest thing since GWB invaded Iraq
1. Re:In Europe by Anonymous Coward · 2014-06-13 08:14 · Score: 1
  
  Somewhat, it's not mandatory at this point, it is something you can opt into (which Apple did however). It will become mandatory later. Apple meets the microUSB obligation by offering for sale an adapter (and marketting models with the adapter included) between microUSB and lightning. The adapter is 35€ IIRC.
  Strangely, that adapter is one of Apples worst selling accessories.
2. Re:In Europe by Blaskowicz · 2014-06-13 18:12 · Score: 1
  
  Strangeely that costs more than a whole phone plus USB charger and cable.
I thought I was going crazy by Bitbyte_x · 2014-06-13 08:05 · Score: 1

I really did think I was going crazy that after a 6 hour charge my I phone charger long pin was burning hot
1. Re:I thought I was going crazy by ArcadeMan · 2014-06-13 09:13 · Score: 1
  
  After six hours of use, my long pin would be burning hot too.
  
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Too late to matter by johnjaydk · 2014-06-13 08:18 · Score: 1

That shit is almost ancient. Who gives a damn?
If something that old haven't burned your house down yet then it's likely to be safe.

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Re:They should have used genuine Apple chargers. by jones_supa · 2014-06-13 08:33 · Score: 1

There's also an interesting Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown by Dave Jones.
Not surprising by Emperor+Tiberius · 2014-06-13 09:47 · Score: 2

I had a PowerBook charger nearly catch fire back in the day. Had I not caught the burning smell, I might have lost my whole house.

I'm always a little cagey about leaving laptops plugged in unattended nowadays.
Re:Prices by mirix · 2014-06-13 10:33 · Score: 1

The $1 iphone charger I took apart was such a poor design and construction. Very little isolation, so unsafe. two transistor resonant style switching setup, cheapest there is. Too small output capacitors making the output very noisy. Though it claimed 1A, it was dropping out by 300mA. Not even close. No input filtering at all. no fuse. I'm surprised the things work at all, really.
That's not to say that it isn't possible to make a good charger for less than a .. whatever ripoff pricing apple charges, $30? There should be room to profit on a $5-10 charger, and meet all standards... But the $1 ones are absolute garbage, and no one should use them, ever.

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Re:Prices by Hamsterdan · 2014-06-13 10:53 · Score: 1

Sure, because all power supplies are created equal, right?
Like a 29$ walmart DVD player is built the same as 150$ one.

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I've got better things to do tonight than die.
Only if you have the original iPhone by dZap · 2014-06-13 20:20 · Score: 2

The page says "We will need to verify your iPhone serial number as part of the exchange process so please bring your iPhone with you." so if you don't have the iPhone the charger came with they will not replace it. They are still dangerous and still made by Apple so why not replace them?
1. Re: Only if you have the original iPhone by KevReedUK · 2014-06-14 05:49 · Score: 1
  
  It's even worse than that, when you consider that (as stated in TFA) Apple sold them separately, too! How do you show the store clerk the S/N of the iPhone the charger came with, when it was purchased as a standalone, after-market accessory?
  
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Re:Micro USB by zwarte+piet · 2014-06-13 21:52 · Score: 1

... not cool enough. Everyone has them....!
Re:Prices by MrL0G1C · 2014-06-13 23:18 · Score: 1

Of course an Apple charger-plug would never over-heat or anything.
Note that Â£1 ($1.69) includes postage+packing+ebay+paypal fees which means the plug cost...almost nothing, I'm amazed that they can sell it at that price, the charger must only cost a few pennies to make.

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Re:Prices by Hamsterdan · 2014-06-14 20:34 · Score: 1

Not talking about features, but the way it's built, output quality, and durability.

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