Apple Warns Of Counterfeit Power Adapters and Batteries Following Lawsuit (9to5mac.com)

Following a lawsuit revealed back in October in which Apple exposed an issue with a large percentage of fake Apple adapters being marketed as "genuine" online, today the company has posted an official warning to customers. From a report on 9to5Mac: The message, posted on the front page of the company's support webpage, warns customers that counterfeit power adapters and batteries could pose safety issues. The company also offers customers that might have had a recent battery replacement the option to bring in their devices to an Apple Store or authorized service provider to check if the battery is genuine.

Comments

Re:fire Fire FIRE!

[magarity]

Also, watch out for Amazon. Are there currently problems with counterfeits getting into the stream when fulfilled by Amazon? Or is it just their affiliates?

They've fooled you with the "fulfilled by Amazon". That just means the seller shipped a pallet or whatever of stuff to Amazon's warehouse so their picker robot stuffed it in a box when you ordered it. Other than that, Amazon doesn't give a hoot what the item is. What you need to watch for is "Sold by Amazon, fulfilled by Amazon" if you want them to have any liability for the quality.

Re: That it matters, means that they've failed

[UnknowingFool]

Based on teardowns of counterfeit chargers, I would say it is highly unlikely. The whole point of countefeits is to pass off as authenticate just enough to fool the buyer. If the chargers came from the same line they would be near full price as 100% of the money would go to the people who manufactured them off the books. They wouldn't be that much cheaper as they are technically authentic chargers.

Re:That it matters, means that they've failed

[UnknowingFool]

Have you looked at an Apple charger vs a counterfeit? A lot more engineering goes into an Apple made one; it's not about more capacitors.

Breakdown of countefeit vs genuine

[UnknowingFool]

Here is the latest breakdown of a counterfeit from Ken Shirrif. He's been documenting them over the years. While counterfeits are getting better at looking genuine on the outside, their internals are noticeably inferior.

• Countefeit:
• The ground pin isn't connected to anything. It's not grounded at all so it's a major safety hazard.
• Lack of complex circuitry. There might be one IC controller chip if there are any chips at all.
• Hand soldered. Often the solder joints is also subpar and might be in such close proximity that a short can occur.
• Power quality is terrible with spikes