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

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

Posted by msmash on Tuesday December 13, 2016 @04:50AM from the fake-products dept.

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.

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Nonsense by 110010001000 · 2016-12-13 04:53 · Score: 3, Funny

This is nonsense. I buy batteries for my Apple products all the time online and they all work fi
1. Re:Nonsense by 110010001000 · 2016-12-13 05:27 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  It says "Batteries" in the headline. DAMN, you just got OWNED sucka, 1990s style!
2. Re:Nonsense by 110010001000 · 2016-12-13 05:59 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Mommy! A man is being mean to me on the Internet!
That it matters, means that they've failed by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-13 04:53 · Score: 2, Interesting

If their sh*t uses a standard, but is custom enough that there can be a counterfeit, tells me they're doing it wrong. Embrace, extend, extinguish - be snobby about people with old computers, etc - hint Apple, not everyone lives in San Fran and throws away their $5k laptop each year. People need cords, and they'll buy cheap. That's not their problem, it's yours.
1. Re: That it matters, means that they've failed by Opportunist · 2016-12-13 05:08 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Want to bet that those "counterfeit" products come from the same assembly line as the "genuine" ones?
  
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  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
2. Re:That it matters, means that they've failed by guruevi · 2016-12-13 05:29 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  There is a reason some of those items are pricey. A well designed power supply includes large capacitors and a good heat sink and margin of errors and safeties for out of spec components, brownouts or spikes. There is also space on the circuit boards so the line voltage of 110/220VAC doesn't become part of the rest of the circuit.
  Some of these counterfeits actually run components that are underpowered (e.g. a 3A regulator will often do 5A as long as you have thermal capacity), are simply removing capacitors and fuses to save costs. Also they often put up UL certificates without owning them and have traces that are both too thin and too close so as to become a safety issue under stressed conditions.
  
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3. Re: That it matters, means that they've failed by UnknowingFool · 2016-12-13 05:38 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  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.
  
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  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
4. Re:That it matters, means that they've failed by UnknowingFool · 2016-12-13 05:52 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  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.
  
  --
  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
5. Re:That it matters, means that they've failed by Anubis350 · 2016-12-13 06:01 · Score: 2
  
  If their sh*t uses a standard, but is custom enough that there can be a counterfeit, tells me they're doing it wrong.
  First of all, what the hell are you talking about when it comes to standards? Every computer company uses a different charger. I dare you to plug in an HP charger into a Dell (that's if the connector even works). Second, it doesn't matter if Apple or Dell follows a standard, the counterfeit chargers won't follow one which is the point.
  Outside of the long business of selling multi-adapters, I'll point out that a lot of new laptops are moving to USBC for charging, so the different adapter thing may soon be a thing of the past
  
  --
  "goodbye and hello, as always" ~Prince Corwin, from Zelazny's Amber series
6. Re:That it matters, means that they've failed by Plumpaquatsch · 2016-12-14 00:33 · Score: 2
  
  You don't have to pay for engineering every time you build a charger, you pay for it once. The marginal cost of each authorized charger is no more than a few dollars. Apple didn't become the richest company on the planet by selling chargers at cost.
  Jesus fucking Christ, stop whining about EVUL APPEL and look at the fucking article already. Not only are those fake adaptors build completely different, they throw even the most basic safety standards of electrical engineering out the window and put the life of people plugging them in in danger.
  
  --
  Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
fire Fire FIRE! by Thud457 · 2016-12-13 05:00 · Score: 4, Insightful

This is what happens when you outsource manufacturing to China.
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?

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the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
1. Re:fire Fire FIRE! by magarity · 2016-12-13 05:04 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  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.
2. Re:fire Fire FIRE! by queequeg1 · 2016-12-13 07:04 · Score: 2
  
  You can still get fakes if the order is fulfilled by Amazon, at least for some products. Affiliates who sign up for their "Fulfilled by Amazon" program can inject fakes into process if they have the same UPC as products purchased and sold by Amazon itself because they might all be comingled in the warehouse. I read somewhere (can't find the article right now) that these third parties are supposed to slap a sticker on their product identifying who was responsible for putting the specific item into the mixed inventory. So if your phone battery explodes, you might know which fly-by-night counterfeiter to blame (assuming you saved the packaging). Here's an article about the problem:
  http://www.wsj.com/articles/on...
Unfortunate by Thyamine · 2016-12-13 05:06 · Score: 2

This is what happens when people don't understand tech. No one wants to care how their devices work, they just hear battery and equate it to their favorite AA and away they go. Not understanding that there is more involved than that, they just but cheap when they need a new or extra cable. I can understand that, but then we have these sorts of issues.

--
I will shred my adversaries. Pull their eyes out just enough to turn them towards their mewing, mutilated faces. Illyria
1. Re:Unfortunate by Thyamine · 2016-12-13 05:21 · Score: 2
  
  No I agree. I mean that people don't understand that cheap cables are a potential problem, regardless of if they say they are compatible or not. The lawsuit issue is that they are lying about packaging. My point is more that people have no idea that there is a real danger or problem, so they just think Apple is trying to gouge them. Which I'm sure the price is a huge profit margin, but there is a real benefit in this case outside of just the name on the package.
  
  --
  I will shred my adversaries. Pull their eyes out just enough to turn them towards their mewing, mutilated faces. Illyria
Maybe if Apple didn't insist on reaming... by Radical+Moderate · 2016-12-13 05:06 · Score: 3, Insightful

...their customers this wouldn't be such a problem. I know, then they wouldn't be Apple. My cat chewed through my power cord one fine morning, I was able to fix it but forget about coiling it up and throwing it in my laptop bag anymore. A new one is $70. That's nuts. Are there any quality third-party vendors? I'm guessing patents on the mag-safe connector means NO.

And it seems like the reaming is just getting worse.

--
Never let a lack of data get in the way of a good rant.
1. Re:Maybe if Apple didn't insist on reaming... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-13 05:14 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  ... My cat chewed through my power cord ... A new one is $70. ...
  $70 for a new cat is WAY too much
2. Re:Maybe if Apple didn't insist on reaming... by theskipper · 2016-12-13 05:55 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Agreed. Heck, Apple gave away Snow Leopard and Mountain Lion for free. And not to be outdone, Microsoft recently was begging folks to take their mangy alleycat that kept peeking into everyone's windows.
Warning! by Opportunist · 2016-12-13 05:06 · Score: 4, Insightful

Buying those counterfeit products could endanger our profit!

--
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
1. Re:Warning! by UnknowingFool · 2016-12-13 05:41 · Score: 2
  
  Buying those counterfeit products could endanger our profit!
  You do realize the only people hurt would be Apple customers right? They buy a crappy adapter; it fries their device. Will Apple replace the device? No as it would be clear that the customer used a 3rd party part.
  
  --
  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
2. Re:Warning! by UnknowingFool · 2016-12-13 06:56 · Score: 2
  
  Why is it Apple's responsibility that a customer used a part that didn't meet specifications? Can you sue Lenovo if your really cheap charger fries your Lenovo laptop?
  
  --
  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Yeah by Sebby · 2016-12-13 05:18 · Score: 3, Insightful

Those counterfeit adapters always have cables that keep fraying.
Oh wait.... those are Apple's own expensive adapters fraying...

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Breakdown of countefeit vs genuine by UnknowingFool · 2016-12-13 06:08 · Score: 3, Informative
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
--
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Re:The problem is not counterfeit adapters by UnknowingFool · 2016-12-13 06:48 · Score: 2

While the price of the adapters is high, your assumption that adapters is made of 75 cents worth of parts is laughable. There's a great deal of engineering that goes into a genuine Apple charger. The board alone costs more than 75c to manufacture.

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Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Re:Blame Apple for high prices. by guruevi · 2016-12-13 09:25 · Score: 2

A 60W DC-DC converter chip alone costs ~$10 and change in volumes of 100+ without the heat sink, coils, capacitors, wiring, casing, design, marketing, sales or profit.
If your power adapter costs $20 your charger most likely is based on a reference design which is not even halfway complete.

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Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com