Apple announces a charger trade-in program for all third-party USB power adapters in the wake of recent accidents in China invloving counterfeit chargers.
Chances are, you can buy an inexpensive USB power adapter for your iOS device just about anywhere. Gas station, drug store, strip club. I have a sneaking suspicion that they’re not the official Apple-branded stuff. As long as it works and you’re devices are charged up, right?
Wrong
You might want to start sticking with Official Apple gear, especially when it comes to chargers and releated accessories, now there is a possibility that some third-party (read: counterfeit) chargers have been identified as the cause of one person dying and another landing in a coma for several days.
According to CNET, the first incident involves a 23-year old Chinese woman who was killed after she answered her iPhone that was allegedly connected to third-party USB Charger. The second incident put a Bejing man in a coma for days after he was shocked after plugging his iPhone into a third-party charger.
Of course, the above incidents doesn’t speak to all the companies who make third-party chargers for iOS devices, but you might want to go ahead pay your nearest Apple Retail Store a visit and trade-in your third-party USB charger for an Apple-branded version for $10 bucks, just to be safe. The third-party charger trade-in program doesn’t start until August 16th, so that should give you enough time to round up all the USB chargers laying around your house.
This was not mandatory to my knowledge, but it makes sense for Apple to get out in front of this to err on the side of caution and show that they care about the safety of their customers From the Official USB Power Adapter Takeback Program page:
“Customer safety is a top priority at Apple. That’s why all of our products — including USB power adapters for iPhone, iPad, and iPod — undergo rigorous testing for safety and reliability and are designed to meet government safety standards around the world.”
Smartmove, especially in today’s digital age where news can spread like wildfire. Better to plan ahead versus doing damage control after the fact.
Lesson learned, being cheap frugral may not always be a good thing.
2 replies on “Apple Announces Third-party Charger Trade-in Program – Being Cheap Could Just Get You Killed”
I’ve heard horror stories about those things. Not quite as severe as what you mentioned but definitely enough to stay away. I prefer to buy brand chargers simply because they tend to charge better. A brand charger may take two hours to fully charge a device but a third party has taken me up to five.
Good point man!