If you’re upgrading your iPhone in the next couple of months, we have an important warning about buying an extra charger or car charger for that phone.
But this year we have a new warning from Underwriters Labs about thousands of dangerous, counterfeit chargers for sale.
Katie Skerchock learned a frightening lesson about counterfeit phone chargers last fall.
"My alarm was going off Saturday morning, and like clockwork. I pulled the charger from my phone," she explains.
She dropped the cord and couldn’t believe what happened next.
"I just heard an explosion...and I stopped a second and was like what was that. And I look down and see the sparks."
Katie had been using a non-Apple charger. Last year, Underwriters Lab released a studyabout counterfeit apple iPhone adapters, essentially the cubes that plug into the wall and convert the power to charge your phone. Legitimate chargers costs 20 to 25 dollars each, while fakes can cost less than five dollars. Of 400 non Apple adapters they tested, the overall failure rate exceeded 99 percent. The report says all but three failed basic safety tests and were fire and shock hazards.
The Counterfeit Report, a consumer advocacy and industry watchdog purchased dozens of chargers on Amazon, eBay and AliExpress and the found all were counterfeit. Apple warns that many chargers sold on Amazon and eBay are indeed counterfeit, with some even stamping the apple logo on them!
Your best bet… purchase from an authorized apple dealer only.
