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12W Charger

Hi! Today I bought a second-hand 12W charger and I think it isn’t original.

Is it fake? It will damage my battery if I charge my iPhone with him?

iPhone XS, iOS 12

Posted on Jul 22, 2019 5:14 AM

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Posted on Jul 22, 2019 11:10 AM

I made a search, and I found how an original 12W charger should look like. Mine doesn’t look like this. That’s why I think it is fake. The Apple logo doesn’t appear anywhere.

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Jul 22, 2019 11:27 AM in response to George_Nitoi

It's really hard to tell a good counterfeit from the real thing, as can be seen in the videos I posted. The labeling of real adapters will be slightly different depending on the market the device is made for. However, the labeling on the first image you posted is identical to the 12W adapter that came with my iPad. The one in this post does NOT match the genuine Apple adapter that I have.


If you have any doubts, though, don't use it. There are many good quality USB power adapters around. And even buying directly from Apple is not that expensive. But you are safe with Incase, Mophie, Anker, Griffin, etc.

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Jul 22, 2019 7:53 AM in response to George_Nitoi

Why do you think its fake?


Flextronics is one of Apple subcontractors that make and assemble the chargers. They are assembled in China.

https://www.idownloadblog.com/2014/02/14/flextronics-made-in-usa-mac/


So there's nothing out of the ordinary in that charger.

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Jul 22, 2019 9:06 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

no, not unless they raise the volt level continually or in spikes


charging is pretty simply it follows ohm law

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohm%27s_law


the resistance is set by what the iOS device is developed to max pull in terms of charging current

the current of the charger is how much it's able to supply before it needs to lower the volts

the volts is the only factor, if it's too high it will roast the device

if it's too low the device will not charge at all


analogue recharging is pretty basic

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Jul 22, 2019 9:17 AM in response to Rudegar

What you are missing is how the voltage gets converted from the 100-240 VAC to 5 VDC. I really suggest you watch those videos for an in-depth analysis. The most important factor is that the 5V DC output should not be connected on either side, plus or minus, to the incoming line voltage. If it does (in at least one of the devices in the video) it can kill you. The next factor is how "clean" the 5V is. That is, does it have an AC component, varying voltage, or spikes, which can destroy the U2/Tristar regulator chip in the phone. Beyond that how good is the insulation, that might break down in the future and again pass line voltage directly to the output.


There has been at least one death reported from a counterfeit charger, someone who was using their phone in a bathtub while plugged in. She dropped the phone in the water; while stupid, it should not be fatal. The worst that should happen is that the phone stopped working. But because the charger did not have incoming line isolation 240 volts killed her.

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Jul 22, 2019 11:52 AM in response to George_Nitoi

You need a voltmeter, or better yet, a USB power meter like https://www.amazon.com/DROK-Multimeter-Multifunctional-Electrical-Capacity/dp/B00J3JSEG6/.


But I'm not concerned about the voltage, which I'm sure must be right. I'm concerned about input to output isolation and how "clean" the 5 volt signal is. You would need an oscilloscope to check that. That is, no spikes, no drops, no AC passthrough. Please review the videos I posted where you can see how all of these measurements are done.

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12W Charger

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