How to differentiate fake from real 18w usb c power adapter

can you tell if this is real?

From this picture I noted the shades of color of the base plate and casing, Apple Logo and the markings - I can conclude that this is genuine. The only thing missing here is the "touch and feel" quality which I cannot obviously tell.

Axel F.

It looks real, but a good counterfeit would reproduce all of that. These video teardowns are for older chargers, but they are quite illuminating:

2 counterfeit iPhone adapter video

Apple iPod chargers - fake versus genuine - YouTube

BTW, in the first link one of the chargers is obviously a counterfeit, but the other looks like a real Apple charger until a teardown shows that it is a counterfeit. Which is why you can’t really tell from the markings.

A good counterfeit cannot be distinguished externally from a “real” Apple device. The only way to be sure is to buy it from a reliable source. This isn’t to say that there are no easily identifiable counterfeits, only that a visible inspection isn’t proof either way. See this video, for example—>2 counterfeit iPhone adapter video. One of the chargers is obviously a counterfeit, but the other looks like a real Apple charger until a teardown shows that it is a counterfeit. Which is why you can’t really tell from the markings.

Lpena93 wrote:

Could be, or just a different or early model. If it works and charges your phone to about 50% in 30min, works just like a real one.

That’s a very dangerous assumption to make. Charging your phone does not prove that it isn’t physically dangerous to you if it doesn’t have proper input/output isolation, or that it won’t destroy the charger chip in the phone if its voltage regulation isn’t good. See the two teardown videos I posted above.

Use genuine cable --> Identify counterfeit or uncertified Lightning connector accessories ...

legit store bought.

Post a picture(s) of it. Maybe someone can look at it and try and validate for you.

Axel F.

That link addresses cables. He is asking about the 18w wall charger.

Good Point.

Axel F.

Saving a little money can result in a bag of hurt. The ONLY way to make sure a charger is genuine is to buy it directly from Apple or authorized Apple reseller like Best Buy for example.

This is fake adaptor because in real one there is no gap in gray and white part if you see it closely.

This is a legit one

Yours have the edge flushed perfectly to the back and no micro gaps unlike mine. Mines still could be fake.