How to Identify Fake Duckhead Wall Adapter Counterfeit ??

I've not been able to find any official post that references any way of confirming which one is legit.

There is none.

Counterfeit product manufacturers have elevated their skill to a high art. It is nearly impossible to identify a fake. It's a significant problem that extends to all sorts of electronic components.

I would be less concerned about the duckhead than the power adapter. Genuine Apple power adapters incorporate a variety of fundamentally sound engineering principles designed to prevent property damage or personal injury that counterfeit adapters omit, often glaringly so. Those shortcuts cannot be seen without disassembling the power adapter, which destroys it.

neuroanatomist wrote:

I think the only way is to buy all your power accessories from Apple or Apple Authorized Resellers.

👍

OWC is a good source; they usually have them in bulk packaging.

I think the only way is to buy all your power accessories from Apple or Apple Authorized Resellers.

Having said that, there's a difference between a 3rd party power adapter and a counterfeit adapter. If the adapter brick has an Apple logo on it but was not made by Apple (or under their control), then it's counterfeit.

But if it's a 3rd party adapter not being passed off as an Apple product, it's not counterfeit. There are a bunch of them on Amazon, they cost far less than an Apple power supply. I still wouldn't use one, but they aren't illegal (whereas counterfeit products are).

Although all my power bricks are genuine Apple, I often connect my Macs to a dock (Stone Pro, Elgato) or directly to a monitor (Samsung 34" w/ Thunderbolt), and those provide power. So I'd say there's nothing really wrong with power from a 3rd party source, if you trust that source. Trust is why I buy from Apple.

Still, if it's really just the duckhead you bought (I don't think Apple even sells those as a part), I would not worry. They are no different than an extension cord or a wall-wart multi-outlet plug expander in that all they do is pass AC power directly through. No circuitry in them.

If you want a trusted source for a replacement part duckhead, check OWC.

I agree with @John Galt, but I would go even further and not even use the Apple duckhead adapters as they don't really hold up well either. I've seen a number of them with burn marks from arcing. I much prefer the Apple AC Cord which has the added benefits of actually being grounded and it also provides a much longer reach from the electrical outlet. Each region has their own version of the Apple AC cord available directly from Apple:

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK122LL/A/power-adapter-extension-cable

How do you know one is fake?

I have a bag of duckheads that aren't in use (I use the AC cords inside my cord-hide boxes for a better fit). All of my power adapters either came with a Mac or were bought directly from Apple. Here are 7 of them (some unused, some used frequently), they have quite a variation in markings.