EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown

Teardown Tuesday.
What is inside a fake clone A1265 Apple USB charger?
WARNING: These fakes and cheap no-name chargers are DANGEROUS. If you have one, throw it out and get a quality one.

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[bladedspokes]

No fuses? Excuse me? EVERYTHING is fusible, if you put enough current through it...

[EEVblog]

"Safe" is not just about the circuit, it's about the physical build and the component quality as well.

[jonathanmadison]

"I can't seem to lever this one open at all!" Yep, it's genuine Apple alright!

[ikonix]

Should send the junk like this to Photonicinduction. Let him crank it up until it pops.

[EEVblog]

It is illegal to sell this one in Australia even if it was genuine, as it does not have the insulation on the mains pins as required by our laws. The importer could get fined for that.

[brettefantomet]

CAUTION: For use with infor

mation technology equipment

[dlam]

Just received new 'Genuine Samsung' 2A USB charger from eBay, tested under 2A load using constant current load, charger exploded and tripped house sockets breaker within 10 minutes of test... LOL... now for the refund claim....

[maulerrw]

Too funny.

Almost scary that distance between the 240 and the usb shield. Entirely possible to get 240v straight onto your usb!

This is why 2 buck chargers on ebay are NOT a good idea.

Apply may be over priced, but simply because something can be sold for 2 bucks instead of 20 doesnt mean you should buy it.

[MartinVandepas]

Would have been interesting to test the voltage stability, ripple and HF noise of these and compare with a genuine apple power supply under various loads. Also would be fun to test the breakdown voltages.

[LambOfLucifer]

They were blatantly both fake, both has spelling errors on the back. Also a quick google image of a legit one would have been a give away. Still fun tearing them down tho.

[noise]

Also on the fake one, the prongs are crooked as heck.

[EEVblog]

Because I did not know it was a fake until I opened it, by which time it was too late to get one for Teardown Tuesday. I have to upload the video that night, regardless, or lots of angry people! And anyway, someone else had already done an excellent teardown and analysis of one which I mentioned and linked to.

[jovanjanevski]

I would love to see the original Apple charger.

[Komma]

Your videos are usually a bit over my head....
Here, you open the first charger and I went "Where's the bridge rectifier?" .... two seconds later you go "Uhhh, I don't even see a rectifier

Thank you for your hard work!. You really are teaching people about electronic design!

[EEVblog]

It's for RFI suppression, to meet EMC requirements etc, not screw up your product wiht RFI noise etc.

[roygalaasen]

The left one "For use with infor technology only". Apple would not split such a word over two lines and also forget the second half of the word lol...

[xenocide]

Great teardown link too! Glad you posted it.

Thanks for doing these videos, they've really helped me out as an engineering student who's just getting jobs in my field.

[HappyBeezerStudios]

The only thing amazing about them is how they manage the small space inside the casing.

[EEVblog]

Sorry, but that's all in your imagination I'm afraid. Please point out *specific* examples of how my teardown videos have dropped "quite a lot" in quality.

[EEVblog]

It was "apple branded"! But a genuine fake.