After
news came from China that a woman died when she allegedly answered a phone call from her iPhone 5 while the device was plugged charging the battery, Apple conducted an investigation that pointed towards a fake charger as the probable cause behind the fatality.
Following the results of the investigation, Apple has decided to start a
USB Power Takeback Program to avoid future issues as a recent report has suggested that: “some counterfeit and third party adapters may not be designed properly and could result in safety issues."
Beginning on August 16, customers will be able to trade in any third-party counterfeit adapter for an official Apple adapter at a reduced cost of $10. It will be a limited-time offer that will end in October 18 and it will require to turn in the old adapter and to physically show the iPhone, iPad or Ipod to an
authorized service provider for “serial number validation.” This is a savings of 50% from their usual retail price of $19.99
Apple has always bragged about their high quality standards, and about their
official power adapters they ensure that “undergo rigorous testing for safety and reliability and are designed to meet government safety standards around the world."
After the China case, a few different safety concerns have raised around the world about phones from Apple and Samsung
smoking, sparkling, catching fire and
even exploding after being plugged to non-official chargers.
