What’s inside a counterfeit Macbook charger? After my Macbook charger teardown, a reader sent me a charger he suspected was counterfeit. From the outside, this charger is almost a perfect match for an Apple charger, but disassembling the charger shows that it is very different on the inside. It has a much simpler design that lacks quality features of the genuine charger, and has major safety defects.
Fascinating article, and much like his teardown of a real MacBook charger, filled with interesting information. It also comes with a warning: don’t use counterfeit chargers. You may save a few euros, but it could easily cost you much more than that if things go bad.
I’ve had a few nasty experiences with counterfeit chargers for Toshiba and HP as well. Even some of the off-brand chargers which don’t claim to be originals have problems similar to this, though usually they’re a bit safer than the genuine counterfeits. Heh, now there’s an oxymoron for you. It’s a more lucrative market than one might at first think, especially since the price of new, genuine chargers looks astronomical if you don’t realize just how much goes into them.
Most ‘genuine’ non-Apple laptop chargers are simple generic OEM models (19V and 65/90W). They are completely interchangeable between brands and models as long as the barrel plug fits. The only reason they are so expensive is because of the manufacturers branding.
You can buy top quality 90W (often better than factory original) universal chargers for $20-30. They have a range of interchangeable tips for virtually any laptop.
They’re not as interchangeable as you seem to think, and off-brands do cause problems. By all means continue to believe what you will. Your Anicdotal evidence is no more or less valid than mine, however my experiences do not match yours at all. An off-brand that does work as well as the genuine has cost me just as much. The cheaper ones have either failed quickly or delivered improper current causing any number of problems from screen flickers to overheating. I’ve seen a few over the years that do work, but on balance the risk is not worth the extra money gained.
Every factory supplied (Dell, Acer, Toshiba etc) laptop charger is manufactured by an OEM supplier. [The manufacturers name is clearly printed on the charger label]. My Toshiba factory charger is made by Delta Electronics and my Acer factory charger is made by Liteon. Virtually all modern OEM chargers have identical standard outputs and are completely interchangeable apart from barrel plugs.
The real problem is cheap non-compliant chargers with fake certifications.
All manufacturers will soon move to USB-C so factory chargers will be completely interchangeable.
i’m glad that i own thinkpads instead of macbooks
25 euros for an original powersupply give me no reason to buy a fake one
Lucky you. Original Thinkpad chargers over here go for more than Apple, unless you deal with slightly dodgy retailers in which case you run the risk of a fake. Actually, here in the states, Apple chargers are on the lower price point compared to HP, Toshiba, etc. I’m sure it’s different in the Euro-zone though, especially with Apple.
where do you live?
i consider austria to be quite expensive