I have a weird hobby. I like to search eBay for iPhone cables that claim to be “Apple” or “Genuine”. There are many. The photos show the correct Apple packaging, but usually buried somewhere in the description it will say “box not included”.
So what did I learn from buying dozens of these cables? Spoilers: They’re bogus.
Before going any further, I need to clarify one thing: people who sell counterfeit cables do not benefit from my purchase. Not only do I report fakes to eBay, but I also work with the regulator to ensure that counterfeit cables and chargers are removed from sale.
Another point worth pointing out is that I don’t have a problem with cables sold by third parties. In fact, I am very supportive of buying cables from companies such as Anker and Amazon.
Counterfeit Apple Lightning cables fall into three categories:
- Inexpensive cables sold at high prices with the “Apple” branding on them
- Inexpensive cables
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Poor quality cables
Having purchased dozens of fake Apple Lightning cables, I have found that while many are just cheap cables that are nonetheless functional, there are others that are downright awful. Some don’t work, others stop working after a few days or weeks (usually due to a weakness in the connector end), and some are so bad they can damage your iPhone.
How do you know if a cable is counterfeit? Apple explains.
But there are many high quality third party cables. So rather than buying something cheap and potentially dangerous, look for something decent from a reputable manufacturer that is guaranteed.
The same is not true for microUSB and USB-C cables which are used to charge Android devices and almost everything in between. Yes, I’ve found some inexpensive ones that have the ends falling off or the cable stops working after a little rough handling, but overall the quality of these cheap cables is much better, in part because ‘There is a massive industry of manufacturing cheap charging cables of this type.
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Source : “ZDNet.com”
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