Not including chargers is potentially dangerous

[EnthalpiousKitten]

So I'm a bit late to the discussion of this new "no charger in the box" garbage of a trend that has been on for a while now... Now while many of us, me included, often prefer using decent 3rd party accessories over the included stuff, many people just want to get a phone and use it as it comes. Now if you don't include a charger that is compatible with the device AND capable of providing the advertised charging speeds, you open up a whole level of danger for less tech savvy users who don't really have a "feel". let alone the technical knowledge, for buying good chargers. At best, this can end with a charger that is lousy and slow but otherwise harmless, and on the worst end can be potentially dangerous. Most people will just search up "<phone mode> charger <whatever wattage/standard the phone manufacturer calls for>" and pick the cheapest with good reviews. While often you can find some sweet deals for reasonable prices from decent brands, more often than not you can run into stuff that looks shiny and luxurious on the outside but is a whole different story on the inside. I've personally take apart badly made chargers before, and have watched countless videos on the matter. Everything from the lacquer in transformers and/or a 1mm (or even less) gap being the only thing between you and mains voltage, all the way to the interference suppression capacitor between the primary and secondary not being a safe-failing class Y1 capacitor (regular non-safety capacitors fail short circuit and are deadly for this usage). Not to mention overall quality of the components and power output being absolute trash on cheap chargers. Including phone chargers significantly reduces the chance of average joe getting something that is a fire/electrocution risk since they will just use that charger instead of being forced to buy a third party one.

Below links speak for themselves:

Click here for DiodeGoneWild's dangerous USB charger videos

Click here for HKJ's USB charger safety/performance tests

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

Especially super cheap chargers off ebay or Amazon or (gulp!) Wish. Some of these fakes are so dangerous and cause house fires or electrocutions. I do think this new trend is going to end badly and possibly with lawsuits against Apple and Samsung.

 

[EnthalpiousKitten]

Oh yeah. Especially with fake chargers that are near indistinguishable from OEM ones... Guess who gets the lawsuit... Things will get spicy.

 

[Morty2264]

I totally agree with you! As someone who does not know much about chargers, but will almost 100% use the phone that comes with the phone so it charges safely/as advertised, I too would fall victim to a potentially wonky, inefficient charger.

I still think manufacturers could advertise to buy a charger for a small fee with the box. Some of us may need it. At least offer it - that would at least cut down on production costs for those who won't get it.

 

[EnthalpiousKitten]

If you aren't sure what to get, just get from big brands like Belkin and Anker. Aukey is good too and quite a bit less expensive (I've looked at safety tests of some of their stuff, and also have a very good performing Type C charger I bought from them for my laptop power bank). When I do get something that is a bit on the cheaper end and from a lesser known brand, like my charging station, I will actually take it apart to inspect the build quality and some of the safety stuff. Turned out to be really really well made for the price and has taken some super heavy use for the 1.5 years I've owned it (and yeah, I worked this thing hard with tons of devices and multiple 18650 battery chargers). But yeah, not everyone is a nerd so most people end up getting cheap and deadly garbage. I can usually feel out any red flags in reviews, product pictures and descriptions, etc... before even making a purchase, but then again not everyone is a walking scam/lie/deception/sketchiness detector like me.

Not to mention, constantly reusing old phone chargers is not the best idea cause those do fail after many years of use. I've literally had phones that themselves outlived their stock charger.

 

[ptkelly]

I can't remember the last included charger I actually used. In part, because I live in Mexico and devices arrive with plugs for China, Yemen, France, and wherever. Right now I have a charger in the bedroom that charges my phone, my Kindle, and my Ticwatch. My Google Home Hub came with an odd plug but I ordered a charger from Amazon and it works just fine.

In my office area a charger chargers my chromebook and my phone. A separate charger, just because of space, charges my Kindles and a power strip with USB ports charges my watch.

For some, using electricity is dangerous. I find the title of this thread worthy of Al Gore or Dr. Fauci.

 

[L0n3N1nja]

Especially super cheap chargers off ebay or Amazon or (gulp!) Wish. Some of these fakes are so dangerous and cause house fires or electrocutions. I do think this new trend is going to end badly and possibly with lawsuits against Apple and Samsung.

$5 chargers at gas stations have been a problem for far too long.

 

[EnthalpiousKitten]

Oh and let's not forget the garbage my campus bookstore was selling. Back in fall 2019 I took one apart and it was horrid. Filled out the contact form to tell them what they were selling, and put up a PSA on the bulletin board across the hallway from said bookstore. Needless to say, the PSA stayed up for under 24h before someone took it down, and they stopped selling the charger for a little while only to go back to old habits again later.

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

Oh and let's not forget the garbage my campus bookstore was selling. Back in fall 2019 I took one apart and it was horrid. Filled out the contact form to tell them what they were selling, and put up a PSA on the bulletin board across the hallway from said bookstore. Needless to say, the PSA stayed up for under 24h before someone took it down, and they stopped selling the charger for a little while only to go back to old habits again later.

Not good. Report it to the university facilities services who rent the space to the bookshop

 

[Chuck Finley69]

If you aren't sure what to get, just get from big brands like Belkin and Anker. Aukey is good too and quite a bit less expensive (I've looked at safety tests of some of their stuff, and also have a very good performing Type C charger I bought from them for my laptop power bank). When I do get something that is a bit on the cheaper end and from a lesser known brand, like my charging station, I will actually take it apart to inspect the build quality and some of the safety stuff. Turned out to be really really well made for the price and has taken some super heavy use for the 1.5 years I've owned it (and yeah, I worked this thing hard with tons of devices and multiple 18650 battery chargers). But yeah, not everyone is a nerd so most people end up getting cheap and deadly garbage. I can usually feel out any red flags in reviews, product pictures and descriptions, etc... before even making a purchase, but then again not everyone is a walking scam/lie/deception/sketchiness detector like me.

Not to mention, constantly reusing old phone chargers is not the best idea cause those do fail after many years of use. I've literally had phones that themselves outlived their stock charger.

I'd caution against thinking large name brands are necessarily what they always seem. Only because of the amount of excellent counterfeiting going on too, I treat every charger as potentially unlucky defective. The aftermarket companies are sometimes unaware of complicity in various frauds.

 

[Morty2264]

If you aren't sure what to get, just get from big brands like Belkin and Anker.

I actually bought a Belkin charger last year as an extra charger for my husband and I to share. A sales rep had to recommend it to me (usually I don't like asking for their help lool). It ended up working well for us!

 

[ptkelly]

$5 chargers at gas stations have been a problem for far too long.

For fools, life is dangerous.

 

[merlin29]

New Phones should come with a dedicated charger, when i sell my phone's they have everything that came with it including the box, the new owner may not have a compatible one,
Third party chargers can be poor quality and
may not be compatible, just because Apple want to remove Chargers to save the planet,
Which is a marketing ploy just to appear concerned about the planet only a move to increase profits.

 

[ptkelly]

New Phones should come with a dedicated charger, when i sell my phone's they have everything that came with it including the box, the new owner may not have a compatible one,
Third party chargers can be poor quality and
may not be compatible, just because Apple want to remove Chargers to save the planet,
Which is a marketing ploy just to appear concerned about the planet only a move to increase profits.

When I pass my phone on to a relative it has the original box and everything else and the charger usually has never had it's plastic wrap removed. I certainly have to objection to manufacturers including a charger but to say not including a charger is dangerous is ridiculous. I came to phones late but I've owned quite a few and never once did I not have a compatible charger. Once, I didn't have a compatible cable and had to buy a USB-A to USB-C cable.