UL report claims that 99% of counterfeit iPhone chargers fail safety tests [pdf] | Hacker News Reader

UL report claims that 99% of counterfeit iPhone chargers fail safety tests [pdf]

library.ul.com

"An electric strength test determines how well the adapter is isolated from the electrical mains. The unit is stressed by applying high voltage between the input and the output side to see if or how much current will flow as a result. If the amount of current flowing is above a specified threshold, the unit is said to have insufficient isolation and is considered to have failed, and hence is judged unsafe with a significant potential for electric shock."

Does anyone know what is the "high voltage" that is applied, and what is the threshold for the current that is being tested?

The UL standard is E32068 which appears next to the UL mark on the adapters and the products are listed here: http://database.ul.com/cgi-bin/XYV/template/LISEXT/1FRAME/sh...

The general requirements are linked from the listing page: http://database.ul.com/cgi-bin/XYV/template/LISEXT/1FRAME/sh...

The loads are described in ANSI/UL standard 60950 which is incorporated by reference https://standardscatalog.ul.com/standards/en/standard_60950-...

Which is a round about way of saying that UL knows what it is doing and that the tests for certification are not something that some bureaucrat made up for bureaucratic purpose. Underwriter's Laboratories is a data driven organization that's roughly been data driven since a century before anyone heard of data driven organizations.

It researches safety based on the hazards that actually spark insurance claims. Everything from roofing (think resistance to hail and wind) to ...well iPhone chargers. It's research is the reason people rarely get electrified in their home (e.g. the National Electrical Code requires 'listed devices' and that means UL or a similar testing and certification agency).

Anyway, I hope the links let you geek out.

Awesome! Thanks Brudger(s)! :)

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