A new study points to the dangerousness of low-end smartphone chargers sold on the market.
When it comes to charging efficiency, not all smartphone chargers sold commercially and on the internet are created equal. But beware, when it comes to the safety of their users either.
This is highlighted by an analysis and case studies published in Annals of Emergency Medicine.
Electric charge and burns at 2and degree
According to the authors of this new work, the electrical currents generated by mobile phone chargers, and in particular manufacturers of cheaper generics, can cause serious injuries. This is because these cheaper smartphone chargers are less likely to pass established safety and quality tests than their branded counterparts.
“Generic phone chargers can cause burns or electrocution,” said Carissa Bunke, a resident pediatrician at the University of Michigan’s CS Mott Children’s Hospital and lead author of the study. “Adolescent girls and boys are at particular risk of injury due to their frequent use of mobile devices. They should be advised not to sleep with their phones or mobile devices charging near the bed and to avoid leaving charger plugged in when not connected to a phone.”
The case studies made by the authors of this work thus report a patient thrown from his bed by the force of the electric current generated by the charger. A 19-year-old girl suffered second-degree burns when the end of her low-cost charger touched her collar and transmitted an electric current.
A failure of the insulating barrier
How to explain the lack of reliability and the dangerousness of these chargers? For researchers, it is because they do not meet safety standards. They are based on a study conducted by Electrical Safety First in the UK, in which the Apple brand provided 64 generic chargers for safety testing. It turned out that 58% of these generic chargers failed the electrical resistance test, indicating a failure of the insulating barrier.
Another test cited in the analysis evaluated 400 generic iPhone chargers for electric shock safety risks. 22 of these samples were immediately damaged during the testing process and only three of them passed an electrical resistance test, a failure rate of 99%. “Even with a low-voltage device, if the current is high, the electric shock can be severe,” warns Dr Bunke.
How to avoid injuries from chargers?
To avoid any risk of injury or burns, the safest thing to do is to turn to the brands of smartphone manufacturers (Apple, Samsung, Google, Sony, Motorola, Huawei, etc.) who all market chargers that meet European standards (marking ” CE” for “European conformity”) and French (NF).
If you prefer to buy a generic brand charger, prefer authorized French dealers and make sure that the model you want meets French and European safety standards.
Finally, as specified by the authors of the study, avoid sleeping with your phone near you and always unplug the charger when it is not connected to your mobile.
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