Apple Pledges Investigation After Chinese Woman Reportedly Electrocuted Using a Charging iPhone 5

[Swift]

Awful

But something's fishy. An iPhone charger puts out 1 amp and 5 watts. Got to be a short, water, something that gave her a shock from the wall.

 

[sguyx]

Same time in Finland:
http://www.iltasanomat.fi/kotimaa/art-1288582526949.html

13 years old boy got to a hospital over night because the iphone 5 charger flamed. The boy got electric shock and got burn on his arm.

On the picture: Superintendent Jari Tuomi from TUKES is showing the apple iphone 5 charger.

Finnish Safety and Chemical Agency (TUKES) is now investigating the charger.
www.tukes.fi/en/

 

[aaxxiiss]

Same time in Finland:
http://www.iltasanomat.fi/kotimaa/art-1288582526949.html

13 years old boy got to a hospital over night because the iphone 5 charger flamed. The boy got electric shock and got burn on his arm.

On the picture: Superintendent Jari Tuomi from TUKES is showing the apple iphone 5 charger.

Finnish Safety and Chemical Agency (TUKES) is now investigating the charger.
www.tukes.fi/en/

... and as mentioned some posts above, the boy was using genuine Apple charger.

 

[sguyx]

oh, the same post. Didnt see the earlier, quess i jump over the page or didnt read carefully... im using a tablet, maybe i jumped over the page 10...

 

[Hunster87]

Converted to dc.....

The Apple chargers are mini converters (switches AC to DC to charge the DC battery) DC cant shock you, maybe burn you a little if YOU short the positive to ground, but no way in hell they can shock you. Even if you put the wire in the bathtub, nothing will happen. If you dip your iPhone charger in a cup of water (while plugged in) and touch the water, nothing will happen. I call BOGUS STORY

 

[Tech198]

Must have been one hell of a shock....

I have a solution... Its a Chinese knock-off... . or the fact that the story is "sketchy" suggest, something else shocked which is more likely...

It amazes me everything BUT the main point is crystal clear.

 

[thechungster]

So just watched the HK news and it reported that it wasn't even an iPhone 5, but a 4. I believed it said the charger was a third party one too.

 

[Jaicen75]

Voltage does not kills. It's the current!

Well, that is only partially true ... on a AC voltage source, you will never get harmed unless V > 50V, or V>120V on a DC source, whatever the current is. The reason is simple : U = RI, U is fixed, R is fixed (your body natural resistance, around 3500 ohm), then I, the current that actually goes throughout your body, is known and below any dangerous threshold.

--> With only 12V, you will NEVER get even close to shocked, provided you only touch it with your dry body) : even a car battery is NOT dangerous if you grab it with your dry hands (and ONLY your dry hands, so the real resistance is your body's).

Don't get close to current sources though, as they will adapt the output voltage to the resistance and the current required --> a simple 1A current source will kill you in less than few seconds.

Current kills, indeed, but only if above a certain voltage
Sources : "Extra-low Voltage", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extra-low_voltage

----------

DC cant shock you

DC can kill you ...

 

[FirstNTenderbit]

Looks like you missed the point.

I answered to a poster who put SAMSUNG into the thread to show that this is an issue that other manufacturers seem to have too.

Since everybody likes to attack Apple for anything without even knowing facts and details and it never gets reported with the same attack style people use for Apple.

There was no point to miss. Bolded: People should really stop with the "woe is Apple", nobody elses issues gets reported. It's complete BS. As with any news, where you get it usually determines what you get. If you focus on Apple-centric sites you're going to get Apple news, both good and bad.

To directly address your point I did a quick Google search of: samsung phones catch fire. 2.56 million results - granted, some more relevant than others but it completely contradicts your assertion that only Apple gets reported. Attack style? If you want to find out about other company's woes all you have to do is look. It ain't hard to find.

"“It was just another day at work for the 18 year old Swiss Fanny Schlatter, when all of a sudden she heard an explosion and could smell something funny,” Newlaunches reports.
“To her horror her cellphone, a Samsung Galaxy S3 had exploded in her pants and had caught fire,” Newlaunches reports. “The flames were high enough to reach her shoulder, fortunately the young Swiss woman’s life was spared by her boss’s timely action who ripped her pants.”

Newlaunches reports, “Fanny survived the horrendous ordeal with second and third degree burns to her thigh.”


Read more at http://macdailynews.com/2013/07/08/...ausing-third-degree-burn/#Z1TJL55m0x37vPYF.99 "

Let me back up. Let's say every phone has this exact same problem. When the woman was reportedly electrocuted charging her iPhone, what's the relevancy of mentioning Samsung, HTC, Motorola,BB or any phone maker? It's still deflection.

 

[Thunderhawks]

There was no point to miss. Bolded: People should really stop with the "woe is Apple", nobody elses issues gets reported. It's complete BS. As with any news, where you get it usually determines what you get. If you focus on Apple-centric sites you're going to get Apple news, both good and bad.

To directly address your point I did a quick Google search of: samsung phones catch fire. 2.56 million results - granted, some more relevant than others but it completely contradicts your assertion that only Apple gets reported. Attack style? If you want to find out about other company's woes all you have to do is look. It ain't hard to find.

"“It was just another day at work for the 18 year old Swiss Fanny Schlatter, when all of a sudden she heard an explosion and could smell something funny,” Newlaunches reports.
“To her horror her cellphone, a Samsung Galaxy S3 had exploded in her pants and had caught fire,” Newlaunches reports. “The flames were high enough to reach her shoulder, fortunately the young Swiss woman’s life was spared by her boss’s timely action who ripped her pants.”

Newlaunches reports, “Fanny survived the horrendous ordeal with second and third degree burns to her thigh.”


Read more at http://macdailynews.com/2013/07/08/...ausing-third-degree-burn/#Z1TJL55m0x37vPYF.99 "

Let me back up. Let's say every phone has this exact same problem. When the woman was reportedly electrocuted charging her iPhone, what's the relevancy of mentioning Samsung, HTC, Motorola,BB or any phone maker? It's still deflection.

You are still missing the point why I posted the Samsung report.

Another poster mentioned Samsung.

So, I answered and showed that it's an issue not only Apple has.

I am far from "Apple can do no wrong", but clearly it is easier to get extensive publicity to report something involving Apple than other manufacturers.

And, the press (for that matter posters here too) loooove to give things a negative look, many times not waiting for facts.

I remember some time ago a Dallas Cowboy player was put through the wringer in the media for cocaine usage, alleged sex in motels etc.

The press had a field day reporting it every day until it turned out the guy was innocent.

He then said during a press conference that he would like the press to report his innocence with the same abandon and power they were trashing him with before.

Never happened (Surprise?)

Same will happen here. After the facts come out and if it's true she was in the shower or had a counterfeit charger, we will maybe get a blurb , one liner etc.

 

[Tanegashima]

So much fail in one post

I want a Big Mac, small Coke, chips, salt and no ketchup, please.

Since when?

P = I V = I^2 R = V^2/R

but P ≠ V I^2

and it is possible the whole iPhone was at mains voltage due to a short in the suppy, and it would not itself have 'known'


And lets not start the Tesla vs Edison argument of AC vs DC dangers

Thanks, I was thinking of R*I^2, so I wronged.

 

[blueroom]

Did you read about the charger-accident in Finland (please see couple posts above)? In that case, the boy was using genuine Apple-made charger which flamed up while charging and caused electrick shock and burning injuries to the boy. Finnish authorites are investigating the case.

I don't read Finnish, and Google translate may be inaccurate but it mentioned they're investigating the cause. Sure these things can happen, they happen every day. I've seen exploded electrolytic caps, tantalums on fire, melted bits and magic smoke.

PS that Finnish charger is very funky looking, seems to stick out a mile from the wall. Nothing like the wee cube ones.

 

[bassfingers]

This is absolutely racist, there's no third-party parts sold in the US? Wake up! Search Amazon.com / eBay, you will get whole bunch of third-party parts there. Yes, most of the third-party parts are made in China, but don't forget the genuine Apple products are also made in China, because labor cost is cheaper there.

I live in China, non of my friends are using non-genuine chargers, I can't find a reason to do so. When you buy an iPhone, it comes with a genuine charger.

Good grief. I could very well be incorrect, but its just not racist.

Is it racist to anticipate wine to be good in Italy? Is it racist to not use a credit card in Romania because identity theft is high in that country? Is it racist to expect fruit to be fresh during different seasons in South America? Is it racist to delete emails from Nigeria? What if I said "I bet flowers in Holland smell really great"?

In America, fish is commonly mislabeled. Hypothetically, if I eat mislabeled fish and have an allergic reaction, you must consider it racist for my doctor to suggest "perhaps the fish was mislabeled. That happens a lot in America". But surely you don't.

If I insisted that a Chinese lady probably used a fake product simply because she's Chinese, that would be racist. But to suggest it because she's simply in China, where its reasonable to expect those products to be available, is just simple guess.

People need to calm down. These hypersensitive politically correct nonsense is exhausting

 

[PracticalMac]

The details of this news are not entirely accurate. I would like to give you some update since I could read Chinese....

1. This was a true event, not some news satire or anti-Apple smear campaign somebody mentioned before;
2. It's iPhone 4 not 5.
3. She bought it from Hong Kong with original (legit) British standard AC power plugs charger and a convertor to use on Chinese sockets.
4. When she found dead, the phone was plugged in charging.
5. She was not taking a shower.
6. The charger and cable were still good after the tragedy. Phone showed sign of burning but was still functioning.

Thanks.

How many 100's of MILLIONS of 30 pin iDevices are made? makes for an incredibly unusual accident.

edit: I just looked it up, and I'm wrong. I assumed anything approaching 1 amp was fatal, but 500 milliamps is well over twice the amount of amperage required to drop you dead. You can die from a current as low as 100mA, and anything over 200mA is almost guaranteed fatal.

100mA can, IF, IF discharged very close to the heart.

I have been zapped by 12v, 24v, 110v, and 220v power, the latter 2 in the 15 Amp range, am still alive (did hurt, and was on dry land with poor conductivity. Could be more serious so I happy it was not)
They where accidental, and many times I was being careful, but even high volt, high amp does not have to be fatal.

 

[Liquorpuki]

I want a Big Mac, small Coke, chips, salt and no ketchup, please.

No, you might get diabetes

Thanks, I was thinking of R*I^2, so I wronged.

You wronged all over the place

 

[danakm]

For whatever's worth, some years ago, my PowerBook G4's charger burst into flames out of the blue. I heard a "tud" and when I looked it was no longer all white, but grey/black in parts. It didn't start a fire or anything like it, but there was a small flame running along the cable.

No idea to this day of what might have caused it. And yes, it was an original one that came with the laptop and I bought directly from Apple in a US Apple Store.

Just saying, **** can happen even with original stuff

 

[Big-TDI-Guy]

Zero? An electric arc (aka "spark") in case of thunder doesn't come from a wire, do you know where it comes? Do you realize how big they are to store that kind of energy?

The point I was making, you missed entirely. You said the wires were too thin to injure even an infant - obviously lightening has a lot more energy - BUT - it has no wire whatsoever - and can still kill people. Your thinking the wires in a USB cable or the transformer being too thin to cause bodily harm or death is WRONG - flat out WRONG. And shows how little you truly know. That charger (assuming it's USB2 standard - as we don't know exactly what model it is) puts out 0.5 AMPS. As little as 0.1 AMPS will kill someone. Here's one source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_shock How about you show me a source claiming those wires being too thin to cause harm. Because I've never seen that claim by anyone - but you.


I googled, problem? Anything to do not with overheating?

I have no idea what those sentences mean or refer to. Seriously.


A transformer (in case of a SMPS, a 1:1 transformer, usually) is connected to the plug.

A transformer isolates two circuits, the connection between the wall outlet and the PCB is made magnetically, that's what a transformer does.

Anyway, the copper wires are so tiny in the transformer, it can't pass much current, because it acts as a fuse.

Once again - you claim it's impossible for this to pass enough current to kill someone, 100ma worth - yet somehow - magically - it IS able to pass 500ma or more - to charge the phone connected to it. Simply, amazing. How is that possible? Please, cite a source or reference backing that claim up.

But that's if you charge a great load of volts and discharge them fast.

Do you not understand the conditions for power transfer? If you have a high voltage potential - you tend to discharge faster, as the dynamic resistance of the load - will be lower. Besides - that's of no consequence - my point was that DC can, and does kill. 500 volts DC is no safer than 500 volts AC. Ohms law applies to both AC and DC equally - so how do you believe one can shock someone, while the other cannot?

A capacitor that size even won't fit inside a iPhone charger.

I never - NOT ONCE - claimed it was a capacitor in this iPhone charger that caused the death here. Again, I was stating how DC voltages can also be dangerous.

Power(W) = tension(V) * current(A)^2

I'm containing myself to don't call you stupid.

I have a better idea - how about you prove it - show me - how I'm wrong. I want to see some sources and math to back it up.


That's nice. Pics or it didn't happen.

https://rpop.iaea.org/RPOP/RPoP/Content/InformationFor/HealthProfessionals/2_Radiotherapy/pcopoozc57313.jpg
There's your pic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megavoltage_X-rays
There's a source backing it.


A truck battery can't discharge sufficiently fast to have enough power to kill a man. A truck battery won't make an electrical arc because the voltage it's too low. And it's DC.

Idiotic statement. Can't discharge sufficiently fast? So - 0.100 Amps can cause death (this has been proven) - and truck batteries that are RATED IN CRANKING AMPS - that can be well in to the THOUSANDS OF AMPS - can't discharge sufficiently fast? I didn't say anything about an electrical arc - by the way - they can and DO arc - even with low voltages. Look at this, type "truck battery arcing" into Google - and I get 1.7 million hits.


Thank you caption obvious. Water doesn't do anything unless connects one end to the other end.

So, I stated that I was holding both buss bars - as in - I was connecting one end to the other end. With wet hands, and nothing happened. Your comprehension skills are beyond failure.

Have some pictures: https://www.google.com/search?q=bat...ZOx4AOkv4Aw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1077&bih=1051

Here's a definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buss_bar



Yes, humans aren't perfect conductors, in fact, human skin is a good isolator.

SOMETIMES - again, failure to comprehend that I was pointing out. In some scenarios we're poor conductors - but in others - we're relatively good. That there are no hard or absolute conditions dictating how much electricity we conduct.

So please reply with some actual facts, backed up by sources.

 

[Raytech]

Current

Thanks.

How many 100's of MILLIONS of 30 pin iDevices are made? makes for an incredibly unusual accident.



100mA can, IF, IF discharged very close to the heart.

I have been zapped by 12v, 24v, 110v, and 220v power, the latter 2 in the 15 Amp range, am still alive (did hurt, and was on dry land with poor conductivity. Could be more serious so I happy it was not)
They where accidental, and many times I was being careful, but even high volt, high amp does not have to be fatal.

You most certainly didn't pull 15 amps when you were shocked that would have cooked the path it took if it were. There are many factors in play when it comes to electric shock vs electrocution. The path the current takes is the most important. Old time electricians use to touch a mains hot wire with an index finger while touching the return with the middle finger (same hand) to test if it was live. If it was they usually got a painful shock but no perm infant damage. Now if they did that with both hands the current path would pass across the heart and probably stop it. Don"t try this at home but you can grab a hot wire 110 volts from a 15 amp outlet and as long as your not touching a return path like a water pipe or standing in water you won't feel a thing. I once had to trouble shoot a large color display CRT and the scope probe in my hand came in contact with the 23,000 volt fly back. I didn't notice it until I heard a loud fast snapping noise. I looked down at my arm a saw a 3 inch arch jumping from my elbow to the metal frame. The high voltage low current traveled the length of my forearm but didn't do any damage other than a small burn where it left my elbow. I've been shocked so many times I lost count and were always because of carelessness or complacent. But the absolute worst shock I ever got was from the static charge on a 20 inch CRT. It knocked me back 10 feet into a wall and when I recovered had to be checked out at the local ER. Electricity is un predictable when it comes to a human resistor.
Oh and for the person that doesn't thing little 28 gauge wire can harm you. Try connecting one of your outlets to each end of an un frozen hot dog with 28 gauge wire and see what happens to the hotdog. Dinner is served.

 

[Conflagrare]

Unless you're in an upscale hotel with specially designed bathrooms or live in a country where this is common, I've never seen anyone's home (including my own) with a shower designed this way with drainage in the middle of the floor.

That just means you have never lived in a poor apartment in Asia where there is no space for a tub or shower.

Quick google:
http://kyliechan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/apt1_2.jpg

 

[HenryDJP]

That just means you have never lived in a poor apartment in Asia where there is no space for a tub or shower.

Quick google:
http://kyliechan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/apt1_2.jpg

You're right, I haven't, and after seeing that pic I never want to.

 

[benji888]

All this talk might be null once you know the whole story. ...I've seen this story posted elsewhere and what is here is only part of the story.

The woman answered the phone, while it was plugged into the wall charging, while she was in the shower.

A) Water is a high conductor of electricity, there is a very high chance of getting shocked/electrocuted while any cell phone is plugged in to the wall charging and answering it with water all over your hand and you're standing in the shower with water running all over your body. If you think DC current won't shock enough to kill, maybe, but, the water was likely running down the cord, down to the AC/DC converter, so, she likely got the full AC current. (Could you take the hairdryer in the shower with you and not get shocked?) (If you are thinking that the outside of the phone wouldn't be connected to the power, think again, the water will get into the phone via the openings for mics, headphone, around the connector and around the buttons...water has a high conductivity, electricity can travel easily to the person through the water. In fact, electricity is "attracted" to water and can jump. ("Jump? You say?" ...Think spark plug). Haven't you ever been told not to be near water when there is lightning?)

B) If you are in doubt about A): It is well known that you don't have to touch something to get a shock, just be in close proximity (ever see this with static electricity?).

C) Perhaps this is their first cell phone, or their first time charging/answering while in shower. (You could possibly answer a land line phone in the shower and maybe not get shocked.)

D) This is one reason the apple cable is so short, building code in the US makes it so that there isn't an outlet next to the shower/bath, but, other countries, who knows?

E) I apologize for my first statement sounding rude, I did not realize the person was not shocked, but electrocuted, which means, they died.

F) So, maybe don't be charging your phone in the bathroom, people.

 

[loon3y]

do you guys know how dangerous the power strips in china are? i feel like im going to electrocuted everytime i pull out a plug.

aint nothing wrong with apple. its the chinese power strips, lmao at this woman trying to get a couple of bucks

typical

 

[Oletros]

do you guys know how dangerous the power strips in china are? i feel like im going to electrocuted everytime i pull out a plug.

aint nothing wrong with apple. its the chinese power strips, lmao at this woman trying to get a couple of bucks

typical

Poor finnish boy with his Chinese plugs

 

[SILen(e]

Poor finnish boy with his Chinese plugs

Chargers can catch fire, both original ones but also counterfeit or cheap ones.

Just search for "COMPANY NAME charger caught fire" and you will find a number of instances that some charger caught fire.

The likelihood of something like that happening increases with improper use of the charger (like pulling on the cord and damaging it, using it in a way that the heat can't dissipate from it (having a blanket lie on top of it and many other ways) and counterfeit chargers are just made to look like original ones from the outside, often with no way to find out who manufactured it.
No need to follow safety regulations if nobody can find out who to sue if something happened.



The cases of the dead woman in China and the boy in Finland have nothing in common, the second one is a very uncommon case, but nothing that hasn't happened with chargers from every company before.

The first one has too many unanswered questions.
1. She was using an iPhone 4 instead of an iPhone 5 - but there have been millions of iPhone 4 sold - if this was something that was caused by a defect in the iPhone or charger - it would have happened in 2010 or 2011, not 2013.
2. If she was using, as someone had mentioned, a converter to use an original british (Hong Kong) charger with a chinese socket - what part did the converter play in this?

I was looking for a EU->UK converter last year and ALL of the converters i found in a big German store (think "Best Buy" and you understand that i don't mean no cheap shop selling imported electronics) looked like something you wouldn't want to plug into a 220V socket for fear of electrocution.

Seems plausible that the converter was badly designed and was one of the causes for this, especially considering that the iPhone was still working after the woman died.

There's no way an iPhone would still be working if it had been exposed to 220V.

 

[SPUY767]

No problem touching the prongs, because as long as you can touch them, they can't be deep enough in the wall to connect to high voltage.

Did you read the part where I've done if once or twice? The voltage doesn't get higher the further you plug it in.

----------

Depends on the voltage. Someone puts 120V on an extremity and your heart is between that extremity and ground, you could die

True, but in most home electrical circumstances, the ground is going to be about an inch away from the hot.

----------

do you guys know how dangerous the power strips in china are? i feel like im going to electrocuted everytime i pull out a plug.

aint nothing wrong with apple. its the chinese power strips, lmao at this woman trying to get a couple of bucks

typical

Did you read the part where she's dead? I don't think she's trying to ruse Apple into a big settlement.