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Apple Pledges Investigation After Chinese Woman Reportedly Electrocuted Using a Charging iPhone 5
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Haha this is funny! I believe its fake. Here are some technical facts:
1. Assuming she was using genuine iPhone with charger. iPhone uses USB like power supply. Max DC current it can provide is 2A @ 5V. According to facts min 5A DC is required to to cause electric shock.
2. Assuming it was fake USB charger connected to a 220V supply and got short circuited. Still she'll get a shock if the charger was connected with regular 4A AC socket. A minimum of 10A AC current is required to electrocute somebody, that usually comes in power supply meant for Air Conditioning / Water Geysers and they have separate sockets. Normal plugs can't be used with it.
3. A faulty capacitor can produce high amount of charge to cause electric shock. But DC devices generally don't need very high rating capacitors, unless you are making an arc reactor
ironman!
1. Assuming she was using genuine iPhone with charger. iPhone uses USB like power supply. Max DC current it can provide is 2A @ 5V. According to facts min 5A DC is required to to cause electric shock.
2. Assuming it was fake USB charger connected to a 220V supply and got short circuited. Still she'll get a shock if the charger was connected with regular 4A AC socket. A minimum of 10A AC current is required to electrocute somebody, that usually comes in power supply meant for Air Conditioning / Water Geysers and they have separate sockets. Normal plugs can't be used with it.
3. A faulty capacitor can produce high amount of charge to cause electric shock. But DC devices generally don't need very high rating capacitors, unless you are making an arc reactor
ironman! Voltage does not kills. It's the current!
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The knock off market in chargers is incredible. There was a programme in the UK that had some guy get shards of material a cm from his heart from an exploding charger.
I had a load of non-descript Led lamp adaptors that started making noises so binned them and bought name brand ones.
It's entirely possible the House electrics may not have been grounded... was she fiddling with the plug and touched the pins. we don't know.
Oh and yes there are some insensitive idiots on this forum.
I had a load of non-descript Led lamp adaptors that started making noises so binned them and bought name brand ones.
It's entirely possible the House electrics may not have been grounded... was she fiddling with the plug and touched the pins. we don't know.
Oh and yes there are some insensitive idiots on this forum.
This is just part of China's anti-Apple smear campaign. I would not be surprised if Apple found that no such person even existed.
And even if it did happen, a person has every right to drop dead, from whatever the cause, while they are handling an iPhone plugged into the wall. It doesn't mean they were electrocuted.
And even if it did happen, a person has every right to drop dead, from whatever the cause, while they are handling an iPhone plugged into the wall. It doesn't mean they were electrocuted.
Whats interesting, is that if the phone was energized with AC power enough to shock and kill this woman, how the hell was it still functioning? The thing should have fried 10 times over, and never ring in the first place...
I find this a bit sketchy...
I find this a bit sketchy...
This could be true, Samsung could have staged the whole thing. bumped someone off and left an iPhone and damaged plug beside them.
Another user quoted that CNN reported it was being used while in the shower. Well... common sense should have probably stepped in.
FryGate
Do you think I could return my iPhone 5 because of this?
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Wouldn't all electrics plugged in be dangerous to use in the shower?
Do you think I could return my iPhone 5 because of this?
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Wouldn't all electrics plugged in be dangerous to use in the shower?
Theres quite a few counterfeit "apple" chargers available in shops over here in the UK. Most of them are very dangerous and have exploded on a few people. I wonder if this was a counterfeit one too.
Very sad to loose a person from something as simple as charging a phone.
Very sad to loose a person from something as simple as charging a phone.
That children, is why you buy proper Apple chargers.
Sounds like nonsense anyway, how could any phone charger (Apple or otherwise) output enough power to actually kill someone? Will be interesting to see how this story develops.
Because it's a live wire connected to a live power outlet of 110 - 220v.
Ground loop
People should look into ground loops. Google it; it used to be more common in the days before 3-pronged plugs and sockets. In my house, if you touched the oven and the fridge at the same time, you'd get a nasty surprise.
It's possible (and perhaps even likely) that the Apple gear is 100%, but if she touched another device (lamp, TV) with a floating ground - especially with damp hands - then that could have been the cause.
Right now, if I touch my charging MacBook and my cheap dimming bedside lamp, I can feel a slight ground loop. There's nothing wrong with the MacBook or the charger - they're grounded well, and the house is wired correctly. It's the lamp that's the problem.
People should look into ground loops. Google it; it used to be more common in the days before 3-pronged plugs and sockets. In my house, if you touched the oven and the fridge at the same time, you'd get a nasty surprise.
It's possible (and perhaps even likely) that the Apple gear is 100%, but if she touched another device (lamp, TV) with a floating ground - especially with damp hands - then that could have been the cause.
Right now, if I touch my charging MacBook and my cheap dimming bedside lamp, I can feel a slight ground loop. There's nothing wrong with the MacBook or the charger - they're grounded well, and the house is wired correctly. It's the lamp that's the problem.
Not at all racist.
It would be racist to say "chinese people always use knockoff stuff". You could make it even worse by adding "because they're not as good as americans" or something like that.
But it is not racist to observe that 99% of knockoffs come from China, and that this happened in China. Therefore, it is possible that these were not genuine parts.
Well, looking at the number of iPhones or chargers made it is not impossible to have some faulty.
Whatever the circumstances, there is obviously a serious design flaw when a phone can kill someone. Apple should be ashamed of themselves for releasing such a dangerous product.
I'm certainly going to take extra care when using my iPhone in the shower from now on - especially when it's plugged in.
I'm certainly going to take extra care when using my iPhone in the shower from now on - especially when it's plugged in.
"...multiple significant issues between the device and electrical system or environmental factors such as the presence of water would generally be required for a dangerous incident to occur..."
Ya, I'm sure they won't tell you the part about how it was sitting on the counter in a puddle of water.
The incident occurred when she heard the phone ring WHILE IN THE SHOWER, and got out (or just reached out) to answer the phone. Why this wasn't clearly written in the MacRumors article is beyond me.
This smells of the lawsuit where someone is suing Apple because he surfed for porn and found it using Safari. OMG!
Really? Then every manufacturer must be ashamed because any smartphone can do that it is faulty
I'm not usually one of those people who posts "olol this has to be fake" every time a bad piece of Apple news comes down the pipes. But...
...this is flat out weird. The only way an iPhone would have enough amperage to kill someone is if it was somehow pumping a nearly direct, unfettered flow of power from the AC. The USB block at the end would've been malfunctioning, which means it would've been smoking, which means that the wire between it and the phone should've been melting, which means the iPhone battery should've been exploding. It'd be the electrical equivalent of hooking up a fire hose to a flexy straw to a water balloon.
Reported 5 days ago by Le Matin (France) Samsung Galaxy S3 explodes, gives owner third-degree burns
Too hot to handle.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 is today implicated in another one of those ‘exploding smartphone' stories, joining pretty much every generation of iPhone and earlier Galaxy S handsets in a fast-expanding club.
Today’s report comes from Swiss teenager Fanny Schlatter, who claims to have suffered third-degree burns after the Samsung Galaxy S3 exploded in her trouser pocket.
According to French-language newspaper Le Matin, Fanny was alerted to the situation by a loud bang and within seconds was fighting off shoulder-high flames from her combusting smartphone. Dramatic, no?
The 18-year-old, who claims that she now has no feeling in her thigh and said she smelled like a “burnt pig” during the accident, has announced plans to pursue legal action against Samsung.
Her complaint follows similar cases involving combusting Galaxy S3 phones from earlier this year.
Samsung has acknowledged the problem, which it’s thought related to phone’s battery, and has promised to carry out an investigation.
Too hot to handle.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 is today implicated in another one of those ‘exploding smartphone' stories, joining pretty much every generation of iPhone and earlier Galaxy S handsets in a fast-expanding club.
Today’s report comes from Swiss teenager Fanny Schlatter, who claims to have suffered third-degree burns after the Samsung Galaxy S3 exploded in her trouser pocket.
According to French-language newspaper Le Matin, Fanny was alerted to the situation by a loud bang and within seconds was fighting off shoulder-high flames from her combusting smartphone. Dramatic, no?
The 18-year-old, who claims that she now has no feeling in her thigh and said she smelled like a “burnt pig” during the accident, has announced plans to pursue legal action against Samsung.
Her complaint follows similar cases involving combusting Galaxy S3 phones from earlier this year.
Samsung has acknowledged the problem, which it’s thought related to phone’s battery, and has promised to carry out an investigation.
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Using a hairdryer while in the shower can cause serious injury also, its the nature of the beast with some products. Companies cant protect everyone from everything.