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Charging iphone safely

D

dajjorg

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 28, 2014
19
0
Hi all, super basic question from a super, super basic user (still rocking an iphone SE original in 2021... yeah, that basic).

So as I understand it, buying an Apple original or Apple Certified MIFI charging cable is really important in maintaining a healthy battery. Does the USB wall charger matter as well? From my hasty research, it seems only cables are MIFI-certified, not wall chargers, which makes me think that it's only the cable that matters when it comes to maintaining a healthy battery...

THANKS!
 
Wall chargers are important too. You just want something which can safely handle the load. Plus something you are confident is really UL certified. So get an Anker.
 
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So, everyone will point to using MFI chargers and cables and I agree with this. Don't buy and use non-MFI charging stuff off of ebay or Amazon for example.

However, I've noticed better performance (phone gets less hot, wall outlet brick isn't lava hot, battery degradation is almost non-existent and also it being super quiet) is all found on Apple's own Lightning cables and Apple's own 20W charging brick. I don't know why (I guess it seems obvious) but going full OEM works absolutely perfectly with the iPhone.

I've used the Anker nano 20W or whatever it was and I returned it in a week because it made an audible low frequency "whine" and the actual brick got piping hot. Like uncomfortable to hold in the hand hot. I said screw it and paid up the money and got all Apple everything. Got the 6ft Lightning to USB-C cable instead since it's a little beefier and better constructed than the one that comes in the iPhone box IMO.

I've had it for about 6 months so far and I'm absolutely loving it. iPhone charges super fast, just gets slightly warm and not hot and my battery is still at 100%. From now on I'm going only OEM cables and chargers for this thing--I've learned my lesson with Anker cables too where they just stopped working for no reason.
 
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@Motionblurrr Maybe I'll consider the extra $$ to purchase an apple charger.

Curious: Are you still rocking an iphone 4?! Like manually replacing the parts to keep it current? Or was that your first iphone?...
 
dajjorg said:
@Motionblurrr Maybe I'll consider the extra $$ to purchase an apple charger.

Curious: Are you still rocking an iphone 4?! Like manually replacing the parts to keep it current? Or was that your first iphone?...
Click to expand...
I was using my old iPad 10W charger for almost a whole decade to charge my iPhones but I really wanted to upgrade my charging gear to take advantage of actual fast charging. Once I saw Apple dropped the price and sold the 20W wall charger for $19, it was a no brainer for me.

Hahaha no, I never updated my signature since then. People used to put the Apple gear in their signatures back then because it was the cool thing to do at the time and I find it funny, so I keep it in there as a relic of the times :p This was when people camped out for Apple devices! Good times...
 
WildSky said:
UL is short for Underwriters' Laboratory. If you want a huge amount of detail about the certification process, you can read more here: https://www.ul.com/services/certification/product-certification.
Click to expand...

So correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that whereas MFI (mispelled MIFI in my original post) is a certification issued by Apple for 3rd party chargers, UL is third party tester/certifier of various electronics, not just 3rd party Apple products.

And there are plenty of UL-certified wall chargers with a distinct UL logo?

I live in Europe, might make it harder to come across something UL-certified...
 
@Motionblurrr Good 'ole nostalgia...

Was that a stupid question? Is it even physically possible to manually update iPhone parts, like in the same way one can buy a PC and continuously update its parts?
 
dajjorg said:
So correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that whereas MFI (mispelled MIFI in my original post) is a certification issued by Apple for 3rd party chargers, UL is third party tester/certifier of various electronics, not just 3rd party Apple products.

And there are plenty of UL-certified wall chargers with a distinct UL logo?

I live in Europe, might make it harder to come across something UL-certified...
Click to expand...
Well, I couldn't speak to what the certification is in Europe, but I hope someone will chime in to help answer your questions.
 
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@Motionblurrr

Yeah, my desire to buy a non-Apple wall charger actually has little to do with price. I have a space where it would really help to have a charger that has the USB port at a 90 degree angle from the wall, like such:

charger.jpg



And they all seem to be garbage, or designed for Samsumg...
 
After trying so many brands of chargers and cables i went back to using Apple’s Official cable and charger. Works flawlessly well with no issues. With 3rd party charger/cable my 12 Pro Max often gets hot or please unlock iPhone to use this accessory notification.
 
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It should be noted that Apple's MFi program is to assure accessory compatibility with its products, not safety.

Connectors, controllers, AirPlay, and that type of thing. HomeKit has its own branding, but also falls under the MFi program.

Notably absent are power adapters, which are governed by industry, and regulatory safety standards, and certified by accredited testing laboratories such as UL, CSA, TÜV, Intertek, and others, who also administer testing for areas outside of electrical equipment.

The symbols of these organizations will appear on certified products as part of the fine print, and are known as safety marks. For some products, the registration numbers will also be displayed, and can be verified against the organization's registry database.

That can be important because safety marks can, and are faked, irrelevant, or improperly applied to a product that isn't designed or tested according to standards.

A good example of the latter is the FCC mark, which is applied to a lot of products where isn't applicable.

The FCC is charged with regulating the radio frequency spectrum, and its use, not electrical safety. It is not concerned with whether that cheap adapter will fry you or your device with unsafe voltages, overheat, or catch fire, only that it doesn't cause your radio to go staticky or neighbor's TV picture to go bad.

An FCC mark is also required to include the ID number, so any time the symbol appears alone, or without one, is a big clue that it has been misapplied, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

The bottom line is that one must recognize, and understand what each of these marks mean, their scope, and not assume they provide any blanket assurance, or in some cases, may even be legitimate.

To reduce risk, stick with reputable brand names with demonstrated track records.
 
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