Chinese Woman Electrocuted by iPhone 4 Likely Used Unauthorized Charger

[iGrip]

It was actually Tesla/Edison. Westinghouse "licensed" (ie, ripped off at at incredibly low price) Tesla's AC patents.

Yes, but given that Westinghouse owned the patents, the PR contest between AC and DC was between Edison and Westinghouse.

For instance, when Edison publicly electrocuted farm animals, he said that they had been "Westinghoused". He did not say that they had been "Tesla-ed".

 

[macFanDave]

Obviously, the victim must have been using something that was not genuine Apple equipment (or even made by an authorized third-party.)

Hundreds of millions of people have been using iPhones for about six years, and many of them do idiotic things with them. If an all-Apple system could be lethal, dozens or hundreds of unlucky folks would be dead by now. It's sad that the young lady died, but the blame for her death belong to the maker of the junk charger.

 

[Azathoth]

This is why we should all use 30V DC electricity, instead of 120V and for crap's sake 220V???

Gawd, this is wrong on so many levels. Unless you would like to rewire your house with 4 AWG wire...

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I would hope that Apple designs their chargers so that even if your power outlet is faulty (delivers 500 Volt instead of 110 or 220), and my hamster chewed up to the cable, and something went wrong in production of the internals of the charger, it still would be very unlikely to injure or kill me.

But 220 Volt from the power outlet _can_ kill, so if a charger is badly designed and lets your body connect to the 220 Volt directly, sure it can kill you. The chances are worse if you are in the bathroom. Wet body, touching something metallic that is grounded (like the metal bathtub).

Both UL and EC regulations for mains connected equipment require the equipment to be safe against spikes and surges. Spikes of up to 500-600V are very common (e.g. multiple per day depending on where you live).

I consider 110V AC as dangerous as 230V (and I've had a multi-second contact with 230V at work.)

 

[kemal]

Switchers

Inside a switching power supply there are voltages higher than 220 across components. The main energy storage capacitor can be at 400v. If that voltage can get referenced to earth during a failure....

 

[scott911]

wish apple wouldn't ridiculously mark-up their accessories. It would reduce the interest, I dare say need, for people to seek out the less safe alternatives.

 

[Azathoth]

I think original Apple chargers are completely isolated (at least up to 3-5kV), this is why you feel a kind of subtle prickling when you touch an aluminum MacBook depending on your current grounding.

That is due to leakage current to ground. They could reduce it (and would need to if they wanted to meet medical leakage test regs)

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Not particularly surprising, although I'll bet there were other factors as well given that the phone didn't explode--an unbonded AC neutral line that had been pulled high, for example, and she was touching something grounded with her other hand so that current would pass through her heart, which could explain burns on the outside of the phone but the internals being okay.

In any case, stuff like this makes me glad I live in a country where we only have 120V household AC instead of 200V+. Might be a little less efficient for heavy appliances and waste a lot of copper in the walls, but WAY safer. Not that 120V can't kill you too, but it's a whole lot less likely, and from what I've heard from people who've been hit by both (I've fortunately never felt more than 120), 240V will leave you feeling much, much worse.

Perhaps 120V is slightly safer with regard to electrocution. When in comes to death in fires due to electrical cabling overheating I prefer the 240V

With both 120V and 230V you have to be careful, so I'd rather have the benefits of 230V and the better 3 pin european / UK connectors that it's often connected with.

PS I've touched 230V AC a couple of times (live-neutral, so no RCD to fire) - I'm still fine, but yeah, don't try that at home kids - I did it as part of work

 

[Chupa Chupa]

It seems you didn't read all the posts. Exactly what you said has already happened.

Figures. I admit I only skim the posts.

 

[JayJayAbels]

Watt's wrong with you guys? Lots of lofty charges being made here. Now I don't want to be negative but there's lots of electricity in the air.

Instead of riding the lightening she should've drove a Voltswagon...

 

[doctor-don]

I also read that that women was taking a bath when she received a phone call, got out of a tub and took a phone call.

Having a wet hand should not cause any problem ... unless ...

Yup, my old office almost burned down because of a chinese laptop battery. I don't play around anymore.

Is anyone reading this who does not use chargers and batteries Made in China?

Even if it's fake, I don't see how it could electrocute her to death. Maybe she could have touched the AC power outlet, but at it seems like this thing at worst (sending the AC through the wire) would short out instead of sending the current through the body.

She might have touched something else plugged in and not grounded.

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If you have enough current at only 1 volt going straight through someone's heart, yeah. Through skin on the hands, no. I would have been dead from a car battery.

It requires a lot more current than what one would see if one simply picked up a cell phone. That current has to be conducted through the heart - from one hand and out the other hand or foot that is touching an ungrounded appliance.

 

[ptb42]

It takes less then 1 volt to kill.

You are referring to amps, not volts. If the current path is through the chest, it can disrupt the heart. And it takes about 100 milliamps.<P>

But, the voltage must be sufficient to overcome the skin's natural resistance. The maximum safe voltage is about 24 volts, although electrocution below 50 volts is extremely rare.

 

[appleisking]

Bad troll is bad.

Anyways, it was said many times. Apple chargers are too low to cause a death so it was obvious they're using unofficial chargers.

You don't know what a troll is do you? I'm pointing out the insensitivity of jokes like that given someone died you can refrain from making bad puns about a tragic situation. Also my comment has 19 likes so it's obvious people agree with me.

 

[jc1350]

From the linked article:



This is incorrect. Hong Kong uses 220V 50Hz AC, the same as mainland China. The plugs are different sizes (HK uses a British-style plug), but the voltage is the same.

The full quote (to include info after that above quoted line):

“Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan all use an electrical voltage of 110 volts,” Xiang said. “Mainland China uses 220 volts. If the charger was made to accommodate only 110 volts, then it’s possible it may have broken down and [overloaded.]”

Xiang's comments are not entirely accurate - Hong Kong has a standard electrical voltage of 220, although 120 voltage outlets are found in some hotels. Japan has a standard voltage of 100 volts.

 

[Tonewheel]

Knock offs in China? I can't imagine...

 

[appleisking]

Good thing it wasn't an American, then the senate would demand to interrogate Tim Cook in another hearing while whining about how rich Apple is.

And still do nothing about it

 

[palmharbor]

More Chinese Crap

No one will ever accuse the Chinese of making quality products...or safe products. What could happen is that the Chinese govt arrests the owner of the firm that made the knockoff/ copy..give him a quick trial and put him in front of a firing squad....they did it last week to a guy who ran a Panzi Scheme.

 

[GoCubsGo]

No one will ever accuse the Chinese of making quality products...or safe products. What could happen is that the Chinese govt arrests the owner of the firm that made the knockoff/ copy..give him a quick trial and put him in front of a firing squad....they did it last week to a guy who ran a Panzi Scheme.

It was lethal injection for a ponzi scheme; that is what they did to the guy they executed.
And I wouldn't be surprised if they did that to this guy.

 

[KoG506]

I bought a generic sync cable for my 4S on eBay. When I received it, it worked fine. The next day there was a short in it. I had to pull the cable to the side for it to charge (the short was in the part where you connect to the phone). That night, I went to sleep and used that cable. I laid it next to me on the bed and let it charge overnight. Again, I had to have the cable pulled to once side in order for it to charge. Overnight the cable straighten out.

In the morning, I grabbed for my phone, and it was very warm/hot. The battery only charged to 56%. I immediately unplugged the cable and threw it away. Thank goodness my bed did not catch on fire or electrocuted (assuming the short could have fry the charger internals). Then a few days later, I saw this new about this woman....

 

[Rafterman]

I never understood the reason for people to use cheap knockoff accessories. You spend hundreds of dollars on a phone, or thousands on a laptop or camera, yet you are willing to use a piece of crap charger or battery to save $10 or $20? Dumb.

Before, it was a danger to your equipment to use knockoffs. Now it seems, it can even be a danger to your life.

 

[doelcm82]

In any case, stuff like this makes me glad I live in a country where we only have 120V household AC instead of 200V+. Might be a little less efficient for heavy appliances and waste a lot of copper in the walls, but WAY safer. Not that 120V can't kill you too, but it's a whole lot less likely, and from what I've heard from people who've been hit by both (I've fortunately never felt more than 120), 240V will leave you feeling much, much worse.

When I was a teenager, I unplugged our freestanding kitchen stove from the 220V wall outlet (we were doing some remodeling). I had one hand on the plug, my feet on the wall for leverage (it had been plugged in for decades), and my other hand on the stove for balance.

As the plug came free, my finger slipped and came into contact with the metal part of the plug. I felt the current go up my arm, across my chest, and down my other arm to the stove. It was very painful, but I didn't die, or suffer any burns that I could see, or lasting damage that I'm aware of. I didn't go to the hospital. I think I was lucky.

Whenever I hear people complain about how kids today aren't allowed to do all the dangerous things we did when we were kinds (and survived), I remember events like this and wonder how we did survive. A few of my friends did not make it to adulthood.

 

[stevers]

Reminds me of this article, which is a good read about knockoff chargers.
http://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-apple-is.html

 

[yeah]

This story sparked my interest at first, but it is no longer current.

I resisted the story, but then it become quite positive to me.

 

[jc1350]

And still do nothing about it

They'd do something. With DC logic, they would ban the phone to prevent the desire for the "rogue" companies to make the knockoffs and claim it protects children.

 

[doelcm82]

I never understood the reason for people to use cheap knockoff accessories. You spend hundreds of dollars on a phone, or thousands on a laptop or camera, yet you are willing to use a piece of crap charger or battery to save $10 or $20? Dumb.

Before, it was a danger to your equipment to use knockoffs. Now it seems, it can even be a danger to your life.

If you're in multiple places, you might want to keep a charger in each. So the $10 or $20 you save on each would be multiplied. You're talking about spending hundreds on the chargers.

Since I've owned multiple iPhones and iPads over the years, I have official chargers and cables in the dozens (it seems). But my iPhone 5 only has two cables--the one that came with it and one I bought to put in my car. I know eventually (years from now) I'll end up with drawers full of lightning cables, but for now, it's just two. One to carry with me, and one for the car. I still find occasions where I don't have access to either, and can't charge my phone. But do I want to spend ANOTHER $20 on something I don't really need?

So two people have been shocked out of many millions of iPhone users. If three people dying in a plane crash recently in San Francisco and thousands dying in car accidents yearly don't keep me from traveling by car or plane, why would two accidents with knockoff iPhone chargers keep me from saving some money?

EDIT: I should add that I would buy a cheap charger or cable from Wal-Mart or ASDA, but not from a street vendor or eBay.

 

[devilcm3]

When I was a teenager, I unplugged our freestanding kitchen stove from the 220V wall outlet (we were doing some remodeling). I had one hand on the plug, my feet on the wall for leverage (it had been plugged in for decades), and my other hand on the stove for balance.

As the plug came free, my finger slipped and came into contact with the metal part of the plug. I felt the current go up my arm, across my chest, and down my other arm to the stove. It was very painful, but I didn't die, or suffer any burns that I could see, or lasting damage that I'm aware of. I didn't go to the hospital. I think I was lucky.

Whenever I hear people complain about how kids today aren't allowed to do all the dangerous things we did when we were kinds (and survived), I remember events like this and wonder how we did survive. A few of my friends did not make it to adulthood.

some reason why UK prongs are safer

those outlets have doors that shuts when nothing is plugged.

while the rest of the world stubbornly stuck on the two pronged power plug, no wonder people died of electrocution.

 

[jameskachan]

Philosophically and practically speaking...

Quality, and authenticity are always the correct choice in every situation.