Chinese Woman Electrocuted by iPhone 4 Likely Used Unauthorized Charger

[gnasher729]

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.

That's not logical. If say 500 million people are using iPhones, and there is a problem that produces a one-in-a-million chance of killing someone, that's 500 dead. We would have heard of that. If a problem produces a one-in-500-million chance of killing someone, then one person dead is exactly what you would have expected.

On the other hand, some statistics from the UK says that there are per year about 13,000 accidents involving electricity, and about 1.2 million involving falls (400,000 on even ground, that is falling over your own feet, lots from stairs, a bit fewer from ladders); couldn't find number of deaths. So there are probably many more people who have died after tripping over an iPhone that for whatever reason was lying on the ground (and many more tripping over Nokia or Samsung phones).

 

[Dr McKay]

I'm not quite sure why this is so hard to get for so many people, but anyway:

It's current and voltage that kills you. In the end it's the amount of electric energy that flows into your body that is important. It's defined as E = UIt with the voltage U, the current I and the time t (assuming U and I are constant). That means: The higher the current, voltage or exposure time, the deadlier. It's also important how the electric current flows through your body (heart and lungs are particularly dangerous). It's of course more complicated, but just never think that any of those factors is not dangerous. They all are in the end.

Im not saying Voltage isn't dangerous, of course exposure time counts too, I'm just going by what I was taught in electrical safety. Voltage causes electrical burns and need a much higher exposure time, current affects your heart. You'd need an insane amount of voltage, or a very long exposure time in comparison to die from voltage before current. Remember, the average static shock can be in the region of 10,000-15,000 volts, yet because theres no current behind it to give it any 'oomph' you experience a tiny sensation of pain.

some reason why UK prongs are safer
Image
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.

The 3rd prong is also why we told the EU to go to hell when they told us to switch to European 2 pin plugs.

 

[ihuman:D]

The 3rd prong is also why we told the EU to go to hell when they told us to switch to European 2 pin plugs.

Just because you're in the EU doesn't mean you have to change to their plug format, here in Ireland we still have the 3 prong plug.

 

[E.Lizardo]

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

Yes it's reVOLTing how the entire story has been amped up.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

AH CHINA, the land of IMPERFECT replica's

 

[devilcm3]

Just because you're in the EU doesn't mean you have to change to their plug format, here in Ireland we still have the 3 prong plug.

people probably won't have any problems with sourcing wall outlets, but as soon as lamps, chargers and home appliances offering only 2 prong ... that becomes a problem.

----------

Yes it's reVOLTing how the entire story has been amped up.

the amount of puns in this thread is too damn high.

 

[flat five]

Isn't this a bit sloppy to use the word electrocution? Surely it only becomes this if he dies.

someone needs to relay this to apple

 

[doelcm82]

some reason why UK prongs are safer
Image
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.

UK plugs are Humongous! They remind me of the old telephone outlets we had in the US before the switch to RJ-11.

All modern outlets in the US are three-prong, but some smaller equipment doesn't use the ground. I've seen some devices in the UK that have plastic where the ground would be.

The stove I was unplugging when I got shocked was not plugged into an ordinary outlet. It was 220V as opposed to the 110V normal. Most big equipment like Cooktops, ovens, and clothes dryers (and Tesla Model S charging units) will use special 220V outlets and plugs.

 

[benpatient]

Not true. In America electrocution defined as fatal. Other parts of the world could mean a serious shock.

The word itself is a portmanteau of the words "electrical execution." With the advent of commercially available electricity and the new capacity for accidental death by electric shock, and the lack of another word to use for such deaths, the meaning was expanded to include any death by electric shock, whether intentional (execution) or accidental.

If someone in another country uses it incorrectly, that doesn't change the definition of the word. Millions of people around the world spell the possessive pronoun "its" with an apostrophe. But it is flat-out wrong. Millions of people say "Towards" but that word never has an 's' on the end. Millions of people say "I could care less" but mean the literal opposite. Being wrong with a bunch of other people doesn't make you right.

 

[magiic]

Being wrong with a bunch of other people doesn't make you right.

Ding ding ding!

 

[Solamar22]

Adapter Teardown and Comparison.

Can I recommend this fascinating teardown of the Apple adapter and comparison to the knock offs?

I found it very interesting reading.

http://www.righto.com/2012/05/apple-iphone-charger-teardown-quality.html

And this one which covers 12 different chargers

http://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-apple-is.html

 

[madmaxmedia]

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

When I read this article and saw the teardowns of the Apple and knockoff chargers, I threw whatever knockoff chargers I had away.

I do have some 3rd party chargers (Griffin, etc.) that I think should be okay. But no more cheapies.

 

[shiekh]

All the more reason to change the iPhone case to all plastic

 

[Breaking Good]

i sometimes use my HTC charger with my iPhone.
Does it fall in unauthorized category cause i never ran into any problem with that one.

If you are in the United States, check to see if your HTC charger has the UL or Underwriter Laboratories symbol on it. If it does, then you are probably fine.

The above assumes you are using a genuine HTC charger and not some knock-off copy.

 

[FatMax]

Silly people will be silly.

Amps kill, volts necessitates. Meaning, a minimum of 48 Volts in needed to penetrate the skin. Driving only 50mA through the heart, at any voltage over 48V, can be leathal. It may be leathal at once, or your heart can act up years later. A thumb rule also states: The lower the voltage, the higher the Amp rate.
120V is as dangerous as 230V.
Get over it.

 

[Breaking Good]

I do have some 3rd party chargers (Griffin, etc.) that I think should be okay. But no more cheapies.

I'm personally not worried about Griffin or Belkin chargers. They've been around for a while and are UL listed in the United States.

 

[elev8d]

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.

I've used my phone a few times in the pool... with my lifeproof case

 

[docwisdom]

Since there is a lot of talk over fatal currents, Ill leave this here.

http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~p616/safety/fatal_current.html

 

[lostngone]

Talk about a little knowledge can be dangerous! As previous posts have said, voltage doesn't kill it's the current. Look at police tasers as an example. Second, Japanese voltage is 220v just like Europe so it's no surprise. Third, the article says that she was killed with the iPhone 4 and not the 5 which has an aluminium casing. That would make no difference, if they had plugged the lightning connector into the USB of the adaptor, she would have still been electrocuted. The adapter components broke down creating a dead short to the phone. Maybe one of those plastic Android phones would have saved her.

First off, the post I was replying to was making a comment about voltage and I was pointing out by my "1 volt" statement that voltage has little to do with it.

Next to your comment. Tasers have and do kill people.

Even with the faulty charger If she was not completing a circuit whether that was between 2 parts in the case or between her and the earth(ground) she could have picked up the phone without harm. Haven't you every seen line men work on energized lines?

 

[JAT]

When I was little I stuck my finger in the empty spot where you should put the lightbulb in a refrigerator (220V) and nothing serious happened (a little shock and that's it).


Plus, do you seriously want to compare China's safety regulations and standards to those from Europe's?
I use my iPhone right out of the shower (while charging) when still wet and nothing has ever happened.

The light socket on the fridge won't have the same power as the wall socket the fridge plugs into.

And I sure hope we hear from you again. Sounds like you like living dangerously with the shower and electricity. Why trust a GFI circuit when you can simply not charge it for that 10 minutes?



If the reports are correct that the charger and cord do not have damage, then it is very unlikely that they killed her. It will probably never be known, but there have been a couple posts in these threads looking at the real truth.

IOW: Where were her feet and her other hand? She was damaged the worst, the phone was damaged a bit, the cord was not. The source of the death-dealing current was probably not through the cord. That was probably the ground that completed the circuit. SHE damaged the phone as she was zapped, not the other way around.

 

[sirtekalot]

There is a difference between a charger and charger cable. I have noticed a few comments that seem not to differentiate between the two. IMO use of third party cables isn't the problem, it's the chargers.

 

[Risco]

People who go cheap on chargers only have themselves to blame. It is not exactly as if it is something you replace on a regular basis. Stop being cheapskate and damn price sensitive.

 

[JAT]

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

LOL. I can just imagine the DIYers trying to bend that through walls!

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

So bootlegged.

 

[MegamanX]

When I read this article and saw the teardowns of the Apple and knockoff chargers, I threw whatever knockoff chargers I had away.

I do have some 3rd party chargers (Griffin, etc.) that I think should be okay. But no more cheapies.

You should be ok with any charger that has the UL label on it. I have a lot of "knock off" chargers. All them have the UI label on them.

I have like 3 or 4 in different locations around my apartment. I have one left at my parents house. The only place I have any Apple chargers I use is at work and that is only because I use them because I have them there for my work iPad I use for development and most of the time they are used to charge my phone and lights for biking.