How to identify genuine "duckhead" wall adapter

[neurophysicist]

Hello,

I was wondering if there are any resources on identifying a legitimate vs fake US "duckhead" wall adapter. I see Apple has a document for lightning cables https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204566, but I don't see anything about duckheads, other than this recall document: <https://www.apple.com/support/ac-wallplug-adapter/>. Is there any kind of standard/document that is published?

Thank you.

EDIT: I suppose this would apply to both iOS devices and Macs, but I wasn't sure exactly where to post this.

 

[neurophysicist]

Alright, have some observations after comparing some duck heads around the house:

1. Some follow the general format on the left (same locations for ingrained text).
   • These either had "D WELL SHIN E P J" or "APC7D".
   • 2 of the D WELL have 0512 or 3013 in the middle.
   • 2 of the APC7D have 46121 or nothing in the middle.
2. Some follow the format on the right (printed text on top and 3 letter country code printed in middle)
3. A fake that just says "Made in China" printed in the middle, which doesn't match either format above. It also has no other text (printed or ingrained). (I would expect at least the voltage and current info printed).

I will upload some pictures later; the numbers and what I believe are the manufacturer seem to vary a bit.

Feel free to post images you have also of legitimate or illegitimate duck heads! It might be helpful to someone else.

 

[Audit13]

I'm not sure it makes much difference if the attachment is an original or fake since the attachment doesn't contain any active circuitry and only serves to pass electricity. This being said, I may be totally incorrect.

 

[iAussie]

I'm not sure it makes much difference if the attachment is an original or fake since the attachment doesn't contain any active circuitry and only serves to pass electricity. This being said, I may be totally incorrect.

A couple of years ago, Apple themselves recalled their own genuine duckhead AC power plugs in some countries due to the risk of electrocution - the metal prongs might separate from the plastic plug and hence expose people to live AC electricity (110-240V). Apparently it only occurred in very rare instances ("only 12 electric shock incidents have occurred worldwide in the past 12 years").

I'm unsure if a non-genuine plug would be any better or worse quality (but if I had to guess, probably worse... and maybe sometimes significantly worse!) so I'll be sticking to the genuine thing.

Feel free to post images you have also of legitimate or illegitimate duck heads! It might be helpful to someone else.

There are some images at the following link that people might find helpful regarding the recall mentioned above
https://www.apple.com/au/support/ac-wallplug-adapter/

 

[Audit13]

A couple of years ago, Apple themselves recalled their own genuine duckhead AC power plugs in some countries due to the risk of electrocution - the metal prongs might separate from the plastic plug and hence expose people to live AC electricity (110-240V). Apparently it only occurred in very rare instances ("only 12 electric shock incidents have occurred worldwide in the past 12 years").

I'm unsure if a non-genuine plug would be any better or worse quality (but if I had to guess, probably worse... and maybe sometimes significantly worse!) so I'll be sticking to the genuine thing.




There are some images at the following link that people might find helpful regarding the recall mentioned above
https://www.apple.com/au/support/ac-wallplug-adapter/

Since Apple doesn't make any of their own equipment, I agree that the quality of the fakes can be hit or miss.

I never used the duckheads that came with my adapters because I prefer using the long, extended cord.

 

[neurophysicist]

I'm unsure if a non-genuine plug would be any better or worse quality (but if I had to guess, probably worse... and maybe sometimes significantly worse!) so I'll be sticking to the genuine thing.

My only concern was with identifying the genuine one (just to be safe). Safer to just use the vendor provided charger. Apple has to test their chargers/duckheads; you never know what you are getting from third parties/counterfeit chargers on Amazon.

Many years ago I purchased an extra MBP charger via Amazon (probably because it was cheaper). After later realizing the risks associated with non-genuine chargers, I immediately stopped using it back then. (Foolish on my part to have bought it). The fake adapter is easy to spot, though I was curious if anything differentiated the fake duck head (identified as #3 in my second post) from the genuine ones (identified as #1 and #2 in my second post), since Apple surprisingly doesn't seem to have much documentation on their website on it.

Anyway though, thanks for the replies!

 

[fhall1]

I'm not sure it makes much difference if the attachment is an original or fake since the attachment doesn't contain any active circuitry and only serves to pass electricity. This being said, I may be totally incorrect.

I brought my wife's MBA into the Genius Bar a while back because it wouldn't charge any more from AC and the battery had run down enough that the Air wouldn't power on even plugged into AC. The Genius did a few magic finger combinations on the keyboard (nothing I ever saw documented anywhere) and the light came on on the magsafe end it started charging. We let it go a couple minutes, then he disconnected everything and I was on my way. Got home (50 mile drive), plugged it in to AC power to finish charging and the magsafe light wouldn't come on again. I tried a bunch of keyboard presses, but couldn't get it to start charging. So - a couple days later, another 50 mile schlep to the Apple Store. This time the Genius took a look at my charger and swapped duckheads. The one I had was indeed was bought used on ebay so my wife could have one charger at home and one at work. It looked genuine to me. Anyway, as soon as the duckhead was swapped, the MBA started charging without any key magic. He let me go without paying since I am a longtime customer, but he said they usually charge for such swaps. And it's worked fine ever since (over a year now).

 

[Audit13]

I brought my wife's MBA into the Genius Bar a while back because it wouldn't charge any more from AC and the battery had run down enough that the Air wouldn't power on even plugged into AC. The Genius did a few magic finger combinations on the keyboard (nothing I ever saw documented anywhere) and the light came on on the magsafe end it started charging. We let it go a couple minutes, then he disconnected everything and I was on my way. Got home (50 mile drive), plugged it in to AC power to finish charging and the magsafe light wouldn't come on again. I tried a bunch of keyboard presses, but couldn't get it to start charging. So - a couple days later, another 50 mile schlep to the Apple Store. This time the Genius took a look at my charger and swapped duckheads. The one I had was indeed was bought used on ebay so my wife could have one charger at home and one at work. It looked genuine to me. Anyway, as soon as the duckhead was swapped, the MBA started charging without any key magic. He let me go without paying since I am a longtime customer, but he said they usually charge for such swaps. And it's worked fine ever since (over a year now).

Was the eBay duckhead confirmed to be fake?

 

[fhall1]

The "Genius" said it didn't look genuine - showed me how the two internal pins were a bit longer than the one he gave me. Not sure if that was really a giveaway or not, and I had no idea looking at the two in the store without a magnifier of any other differences. Unfortunately, he took the old one and threw it in the scrap (or somewhere behind the counter anyway) so I can't compare them now. But based on the price I paid for the entire power adapter on ebay, I'm going to assume it was fake (it was bought back in 2013 when the MBA was new - I had no idea of the rampant counterfeiting in Apple parts going on at that time. I just thought I got a good deal. I know better now).

 

[Audit13]

I've never really paid attention to the duckhead part of the adapter as I always use my chargers with the extended power cable. The important thing is you got a free replacement and everything works again.

I've got a few genuine chargers around the house, probably enough to last until I move to USB -C.