back to article Apple yanks international travel plugs over shock worries

Apple is asking people to return their Mac and iOS travel adapters after multiple reports of the two-prong plugs electrocuting users. The Cupertino maker of iStuffs said that for more than a decade it has been selling adapters that can break and, when touched, give an electrical shock. The problem affects two-prong adapters …

  1. Darryl

    Mystery solved

    So that's how they came up with the name for the Lightning port.

    1. TRT Silver badge

      Re: Mystery solved

      I just put that down to some bright spark somewhere.

      1. Alistair
        Windows

        Re: Mystery solved

        I'm sure he was answered with thunderous applause.

      2. David 132 Silver badge

        Re: Mystery solved

        Hot on the tail of their declining revenue announcement, more current-cy problems.

        Watt next?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Mystery solved

          Watt next you may well ask - Will this simply reFUSE to go away, could it be TERMINAL, I for one first read about it on WIRED (thought I would give them a plug) - mines the one with the insulation strippers and the small stout wooden pegs in the pocket.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Gimp

            Re: Mystery solved

            Doesn't sound like anything to get Amp'd up about to me!

  2. Diodelogic

    Translation

    "Siri" is Japanese for "Silly".

    I've no idea why I just thought of that or why I posted it.

    1. psychonaut

      Re: Translation

      supplies!

    2. Chairo
      Happy

      Re: Translation

      In Japanese "siri" means "arse". Usually the honourable prefix "o" is given to soften it a bit, then it could be translated as "butt", but if you are talking about your own body part you can't use a honourable prefix, of course. (Can't up-talk yourself in Japanese, if you are not the emperor himself...)

      Some funny images:

      I think there was an article in El Reg, as well. Anyway...

  3. Rusty 1
    Facepalm

    Just how hard is it

    to design and manufacture this type of device?

    Ah, no, I know what it is: they're using the wrong type of plastic!

    1. Cuddles

      Re: Just how hard is it

      "to design and manufacture this type of device?"

      They're actually pretty complicated. See this article for some details, and the iPad charger teardown on the same site for more details on exactly what can be wrong and how it can be dangerous - http://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-apple-is.html

      You'd have thought the prongs would be one of the easier parts to get right, but 12 failures after selling god knows how many millions over the span of more than a decade isn't exactly a high failure rate. I would assume the issue is that they don't fail to a safe state rather than that 12 people out of millions have managed to break a small piece of plastic, and since it's a voluntary recall that almost certainly means that Apple have decided it's better PR to provide a new design that's even safer rather than that any regulatory body has actually said they're considered unsafe.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The big part of the problem is the US two pin unshielded plug that plugs into the adapters. It is very easy to touch the unshielded US plug part when trying to remove the adapter from the wall socket.

    In fact I don't think that the power supply plus adapter meets the CE certification requirements.

    This is just Apple being cheap because I have several power supplies that have clip-lock plug fittings supplied - usually, Europe, UK and US - and these are for cheap tablets.

    1. JaitcH

      UL Approved Flat-Pin Plugs are Safe!

      US-type flat blade plugs are safe. Only the smallest of fingers can touch a live pin if they are UL approved. I have just tried to touch the pins on a 2-pin flat plug as pushed into or extracted from a socket and the pins are dead before I, or my wife, are able to touch them.

      Quality fittings have a folded blade which permits the insertion/extraction energy to be varied.

      Whilst they appear to be 'cheap', electrically they are good.

      Here in Indochina we routinely install multi-standard electrical fittings - all the Panasonic modular sockets in my homes and offices accept 2 / 3 pin US-style, as well as Euro 2-pin (with/without) ground/earth.

      The British monster plugs - consuming excessive amounts of raw materials for the task - can be found in HongKong, Malaysia and Singapore.

      1. psychonaut

        Re: UL Approved Flat-Pin Plugs are Safe!

        "I have just tried to touch the pins on a 2-pin flat plug as pushed into or extracted from a socket and the pins are dead before I, or my wife, are able to touch them."

        shirley, you should always let your wife test it first

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: UL Approved Flat-Pin Plugs are Safe!

        The safety you mention only applies to direct wall mounting of the charger unit. The moment you stick it into an adapter that safety factor disappears especially because the people are trying to hols the adapter and not the charger.

      3. Slx

        Re: UL Approved Flat-Pin Plugs are Safe!

        US plugs and sockets wouldn't comply with European regulations at all because of that. But, they are not intended for use in Europe and are thus exempt.

  5. JeffyPoooh
    Pint

    Interesting: USA (etc) flat prong version recalled many years ago

    The USA-style flat prong iPhone charger were recalled YEARS ago for the same sort of issue. Yank the flimsy charger out of the wall socket, and it leaves its AC power prongs behind. One prong is Hot and somebody somehow touches it before a clear-thinking adult switches off the circuit breaker.

    The 'New and Improved (Non-Lethal)' versions are marked with a green dot.

    The interesting question is why the very long delay between the USA (etc.) version and the seemingly identical problem being recognized for the other variations. Why so long? Worth investigating me thinks.

    1. Pompous Git Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: Interesting: USA (etc) flat prong version recalled many years ago

      The interesting question is why the very long delay

      Very few people complain about anything after they have been electrocuted.

    2. Fihart

      Re: Interesting: USA (etc) flat prong version recalled many years ago

      US type mains plugs are probably safe with USA's 120 volt supply, despite the naked prongs.

      Use in Europe (230v supply) is potentially lethal. I remember reaching behind a hifi amplifier to remove a US style lead from the auxilliary mains socket and getting hefty shock because the pins were still live when removed far enough for a finger to touch them.

      Since then, US style sockets were sealed on equipment imported into UK and have now largely disappeared.

      Modern auxilliary sockets (for what are called loosely called kettle-leads) are safe and present day European mains plugs have plastic covers on the prongs, as per pictures in article.

      The main danger with UK mains plugs is treading on their upturned prongs in bare feet. That feature of their clumsy design actually caused me to break a toe.

      Of course, Apple making stuff so badly that it breaks in normal use would be scandalous. I've had the case come off a third-party charger when simply removing it from the wall socket, exposing the live innards still plugged in.

  6. W Donelson

    How many dead? Electrocution...

    "Electrocution is death caused by electric shock, electric current passing through the body. "

    I think most of these were shocked, but not badly harmed. One was allegedly put into a coma.

    Editor?

    1. MacroRodent

      Re: How many dead? Electrocution...

      Certainly the wrong word, but shock from mains may cause a fate worse than death: years ago I read an magazine article about an unfortunate guy in Finland who got a shock from a faulty device and became totally paralyzed for the rest of his life. Some kind of brain damage that left him almost locked in. I have treated electricity way more respectfully since reading that!

  7. ratfox
    WTF?

    Round thin pins slightly slanted inward

    Oh, so it's on purpose that the pins for continental Europe are slanted inward? I always thought it was a fabrication defect. Anybody know why this is?

    1. MacroRodent
      Holmes

      Re: Round thin pins slightly slanted inward

      It is only in the "Europlug", which is designed to promiscuously mate with some slightly different socket variants. Wikipedia: "To improve contact with socket parts intended for pins having a diameter larger than 4.0 mm the Europlug has two round, slightly flexible, pins which converge slightly towards their free ends."

      (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets)

      (I didn't realize this oddity before, your question prompted me to look it up, thanks)

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Is it just me ...

    or are domestic power plugs one of the areas where the UK has quietly got it right ?

    Yes, the 3-pin plug is large and cumbersome. Yes it's a PITA to stow and pack for travel.

    But for *mechanical* security (as well as electrical) it is a solution par excellence.

    1. Fihart

      Re: Is it just me ...

      Except when you tread on them in bare feet, bloody painful.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Is it just me ...

      We have ours sorted down under. We insulate the pins for the first few mm's so they are not live.

      1. psychonaut

        Re: Is it just me ...

        is that slang for girls wearing tangas?

        shes got great pins and they are only insulated for a few millimeters down under

  9. JaitcH
    FAIL

    Form over Function

    So often iThings compromise function for form/style.

    Apple has had several connector design failures over the years - but failure is difficult to assert when it's your own 'standard'.

    Apple copied the magnetic power connector commonly used on Asian rice cookers and other kitchen appliances (the idea being they would disconnect rather than pull a hot container of juk over someone).

    The Apple copy was a miserable failure and was also subject to recall.

  10. leeb

    UK adapters not affected?

    I reported mine to Apple this morning after my teenage daughter's Ipad air adapter broke last night. The adapter faceplate came away exposing the wiring...

  11. cortland

    A firm I won't name

    A US firm I won't name sold laptop computers to a news organization quite a few years ago, and ended up in court when that organization bought the wrong overseas power adapters.

    Apparently working on the "cheaper is better, who needs to read the instructions?" theory, the organization bought 220/240 to 110/120 VAC adapters for resistive devices - irons, hair dryers and the like - instead of transformer based adapters meant for electronic applications. As I recall, there was at least one fire due to the decision.

  12. Nifty Silver badge

    lingering high voltage energy?

    I recently pulled the UK 3 pin plug out for a 90W Lenovo laptop power adapter.

    A finger touched a plug prong AFTER the plug was well out of the socket - say 3" away but within a fraction of a second in time. And I got a fair little shock. Was there some sort of electrical momentum still left in the transformer?

    1. Slx

      Re: lingering high voltage energy?

      That shouldn't happen but it would be a capacitor discharging.

  13. Slx

    I actually saw some statistics for death by electric shock recently. The US low voltage being safer is an absolute myth.

    2.1 / 1 million inhabitants in the USA

    Scandinavia 0.2 using Schuko plugs and Danish variant.

    Ireland 0.2 using UK style plugs.

    UK 0.437

    Seems the common dominator is universal usage of RCDs on socket outlets. The UK was later to the game on that than the other countries mentioned and the USA's notion that 120V is safer, is clearly not achieving much as the rate of shock is 10X higher than Scandinavia and Ireland.

    That being said, you're VERY VERY VERY unlikely to be killed by electric shock in the developed world.

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