MacDirectory magazine is the premiere creative lifestyle magazine for Apple enthusiasts featuring interviews, in-depth tech reviews, Apple news, insights, latest Apple patents, apps, market analysis, entertainment and more.
Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1176476
Can Unauthorized Cables and Chargers Cause Your iPhone to Explode? By Jesse Hollington With stories appearing every so of ten about iPhone batteries exploding, and a plethora of iPhone charging options available, one question we frequently see is what the actual risks are of using an unauthorized cable or charger with your iPhone. Can using a cheap counterfeit Lightning cable really cause your iPhone battery to explode, and if not , what 's the point in spending the extra money on Apple - certified Lightning cables? Well, to set your mind at ease, although an unauthorized USB-to-Lightning cable can definitely cause a number of other serious problems, overcharging your iPhone or causing it to explode are not among them. A cable is mostly just a cable, and although standard USB- to-Lightning cables do have additional hardware inside that makes them a bit more complicated than just your average USB cable, these don't have any thing to do with voltage or current regulation. However, what can cause problems is the charger on the other end, but it would have to be really badly designed to reach the point where it could damage an iPhone. You're far more likely to be at risk of the charger it self catching f ire than something happening to your iPhone. Similarly, just like any other electrical wire, a badly designed USB cable has the potential to cause a f ire. The current that passes through these cables is low enough to make spontaneous combustion fairly rare, but it's not impossible, and even a spark from an exposed or frayed wire could be enough to ignite something near the cable. However, these are problems that affect the chargers