Lightning cable. How to distinguish a fake from the original

Every day, the Chinese are getting better at making counterfeits of complex products, and the Lightning cable for the iPhone is the best of that proof. Copies are becoming more and more like the original, and, naturally, lovers of quick money are very happy about this and sell the highest quality fakes under the guise of the original. How to distinguish the original apple lightning cable for iphone from a fake, and how can the use of a low-quality fake be harmful?

Why is a fake worse than the original?

How to distinguish iPhone cable from forgery

It should be noted that the copies are very different in workmanship, and some are very difficult to distinguish from the original. For comparison, it is convenient to use the old cable. The most common signs of an expensive fake lightning cable:

1. Wire length. Cheap copies are usually slightly shorter than the original.
2. Metal color on the USB plug. In the original cable, the metal is more matte and has a fine grain, but the copy is usually more shiny.
3. Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in China. This text and serial number is located approximately 18 cm from the USB connector. The copy has text that is darker, sloppier, or missing altogether.
4. Wire width. In most cases, fakes are narrower

Of course, if you compare the original with a very bad copy, you can find much more differences. Just for this, there are three cables in the photo, the first of which is the original, the second is a high-quality fake, and the third is a cheap low-quality fake, which is simply risky to use.

Important! High price should not mislead you, any store chooses for itself which product to sell and how much to sell it for. So be careful, as high cost you can run into a fake.

Many users, out of ignorance or in the hope of saving money, purchase Chinese Lightning cable for an iPhone or iPad, which can damage not only the iOS device, but also the charger and even. Apple strongly advises you to purchase only original accessories for your devices and has created instructions that will help you distinguish a real Lightning cable from a fake.

Apple Corporation has a program for companies that make accessories: made for iPhone, iPod, iPad. Only those accessories that pass the quality standards of Apple itself participate in it. Therefore, the presence of the “Made for iPhone” badge on the packaging is considered a guarantee that you are looking at a real certified Lightning cable for iPhone.

A real Lightning cable about 17 cm from the USB plug should say "Designed by Apple in California" and one of the countries where it is made: "Assembled in China" - China, "Assembed in Vietnam" - Vietnam and "Indústria Brasileira" » - Brazil, and then comes a unique code of 12 digits. Similar inscriptions are also on the "left" cables, however, most often, they are poorly printed.

A Lightning connector or just a plug is a small and complex cable component that is hard to make well. A real plug consists of a single piece with a smooth and even finish, and the contacts are rounded. The cover of a fake plug is often uneven, with gaps, and the contacts are crooked.

The original Lightning cable has exact dimensions - 7.7 × 12 millimeters, while the "left" ones are usually different.

The front side of the connector should be gray, for fakes it is usually either white or black.

Look at the iron joints of the usb plug, the original cable, they fit snugly and have a trapezoidal shape and are spaced at the same distance. With a non-original cable, the joints on the plug are more square, poorly connected and located on different distance from the edges.

The real contacts are gold-plated, while the counterfeits are silver-colored.

I advise you not to save money and always purchase original Apple cables. As the Russian proverb goes: a miser pays twice.

When the cable for your iPhone fails, and sooner or later it will, you will have to find a replacement. You can choose one of the cables, you can buy an original cable from Apple, or you can buy a Chinese cable, which, of course, we do not recommend you do. But how can you be sure that you bought the original cable, and not a Chinese fake? We will try to help with this.

I think you do not need to explain why it is not recommended to use Chinese cables for iPhone charging. In the best case, it will break itself quickly enough without harm to your smartphone. In the worst case, due to savings on accessories, you can ruin your expensive gadget.

Pay attention to the cost and packaging of your cable. You will find the MFi logo on the packaging of third party cables. Of course, nothing prevents you from using the same emblem on packages of non-original cables, and here common sense comes into play. Remember that you will not be able to buy a good quality cable for 200-300 rubles or less.

As for the original cables from Apple, they must necessarily show off the inscription “Designed by Apple in California”, as well as “Assembled in China”, “Assembled in Vietnam” or “Indústria Brasileira”. After this inscription on the original cable you will find a 12-digit serial number. You will find all this text on the original cable at a distance of about 18 centimeters from the -connector.

You can also check out the Lightning connector. First of all, you must make sure that everything is done with sufficient quality.

Similarly, you can check the USB connector. I'm sure you can understand how quality things should look like.

Useful instructions.

Chinese manufacturers have learned how to fake Lightning cables very well. However, they, of course, fall short of Apple's level, which makes it quite easy to distinguish a fake from an original Lightning cable. This guide tells you what you need to pay attention to.

Pay attention to the connector

No matter how hard the Chinese manufacturers try, they cannot fake the Lightning connector with perfect accuracy. FROM USB connector especially gifted craftsmen somehow cope, but on Lightning they always pierce.

What should be looked at?

First, on contacts. The official Apple cable has them rounded, smooth and clean. Manufacturers of fakes with contacts have a real problem. By themselves, the contacts are rough, irregular in shape and, most clearly, dirty. Dirt above and below the contacts is perhaps the main sign of a fake.

Secondly, on the connector. It must be integral, being one detail. In most cases, for fakes, the connector is assembled from two, and sometimes more parts. Between the details, of course, there is a gap, which will indicate to you that you have a fake in front of you.

To make sure that the cable is original or, conversely, to identify a fake, you can arm yourself with a ruler. Apple's Lightning connector measures exactly 7.7x12mm. No more, no less.

And finally, thirdly, look at the surface of the connector. It should be made in the corporate gray color of Apple. Handicraft manufacturers usually make the surface a variety of colors, but not gray.

There are other distinctive features of the official Lightning cable, which is easy to identify a fake. But, as we have already noted, the masters, in particular the Chinese, have learned to very accurately imitate the style of Apple. In the case of the Lightning connector, it is necessary to observe a lot of subtle points, which is why punctures most often occur on it.

We won’t talk about the importance of using the original cable when charging and synchronizing the phone, but we’ll show you how to distinguish the original from the fake, in detail with photo tips. Chinese craftsmen have learned how to make high-quality fakes, but they only look like the original on the outside, but use Low quality details. The first three points are the most important, pay due attention to them. The rest is the difference between the original and a low-quality fake.

How to distinguish an original lightning cable from a fake

• If you buy a cable separately, then it must be in its original packaging, on which a sticker with a number and characteristics is applied. Pay attention to the tongue - for which the box is hung on the display case. In the original, it is made as a separate element and is made of transparent plastic; in fakes, it is made as a packaging element.

The batch number 5T3381227 written on the new box is 97% fake. Cable in boxes with the number 5T5247500 - it is worth checking more carefully.

• Instruction, warranty card in the original is fastened with glue. In a fake on metal clips.

Number on the left, letter on the right.

1. Fake cable missing California Assembled in…
2. The pins that are on the side of the phone, that on the side of the charger do not have a gilded color. In the original - pins of gold color.
3. On a fake, the cable seems to be heterogeneous, as if it consists of many parts.
4. Pay attention to the shape of the plug.

Video review with lightning cable test, on special equipment. For the test, wires were bought in eminent electronics hypermarkets. There are practically no external comparisons, but a lot has been touched on the filling in the video.

How to distinguish the original charger

If a good copy of the original cable can still be used, almost without fear for the battery and the phone itself, then when using a fake charger, you can get fatal consequences, up to fire, explosion of the phone. How to make sure that the charger for the iPhone is original?

• Number on the package. Most Chinese fakes are produced with this number - 5T3387422. It is better not to buy such a charger. Also compare the date of manufacture of the charger (4th character in serial number products) with the date indicated on the package (the 3rd character in the code is the year of production).

• Inspect the plug, in the original both pins are directed as if inward - towards each other, in a fake charger they are either parallel or directed in different directions.

• The easiest and most effective method is to use a magnet. Take a magnet and bring it to the person being checked charger, to the USB connector. If the magnet sticks to the charger, then you have a fake. To the original, the magnet does not stick.
• A real charger weighs about 27 (± 0.15) grams. It is difficult to check, but if possible, then check the device for weight.
• The serial number in the depth of the USB connector in the original, consists of 17 characters. The fake is either missing or has fewer characters. The location of the room, strictly as in the photo below: