You leave your phone charging, then wake up — late — because, whoops, it’s dead and the alarm did not go off. That cord gave out on you. That’s the best-case scenario. Worst case: A phone charger starts a fire while you’re sleeping.
Don’t you dare roll your eyes at me and think, “Kim, you’re so dramatic.” It happened to a girl who went to bed with her iPhone next to her. She woke up to flames and was severely burned after the charger caught fire and ignited the blanket. Cheap knock-off accessories were to blame.
We all want a deal, but never at the expense of safety. When it comes to cables, where do you draw the line?
The fine folks at Consumer Reports dug deep to find the answers. They bought seven charging cables with prices ranging from $4.88 to $29 and conducted some pretty dang rigorous testing.
The Rapid Response team (bet the members brag about that at parties) used a specially adapted motorized rig to simulate real-world conditions. The tests consisted of:
I bet you’re like me and wondered, “Are those Amazon chargers and cables any good? They’re so cheap!”
The good news: Every cable they tried withstood the Twist Test. The Bend Test is where things got interesting.
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Amazon itself sells more than 12 million products but factor in Marketplace sellers, and that number jumps to more than 350 million. And this is the site’s busiest time of year.
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🔌 This is a good find: Lots of generic phone chargers don’t meet established safety and quality testing guidelines. Consumer Reports did a ton of testing, and this cheap Amazon cord works as well as the expensive USB-C cords.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
🔥 Don’t buy off-brand or cheap accessories: A 16-year-old girl was watching a movie at a friend’s house when she heard a sizzle and looked down to see her sweatshirt on fire. Her portable phone charger had exploded. Thankfully, the girls are OK, and firefighters arrived in time to put out the flames.
If you’re anything like the rest of us, your whole life revolves around your smartphone. You use it to keep your schedule and stay in touch with friends and check your email. But, what happens when that device stops charging? These simple tricks may be able to help.
