Tech Phone giant Apple warns customers about fake chargers and batteries

Apple posted a sizeable warning on its support page over fake chargers and batteries, Amazon has pulled down counterfeit listings, and Apple is suing one of the manufacturers of fakes.

The warning on Apple’s support home page leaves little to the imagination:

Beware of counterfeit parts

Some counterfeit and third party power adapters and batteries may not be designed properly and could result in safety issues.

To ensure you receive a genuine Apple battery during a battery replacement, we recommend visiting an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider. If you need a replacement adapter to charge your Apple device, we recommend getting an Apple power adapter.

You have to imagine that part of the worry is a PR problem. The Galaxy Note 7 debacle has shined a new light on the batteries in cellphones catching fire; a Chinese consumer group has even reported eight iPhone 6 or 6S devices with exploding batteries in the last few months. It’s very possible that some of those devices had replacement batteries without the same safety measures as Apple’s iPhones, but it’s difficult to play that story against photos of serious burns or flaming jeeps.

Apple filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Mobile Star, a retailer that appears to have been supplying Amazon with counterfeit Apple chargers. The suit is ongoing.