Admit it: we’ve all bought a product that didn’t bear the proper companies name before, and in the case of power adapters, we’re sure there are plenty out there that didn’t buy their iPhone charger from Apple. There’s good news and bad news coming from this, and either way, the customer wins.
First, we’ll deal with the bad news, and that’s an acknowledgement from Apple that some of third party power adapters made for the iPad, iPod, and iPhone might not work properly and possibly, well, “result in safety issues.”
These power plugs might not have been tested the same way as the ones Apple releases, and so even if you thought you’d save some cash, you’re possibly not getting the same plug. It probably works, but it might also be risk.
Here’s the good news, though: from August 16, Apple will be exchanging your unofficial power adapters for official ones for $14 until October 18. The buy-back program will be at Apple stores and its authorised resellers, so all you really have to do is walk in with your Apple iDevice and offending charger, with around $14 in your pocket.
One adapter can be bought per iPad, iPod, and iPhone you own, so don’t assume you can just buy a heap and sell them back on eBay, because that probably won’t work.
