Apple Offers TakeBack Program for Fake iPhone China Adapters

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Apple announced Monday that it will soon being a take-back program where users of iPhones, iPods and iPads can trade in their third party wall chargers for Original OEM Apple Chargers. The proposed trade also requires the consumer to pay $10 – about half the price of the adapters MSRP.

Recent reports have suggested that some counterfeit and third party adapters may not be designed properly and could result in safety issues. While not all third party adapters have an issue, we are announcing a USB Power Adapter Take back Program to enable customers to acquire properly designed adapters.

The program is scheduled to kick off August 16th, 2013 for any users who have concerns over the legitimacy of their power adapters. Apple will review each charger and dispose of them “in an environmentally friendly way.”

Apple Locations Accepting Adapter Trade-In Program:

Requirements for Adapter Take-Back Program

You must bring your iPhone, iPod or iPad to a qualifying location along with the charging adapter. Presumably, Apple will be marking serial numbers for those customers who take advantage of the program to prevent unauthorized take-backs.

Our Thoughts:

I can feel Apple’s frustration! I remember last year when we were refurbishing iPhone 3G and 3Gs models how frustrating power adapters could be. After spending all this time to refurbish and sell a finished good to the consumer, having a return over something as silly as a cheap charger was just plain ridiculous!

The difference in price between adapters was somewhere in the neighborhood of $6-$7 in comparison to a $0.50 non-original. The consistency of buying non-original chargers differed each time we purchased a lot – even if it was from the same supplier. Certain versions would work with 3G, 3GS, i4 and i4s while others would only work for either the 3 or 4 series. We finally made the decision to include used original chargers over cheap Chinese adapters.

I predict this program is more about spreading awareness than actually giving something up. Apple will still make money by charging $10. I’m sure Apple has the same mentality as we did: if one of their customers buys a knock-off and it breaks or damages the phone, the consumer is more likely to hold Apple and the device at fault.