With the electronics industry booming and the demand for cables, cords, and power chargers on the rise, many companies, including Amazon, have been supplying the high demand for such items. Amazon’s own private brand, AmazonBasics, has become a substantial part of their retail business and is continually growing, offering numerous tech accessories including cables, chargers, surge protectors, and more.
A recent article by CNN, “Dozens of Amazon's own products have been reported as dangerous -- melting, exploding or even bursting into flames. Many are still on the market”, describes several hazardous accounts consumers have experienced while using Amazon-supplied tech accessories, many of which include fire related incidents, such as devices exploding, bursting into flames, and melting.
Although many cable manufacturers and suppliers, including Amazon, go through their own vetting processes to help ensure products are safe to use, faulty and hazardous cables are still making their way through.
Consumers Report Exploding, Melting Devices
While Amazon has been under scrutiny for supplying faulty and unsafe cables and other electronic products in the past, Amazon has come into the spotlight once again as numerous consumers have reported unsafe and even hazardous experiences with products including their USB and Apple Lightning cables.
Image by The CNN article opens with an incident from one Amazon customer, Austin Parra, who had experienced a dangerous and life-threatening situation while using a USB cable purchased from this retailer. Parra reported that the cable being used to charge a cell phone short circuited and "the heat produced by the cord ignited the upholstery for the office chair," all while he was asleep. Parra was later taken to the hospital and was left with second-degree burns. In addition to this case, there are hundreds of other accounts of customers similar incidents.
Many verified customers have left reviews on the products themselves; one in particular shared their own experience with an Apple Lightning cord heating up to the point where it melted and ruined their iPhone, stating "DO NOT BUY! FIRE HAZARD! "These should be taken off the market immediately!!!"
Quality Testing Beyond Cable Certification
Consumers reporting faulty cables and companies recalling cables is nothing new. Other cable manufacturers and suppliers have also dealt with the repercussions of supplying flawed cables that ended up in the hands of consumers despite the safety and quality testing measures in place. Amazon in particular has reported that “safety is a top priority,” stating that they vet their manufacturers carefully and test the products for safety and compliance standards before and after they are sold. With all of these measures in place, why are customers still experiencing such issues?
Electrical engineers who have provided their expertise on the matter noted that some of these issues reported by consumers can be attributed to “user error or other external factors,” however, if there are multiple reports on the same product, it is likely due to the design or manufacturing process.
Additionally, the article mentions that USB-IF, the organization responsible for enforcing the standards and specifications of USB devices, believes that cables over-heating is likely not due to user error. It states, “A cable that is substandard, whether because of a design or manufacturing defect, can be dangerous and lead to electric shock, overheating, sparks or fire.”
While USB-IF has certified a number of Amazon’s cables, they noted that certification is not enough to ensure a safe and quality-made cable, and that they focus on “the functionality of the cables and making sure their specifications are in compliance.” USB-IF also expressed that certification is “not a replacement for industry best practices or any applicable local, state or government statutes, rules or regulations pertaining to safety."
Preventing Dangerous Cables from Coming Off the Production Line
Cables that undergo faulty design and manufacturing processes are more at-risk to dangerous consequences, including short circuiting, over-heating, and overdrawing current; all of these can lead to hazardous circumstances. Therefore, electronic manufacturers, especially those fabricating cables that supply high amounts of power, need to be wary of their development processes and ensure products are being made properly during production.
Cable manufacturing is a complex process which should not stop at obtaining certifications from the standard’s organizations, including USB-IF, Apple MFi, VESA, and HDMI.org. Like noted above, even these organizations advocate continuing safety and quality checks throughout the development and manufacturing process, as these processes aren’t foolproof and often lead to variability within the product. Many manufactures are already familiar with this and do have testing measures in place. However, even with “functional” testing and statistical process control (SPC), these may not be sufficient in preventing those faulty cables from making their way to big box retailers.
As noted in the article, a small percentage of customers reported fire related issues while using Amazon’s branded cables, but even these cables caused undeniable issues much bigger than the cable itself. Just one faulty cable can be responsible for endangering users’ wellbeing, ensuing legal obligations, and damaging the company’s brand.
So, what is the most reliable way to ensure each cable being sold to consumers meets safety and quality standards? By performing individual quality control on each cable coming off the production line.
Affordably and Quickly Test Cables using Advanced Cable Tester v2
Individual quality control is a testing method that ensures each product is tested during and after production to ensure it meets the necessary safety and quality standards. The Advanced Cable Tester v2 is a cable testing solution designed for this purpose and supports mass testing in lab and factory settings. With just pennies per test and results in under 10 seconds, testers can more easily and affordably gather insight into their cables and whether or not they meet the relevant specification and other safety concerns. The Advanced Cable Tester v2 supports multiple different cables types and comprehensively tests several cables components including Pin Continuity, DC Resistance, E-Marker validity, Signal Integrity, and other Apple Lightning specific tests, if applicable. With any failing cable, the detailed report will flag any issues and their sources for easy debugging.
For a quick demonstration on how the Advanced Cable Tester v2 quickly tests USB, Apple Lightning, HDMI, and DisplayPort cables, watch the video below:
To learn more about this product and the cables supported, please visit the Advanced Cable Tester v2 product page.