Apple Voluntarily Recalls Some Older Three-Prong Wall Plug Adapters Due to Risk of Electrical Shock

Thursday April 25, 2019 6:38 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple today announced a voluntary recall of three-prong AC wall plug adapters designed for use primarily in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.


Apple states that, in very rare cases, affected Apple three-prong wall plug adapters may break and create a risk of electrical shock if touched. These wall plug adapters shipped with Mac and certain iOS devices between 2003 and 2010 and were also included in the Apple World Travel Adapter Kit.

Apple says it is aware of six incidents worldwide and asks customers to stop using affected plug adapters, citing customer safety as a "top priority." Apple will exchange affected wall plug adapters with a new adapter, free of charge.


Affected three-prong wall plug adapters are white, with no letters in the inside slot where it attaches to an Apple power adapter. New adapters are white with gray on the inside portion that attaches to the power adapter.

The recall does not affect any USB power adapters, like those included in the box with iPhones and iPads, according to Apple.

If you are impacted, read the recall program details and then head to Apple's Get Support page to initiate the exchange process.

In January 2016, Apple initiated a similar voluntary recall program for two-prong AC wall plug adapters designed for use in Continental Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Argentina, and Brazil due to the same risk of electrical shock if touched. These wall plug adapters shipped from 2003 to 2015.

Tag: recall
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AngerDanger
10 months ago

Apple states that, in very rare cases, affected Apple three-prong wall plug adapters may break and create a risk of electrical shock if touched.

That is of course assuming you haven't impaled your foot on one of those bad boys first. Between these and LEGO, I'm beginning to think the uk has it out for feet.
Rating: 13 Votes
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cerberusss
10 months ago
I am a secret agent, and always carry a handful of these three-prong things. Whenever I am chased, I drop them on the ground because they make for terrific caltrops.
Rating: 12 Votes
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IRockThat828pScreen
10 months ago
Prepare for the Forbes article "Apple Admits Its Charging Bricks Have A Huge Problem"
Rating: 10 Votes
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displaced
10 months ago

So it’s technically safer, but how does that translate in to real world results? If it’s say twice as expensive and twice as wasteful (in terms of materials used) but results in say, less than 0.001% electrical related accidents is it worth it? What are the trade offs? Maybe it is, but the article only talks about how it’s technically safer, not real world numbers.


It was designed a long time ago. The primary purpose wasn’t to perform a cost/benefit analysis on deaths-by-electrocution and deaths-by-electrical fire versus cost.

Surely when designing a connector that will be in ubiquitous use throughout a nation, used millions of times per year by tens or hundreds of millions of people, it’s a good idea to make it as safe as possible?

If having a plug that costs a penny or two more to manufacture makes me and my property (and everyone else and their property) a fair bit safer, I’m cool with that.

Besides, the retail, non-trade, non-bulk, sales-tax-inclusive, including a fuse cost of one of our plugs is £0.99. Or a pack of 3 for £2.50.

(there’s a reasonably short list of British things I’m absolutely unequivocally proud of, and our mains plugs and sockets are on it )
Rating: 6 Votes
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Kebabselector
10 months ago

Interestingly the one shown as broken in the article looks like a new one (with no lettering).


Yes it is....


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Guys, why are your plugs so needlessly large?


Ironically it's for safety - the plugs are fused and the larger earth pin pushes a slider in the socket allowing access to the live/neutral pins.
Rating: 6 Votes
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whooleytoo
10 months ago
The three-prong plugs are also used in Ireland, though I'm sure anyone potentially affected by this issue in Ireland would already know that. :)
Rating: 5 Votes
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Scoot65
10 months ago

DUH!
"These wall plug adapters shipped with Mac and certain iOS devices between 2003 and 2010 and were also included in the Apple World Travel Adapter Kit." - this article
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Would that require a FOURTH prong?


No, in a UK three pin plug there is live wire terminal, earth (ground) wire terminal and neutral wire terminal........ Also our electrical wall sockets have a on/off switch too
Rating: 5 Votes
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Apple a Day
10 months ago

Your expectation is that someone at Apple should have employed their psychic powers to predict that a product not under recall when you went it in, would be subject to a recall in the future?

o_O
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You dodged a bullet.

So let me get this straight, you think I’m unreasonable because I bought an Apple Worldwide Travel Adaptor Kit, something like 6 of the 7 plugs were recalled, they made technical changes to the 6, left the 1 unchanged, and now are determining that the 1 is also suspect, and I’m unreasonable that they should’ve just replaced the entire kit instead of the individual ones. And you infer that I’m acting entitled or something. Whatever dude.
Rating: 5 Votes
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Nigel Goodman
10 months ago
I have loads of these (fat ones) that have come with various Apple devices that I have purchased over the years. So I went to the Apple recall site only to find that I need to input the serial number of the item that the adaptor came with. What! How am I supposed to know which adaptor belongs to which device?
Rating: 5 Votes
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MadDawg2020
10 months ago

These must be fairly old; I bought the world travel kit over a year ago and mine is the newer one with the gray on the inside.

EDIT: I found the receipt. Mine is from April 17, 2015 and is the newer model.

Okay - thanks for the update - I was worried about you!
Rating: 5 Votes

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