I pried open a cheap 600W charger to test its build, and found ‘goo’ inside

I check dozens of chargers yearly. Some are glorious, whereas others fall quick. Right here on ZDNET, I solely function the cream of the crop — the very best of the very best. Nevertheless, I often obtain requests from readers asking for my ideas or opinions on particular merchandise.

Currently, one product that is been producing plenty of buzz is that this 600W GaN charger.

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So, I purchased a pair for testing. At $99, they are not precisely low cost, however in comparison with the Ugreen Nexode 300W unit, which prices $140, they appeared like a cut price. In spite of everything, that is an 8-port, 600W charger versus a 5-port, 300W unit.

Purple flags

The primary purple flag for me was the no-name model — a generic identify I would by no means heard of earlier than. Why does this firm have 600W chargers available on the market, whereas the massive names — Anker, Ugreen, Belkin, Baseus, and others — do not? I’ve heard of and handled these corporations extensively, and so they’ve constructed reputations for high quality and reliability.

However issues went downhill the second I plugged it in.

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The primary challenge I observed was that the charger was erratic. I may get 140W out of one of many USB-C ports, however the different 140W port wasn’t cooperating and appeared to be caught at round 65W. To make issues worse, one of many 100W ports seemed to be utterly lifeless.

One other main drawback was that plugging or unplugging gadgets would typically trigger the charger to malfunction. As a rule, it could enter a state the place it stopped working totally, requiring me to unplug the ability cable to “reboot” it and get it functioning once more.

Not good.

It doesn’t matter what I attempted, I could not get this charger wherever close to its claimed 600W energy ranking. To make issues worse, it was erratic and temperamental.

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So, I made a decision to open it up and have a look inside.

Ballast maybe?

The very first thing that greeted me was a lump of… one thing. At first look, it appeared like a thermal compound, but it surely smelled and felt extra like a window glazing compound, forsaking an oily residue. It was additionally surprisingly heavy, nearly as if it had been added to offer the charger some synthetic heft. With out it, the stays of the charger felt extremely mild.

Undoubtedly not what I would anticipate from a 600W charger.

Critical security hazard

A fast examination of the circuitry revealed that it is a sub-par piece of kit. With out getting too technical, the separation between the mains voltage and the low-voltage sections of the charger is insufficient.

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This poor design implies that a malfunction may probably consequence within the charger outputting mains voltage — a severe security hazard. Moreover, the transformers and voltage regulators used do not seem like able to delivering the marketed 600W.

One other concern was how simply the case popped open, exposing the interior elements. If this charger fell off a desk whereas plugged in, the facet cowl may detach, exposing the high-voltage elements. This creates a harmful state of affairs the place somebody may by chance come into contact with the mains voltage whereas retrieving the charger.

The underside line

This charger does not make the lower. It does not even come shut.

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That is precisely why I extensively check every thing — from energy banks and chargers to energy stations. Producers can simply make daring claims on spec sheets, packaging, and even the product itself, however creating a tool that truly delivers on these guarantees is a far larger problem.

Want a strong charger? Go for one thing just like the Ugreen Nexode 300W or Anker Prime 250W. These are high quality merchandise that ship the products from corporations with a monitor document of delivering the products.

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