3 ms·

That CE marking on the adapter is probably fake - how would it have passed certification while outputting a voltage 50% higher than spec?

jeroenhd 3y ago
All the CE marking indicates is that the product complies with European specifications. As far as I know, there are no EU/EEA specifications regarding the voltage of an USB port. This may violate the USB spec and burn out phones, but it's not necessarily undeserving of the CE mark.
- ricardobeat 3y ago
  Turns out the new regulation for chargers and USB-C universal compatibility actually demands USB Power Delivery [1] support, but I guess it's too early to expect compliance with that. Even without that, one would hope that part of the compliance tests includes actual compliance with whatever port specification is being used - I don't think any part of the USB spec allows for 7.5V, but I might be wrong. You just wouldn't expect, say, a portable battery to have a standard Schuko plug but output 330V while bearing the CE mark. [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32022L2380 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CEL...
  - jeroenhd 3y ago
    I quote from the regulation you linked: > The requirements set out in points 2 and 3 of this Part shall apply to the following categories or classes of radio equipment: > 1.1. handheld mobile phones; > 1.2. tablets; > 1.3. digital cameras; > 1.4. headphones; > 1.5. headsets; > 1.6. handheld videogame consoles; > 1.7. portable speakers; > 1.8. e-readers; > 1.9. keyboards; > 1.10. mice; > 1.11. portable navigation systems; > 1.12. earbuds; > 1.13. laptops. Unless you can convince your local standards authority that the cat water fountain you bought is actually a weird looking portable speaker, I don't think this law applies her. Unfortunate, really, because USB port really shouldn't use non-standard voltages. I'm sure there's some consumer protection law you could use in court to make the manufacturer pay for damage if they damaged your devices (there are a bunch of "a product should work like you would expect" types of laws sprinkled across consumer protection laws) but I don't think this violates CE standards.

jeroenhd 3y ago

All the CE marking indicates is that the product complies with European specifications. As far as I know, there are no EU/EEA specifications regarding the voltage of an USB port. This may violate the USB spec and burn out phones, but it's not necessarily undeserving of the CE mark.

ricardobeat 3y ago
Turns out the new regulation for chargers and USB-C universal compatibility actually demands USB Power Delivery [1] support, but I guess it's too early to expect compliance with that. Even without that, one would hope that part of the compliance tests includes actual compliance with whatever port specification is being used - I don't think any part of the USB spec allows for 7.5V, but I might be wrong. You just wouldn't expect, say, a portable battery to have a standard Schuko plug but output 330V while bearing the CE mark. [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32022L2380 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CEL...
- jeroenhd 3y ago
  I quote from the regulation you linked: > The requirements set out in points 2 and 3 of this Part shall apply to the following categories or classes of radio equipment: > 1.1. handheld mobile phones; > 1.2. tablets; > 1.3. digital cameras; > 1.4. headphones; > 1.5. headsets; > 1.6. handheld videogame consoles; > 1.7. portable speakers; > 1.8. e-readers; > 1.9. keyboards; > 1.10. mice; > 1.11. portable navigation systems; > 1.12. earbuds; > 1.13. laptops. Unless you can convince your local standards authority that the cat water fountain you bought is actually a weird looking portable speaker, I don't think this law applies her. Unfortunate, really, because USB port really shouldn't use non-standard voltages. I'm sure there's some consumer protection law you could use in court to make the manufacturer pay for damage if they damaged your devices (there are a bunch of "a product should work like you would expect" types of laws sprinkled across consumer protection laws) but I don't think this violates CE standards.