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Phone powered fans may break your phone

8/23/2016

15 Comments

 
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Recently, I was on a road trip to see some national parks. In a few small town gift shops along the way, I saw some small fans that you plug into your phone. The fan draws current from your phone's battery and puts out a steady breeze. A little gimmicky in my opinion, but for those seeking a little cool breeze, it's a neat idea. And, neat idea is where the concept should have ended under the current design. 

Today, I had a customer who used one of these fans on an iPhone 5S and 6S. Both phones stopped charging all together. The customer stated this occurred after using a fan plugged into the lightning port. A detailed explanation of why iPhones with lightning ports (can) stop charging is outlined in a previous blog post (click here). In summary, a tiny 2.2mm x 2.2mm microchip known as Tristar, but more commonly called the, "U2 IC" acts as a gateway of sorts for all USB I/O, including charging. If the Tristar is damaged, then your phone will not charge, or may display odd charging-related symptoms (see article in link above). So why would these colorful, seemingly harmless fans cause such significant problems?
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In truth, I don't have one of these fans (yet) for testing to make some bonafide conclusions over what's happening. I plan on buying two the next time I'm in a store that sells them. Of course, I could order some online, but this doesn't guarantee that they will arrive on working order. As I was playing with them in the last gift shop I saw them in, I noticed some worked and some didn't. Thankfully, my phone still works. ;) 

But, we can draw some reasonable conclusions based on what we know so far. The Tristar controls USB functions, including data transfer and charging. The Tristar can be damaged by using non-Apple certified lightning cords because cheap cords lack a voltage regulator found genuine Apple cords or Apple certified cords, thereby potentially exposing the Tristar chip to voltage spikes and subsequent damage. Now plug the fan in, what's occurring? Instead of the phone pulling current from a charge cord, the fan is pulling current from the phone. This current passes through the Tristar the same as if you were charging the phone. Hypothesizing, can the Tristar handle current passing through it in reverse? Is the fan pulling more current than the Tristar can handle? Further testing once we have some fans is needed. 

In the meantime, sitting on my desk is an iPhone 5S with a bad Tristar chip after using one of these fans. Similar events have been reported around the United States and the world. Lenny Jenkins of The Gadget Lab in Ohio said that he's, "I heard the same thing, those things are killing devices" when it comes to fans ruining cell phones. James Worrall of Technology Repair in the UK says he's, "heard the same story here" (in the UK). And in Australia, Ben Duffy of Geelong Microsoldering is predicting that micro-solderers like us will see a bump in Tristar failure when, "fake lighting headphones flood the market" - referencing the rumor that Apple is removing the standard 1/8" headphone jack in favor of a lightning port headphone and China's penchant for counterfeiting popular consumer goods. 

In short, unless Apple has produced, or authorized the production of lightning port accessories, no matter the attraction, you put your device at risk by using them. 
15 Comments
Kevin Hutcheson
8/24/2016 02:33:11

Excellent write up. Excellent advice.

Reply
Scott
11/3/2016 15:19:52

Yep, the last time our Samsung Galaxy S3 worked was just before that fan was plugged in by the salesperson at a store we visited on vacation in Hawaii.

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Eliot
12/12/2016 13:17:04

You'll probably find that the current draw is ok while the fan is turning normally, but current peaks at start-up and if the fan's rotation is interrupted with a finger or something. Those peaks probably stress the tristar.

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Scooter Noland link
3/7/2017 08:11:40

I have an iPhone 6s that the Tristar was killed by that little fan. Wish i had seen this article before. What is your cost and turn around time to fix it? I do not know how to micro solder, so i appreciate those who do.

Reply
Sharon
4/2/2017 23:16:18

Great article, pity I didnt read it before I used one and wrecked my phone.
Can it be fixed ie: new port and new battery. Mine will still charge, very slowly, with certain Apple cables but my battery is discharging faster than a bomb
Thanks in advance Sharon

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Sheron
4/4/2017 12:00:24

I made the awful decision to purchase one of these novelty fans and it damaged my phone as well. I used it briefly in my iPhone 6 and my phone wouldn't charge fully or maintain a charge for any significant amount of time after I used it.

I took my phone to Batteries Plus for a replacement battery and neither of the two newly installed batteries would properly charge either. I ended up having to replace my iPhone altogether.

This item should be banned from the market or come with an extreme caution notice attached. It's trash!

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Rhonda link
4/19/2017 16:23:23

Got one of these fans and it fried my phone. How and is going to fix it or am I just out the money for my expensive phone because of a lousy 1 dollar fan!

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Jan Holcombe
4/28/2017 09:10:11

I have a 5s, and after trying the fan my phone battery dies fast and the screen doesn't turn if I turn my phone. Can my phone be repaired? Bought a new battery yesterday, didn't fix the problem. I await your reply.

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Will Barnes link
6/1/2017 15:52:26

Great posts, just read a few articles, keep it up!

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Sandra G
9/5/2017 15:53:54

I got one of these as a trade show "giveaway" in July. Used it over Labor Day weekend and it killed my iPhone. Thanks for writing the clearest explanation of the issue. Have been sharing it far and wide in hopes of preventing others from losing their phone to this tiny, cheap killer.

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Danny Lewis
6/28/2018 09:13:49

I did use one of these fans two weeks ago and it did kill my Android Galaxy S3. Now I'm without a phone and I am at a loss of what phone to purchase next, any non-apple ideas?

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Luigi
8/7/2018 08:59:20

Hi

My little brother recently bought one of these fans from a well known UK store and after using the fan once his phone will now not charge and the people at our local Apple store have deemed it unrepairable. have you found this to be a consistent problem with these fans and if so can you recommend any course of action to fix it or possibly to hold the store accountable?

Thanks

Luigi

Reply
Kat Valen
8/22/2018 19:51:28

This fan broke my IPhone 6S as well. It stopped charging or while it was charging the battery went down. Then, it just stopped turning on all together. DO NOT BUY!

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Chris
9/2/2018 19:09:33

It killed my iphone 5. My sister got these fans from a business convention. I plugged it into my iphone. It worked. I tried it again, the fan did not work. Now my phone can't hold a charge and it takes hours to charge. Before the fan, it recharged in about an hour and lasted for days. It killed my phone.

Damn my sister!!!!!

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AmB
12/22/2018 23:18:56

I have one of these! I'll never use it

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