Apple customer explains the true meaning behind the green dot on the back of chargers

Apple is known for manufacturing a lot of state-of-the-art gadgets, such as the iPhones. Even a few years ago, the company introduced wireless charging stands, but those portable charging blocks are still valid if you need to charge your Apple products. Kenny Jahng—who goes by @kennyjahng on TikTok—shared an informative video as a public service announcement. Jahng, who has been using Apple devices, wanted to draw people's attention to a specific symbol on Apple chargers that most of us have been ignoring or have no clue about.

This tiny feature is nothing but a simple green dot located at the back of the charging blocks for Apple products. The small charger connects to your Apple products through a USB port, but Jahng explains that the absence of the green dot might indicate that using the charging block is dangerous and can even cause a fire outbreak. "So here's a PSA of the day. You might have an Apple charger like this. This is one of the older chargers for devices. We all know this it's a USB plug. You plug it into the wall and charge things like your AirPods, right?" he says, holding up the small charging block with a traditional USB Type-A input.

"Here's a little-known fact: on the back of the OEM chargers, some have a green dot," he continues. "And if your device does not have a green dot, you should not be using it. Because they put out a recall several years ago and what happens is this will plug into the wall and then the prongs will break off. And then that can cause a short circuit or something like that. It's dangerous." The announcement from Apple wasn't exclusively spread worldwide, so it's only natural that many people don't know about this. "So if you're using one of these, just check the back of it, make sure that you have a green dot in the back and if you don't have one, don't use it," Jahng concluded.

According to the tech giant's official website, the company announced the Apple Ultracompact USB Power Adapter Exchange program on September 20, 2008. "Apple has determined that under certain conditions, the new ultracompact Apple USB power adapter's metal prongs can break off and remain in a power outlet, creating a risk of electric shock. We have received reports of detached blades involving a very small percentage of the adapters sold, but no injuries have been reported," the details on the website further read. Jahng's audience on TikTok was also stunned to hear about it and they expressed their thoughts on this safety feature they should always notice while using the Apple charging blocks.

@daniellemjoyce wondered, "Well, are they gonna send me a replacement because those things are hard to come by these days." @mrs.k.teaches.hs recalled, "I had a student plug one in my classroom and it started sparking and shorted the outlet." @jdg982 mentioned, "I can't plug anything into a wall socket because we have so many devices. Everything goes into a power strip, but this is good to know." @rettabetta21 noted, "On the Apple support website, it says wall plug adapters designed for Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, UK and the US. Apple USB power adapters are not affected by this recall." @ericnau added, "After several years Apple, stopped placing green dots on these adaptors, so the absence of a green dot is no longer indicative of a defect."

You can follow Kenny Jahng (@kennyjahng) on TikTok for more videos on tech and marketing.