‘I always wonder about that’: Apple customer explains what the green dot on the back of your charger block means—and what to do if yours doesn’t have one

If you've ever wondered what the green dot on the inner, prong portion of some white Apple chargers mean, TikToker Kenny Jahng (@kennyjahng) has a PSA. It'll make you think twice about using one that is missing this little detail—as you could possibly burn down your entire home.

The small, portable white brick has become synonymous with iPhone charging, and you've probably come across quite a few of these guys in your lifetime. Heck, you may own a few that you've never purchased outright, picking up a forgotten brick in a Starbucks outlet or accidentally swapping with friends and family.

You may have noticed, however, that there's a tiny feature some chargers have that others don't. It's that green dot located on the back of the charger.

Jahng explained in a viral post what this indicator means and how using one without it could be dangerous.

What is the green dot on Apple charger bricks?

Jahng's clip begins as he films an AirPods case and a small white Apple charger bricks atop a bright yellow table.

"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 you charge things like your AirPods, right?" he says, noting that the brick has a traditional USB-A input, rather than the more recent USB-C input.

After the brief introduction, he gets into the information about that little green dot and what it means. "Here's a little known fact: on the back of the OEM chargers, some have a green dot," he says, "and if your device does not have a green dot you should not be using it."

Why is using a charger without this dot such a big deal? That's because it appears Apple manufactured some of these plugs in a way that led them to having their prongs break off while still inserted into a wall out. The metal prongs stay stuck inside of the wall, which would purportedly cause shorts, sparks, and in some cases purportedly even fires.

Apple's charging brick recall

Jahng went on to state that the green dots are the result of a voluntary recall Apple introduced in 2008.

The Cupertino based tech company issued a statement on September 20, 2008 about its "Apple Ultracompact USB Power Adapter Exchange Program." The company penned on its website: "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."

Since then there have been other charger recalls Apple has introduced as well: its AC wall adapter recall program, and its three-prong AC wall adapter program. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission also penned on February 18, 2016 that there were some 814,000 travel adapter kits pushed out by Apple that ultimately were part of the recall. Some Apple users who tried having their AC adapters replaced by the company went online to express the difficulties they've had in having their products swapped out, as well.

Don't use an Apple charging brick without a green dot

Closing out his video, Jahng further explained the recall and stressed that folks shouldn't be using chargers that don't have these green dots.

"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," he says. "So they did a voluntary worldwide recall but it wasn't really widely announced 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."

Commenters weigh in

Some folks responded to Jahng's video with humor. "Thank you. Mine didn’t, so I drew one on so I should be good," one penned.

Someone else had the same joke: "I added a green dot. Thanks!"

Whereas another person had an entirely different concern—getting theirs replaced. "Well are they gonna send me a replacement because those things are hard to come by these days," they wrote.

However, there was one user who said that the green dot doesn't really matter anymore: "After a number of years Apple stopped placing green dots on these adaptors, so the absence of a green dot is no longer indicative of a defect."

Others, like this user, were just happy to finally know what the dot means: "I noticed this dot in the past and wondered why it had that dot. Thanks!"

And another person replied that because the recall was so long ago, it doesn't really matter: "This recall is from 2008. 16 years ago."

@kennyjahng Apple recall PSA. Do you have a small iPhone USB charger block? #churchtechtoday #iphonetips ♬ original sound - Kenny Jahng | StoryBrand Guide

What charging blocks without the green dot are safe to use?

Jahng countered a bit, stating that because there are so many of these chargers out in the wild, that looking for the green dot is important, and he even referenced "scary" incidents where chargers malfunctioned. "Yeah, but apparently thousands if not millions are still out there. See some of the fires and melting incidents that happened because of this. Scary," he commented.

Others have seen incidents where chargers have shorted outlets before their eyes: "I had a student plug one in my classroom and it started sparking and shorted the outlet."

To which Jahng said: "Yeah, people are saying it isn’t a big deal, but for a company like Apple to recall them back, it definitely is a safety issue."

Jahng also clarified in another comment that the green dot only applies to these specific ultracompact USB-A chargers: "Just for the ultra compact small square block chargers. All the latest new ones are ok."

The Daily Dot has reached out to Jahng via TikTok comment and Apple via email for further information.

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