Test/review of Samsung EP-TA20EWE (Fake again)

EDC Gear for Flashlight Carriers USB Power Devices
1

Samsung EP-TA20EWE (Fake again)







Official specifications:

  • Power Capacity: 9V-1.87A 5V-2.0A

  • Color: White

  • Voltage: Input:100-240V

  • Adaptive Fast Rapid Charger: Adaptive Fast Rapid Charger For Samsung

I got it from a ebay dealer: fongphonestore







I got it in a envelope, not in a box marked Samsung



























Measurements

  • Power consumption when idle is 0.1 watt

  • Output is auto coded as QC2 with 5V, 9V and 12V

  • Weight: 31.9g

  • Size: 75.6 x 36.5 x 23.5 mm




The charger can deliver a lot of current on 5V with 120VAC input.



At least until I selected 12V QC, then some parts inside the charger “exploded” and the output current is dramatically reduced.



I got a 9V QC sweep before I tried the 12V and the overload protection do not look very good.

Because it is damaged there is no reason to run any more tests on this.



Tear down



Some pressure from my vice and I could break the lid away.



There is a fusible resistor at the input, a switcher IC with a optical feedback (U2) and a fake safety capacitor. On the low volt side is a fairly large rectifier diode and two electrolytic smoothing capacitors.









On this side is the bridge rectifier (BD1), the QC controller IC (U4: marked KTG30) and a reference (U3: 431).





At first look the circuit board looks fine enough, but a closer looks at these electrolytic capacitors shows otherwise. They are not supposed to have a black part at the bottom, this is the plug that has left the aluminium tube due to high pressure inside. The reason is over voltage, the capacitor is marked 10V and it happened when I selected QC 12V, that the capacitor was hot probably also helped to make it “exploded” faster.



The distance between mains and low volt side must be at least 4mm when there is a slot, here it is more like 2.5mm.


The charger passed the 2830 volt but failed the 4242 volt this makes it unsafe with 230V



Conclusion

A Samsung charger from Ebay, is this a real on or a fake one?
With QC, fake safety capacitor, low safety distance and capacitors that exploded I will say it is a fake.


Stay away from this charger.



Notes

This is not the first fake Samsung charger of this model I review

This charger was donated by a reader for review.

Index of all tested USB power supplies/chargers
Read more about how I test USB power supplies/charger
How does a usb charger work?
2

Thanks once again for the review.

This should restore everyone’s faith in (fake) low voltage protections circuits keeping (fake) unprotected batteries from exploding in their hands or on their heads as well. :frowning:

3

Fake safety capacitor? :confounded: That’s one Ive never heard of before. Thanks for the tear-down and pointing that out.

Walmart and Amazon 3rd party sellers are also HUGE contributors to all the fake unsafe garbage out of China being sold to unknowing consumers. Even worse are all the shills that post dozens or even hundreds of fake reviews to dupe consumers into buying their trash.

4

What to call them? I could just write a capacitor and then add more text about it not being a safety capacitor, calling it a “fake safety capacitor” is shorter and will convey the problem.

I see this as a very serious fault, a real safety capacitor will stay safe after a voltage transient, this one will not!

5

Yes sir! The name you chose is perfect, and agree with your statement. Thank you for sharing your findings with the rest of us. This charger is extremely popular worldwide, which is why the Chinese counterfeit them by the tens of thousands. You aren’t the first to spot the fakes of this particular model, and Im glad you were able to apply your knowledge in electronics to point out its dangerous construction. Most everyone owns many micro-usb chargers supplied by reputable manufacturers that came packaged with OEM equipment (which typically never fail). Its the aftermarket and counterfeit sales we all have to worry about. So your choices for test candidates have been invaluable.
Most of my flashlight related chargers have been purchased upon your recommendation. I service a large private industry with flashlights and other gadgets. Id be extremely concerned to find that one of the items I sold had failed and injured someone who relied on me to help them with their purchasing decisions. So we all owe YOU a HUGE THANKS for all the effort and information you have given to help keep us safe, while weeding through the unrelenting mountain of pure-shit products coming from China.
Keep up the good work!

6

Thanks again for an informative review.

I have bought these 2 “Samsung” chargers from this AliExpress store. They seem to be working well. However, I can’t be sure if they are genuine or not (they look genuine to me, but I don’t have a more stricter way of testing, and I do not wish to break them apart):

Samsung EP-TA20EWE
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Fast-Charger-1-2M-USB-Data-Cable-for-Samsung-Galaxy-S6-S6-Edge-S7-S7/32803678463.html

and

Samsung EP-TA10EWE
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-2A-Wall-Charger-1M-USB-Data-Cable-for-Samsung-Galaxy-S5-Note-3/32805927055.html

Maybe if you have time, can you take a look at them? Thank you!

The EP-TA10EWE has a high USB voltage (5.3-5.4v) and it seems to be one of the very few chargers that my Xtar VC4 battery charger works without dropping charging current (likely due to the higher USB voltage)

7

I have one more fake Samsung charger review ready, after that I will look at other charges, many of them cheap.
As you can see at the bottom of some reviews a reader has been very nice supplying me with cheap chargers.