TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An 11’ M1 iPad Pro purchased in August 2021 was rendered useless or “bricked” due to the use of an improper Type-C charger which burned out the device’s internal components, including the CPU.

According to a UDN report, a local netizen suspected he did nothing wrong by using an "original charger" from another major electronics manufacturer to charge his iPad Pro. In a PTT post, the netizen stated there was no external damage from dropping the device or exposing it to water.

His misfortune was compounded as the device was out of warranty, meaning he had to send it for third-party repairs, which found the power port, motherboard capacitor, and the CPU were all burned out. The suspected culprit ruining his iPad was a Type-C connector associated with a Nintendo Switch.

After sharing his experience online, many netizens were incredulous, noting that they had similarly used a Switch charger for the iPad, while others said such a charger made by Delta Electronics is quite good and he was just unlucky. According to Apple’s official website, Type-C adapters produced by Apple can be used across its entire product line, including Macbooks and iPads. However, it does not encourage the use of chargers made by other manufacturers.

In fact, using a third-party Type-C charger runs the risk of internal circuitry not having the appropriate safety measures to ensure proper charging. One netizen experienced the same problem using a Switch Type-C charger with a Macbook Pro, though fortunately, the repairs were done without charge as the Macbook was still under warranty.

Still, other netizens were quick to defend the Switch adapter and its use with other electronic devices, claiming there would be many more electronic devices exploding if it was just a faulty charger. This netizen noted that a tear-down of the Switch Type-C charger revealed that it is made by Taiwan’s Delta Electronics, which is a very reputable supplier.



One netizen did a deep dive into the technical specs, noting that the output voltage for the Switch charger is 5.0V/1.5A or 15.0V/2.6A. And the original charger included with the Apple iPad Pro is 5V/3A or 9V/2.22A. This led to the netizen to deduce that the Switch charger is not 9V compatible making it easier to heat up and potentially cause a short circuit in iPads.

Furthermore, another netizen pointed out that some Switch chargers directly connect to a charging base, and there have been many instances of Nintendo Switch consoles encountering problems associated with charging.