British iOS device repair firm finds connection between third-party USB adapters and damage to iPhone 5 power management components

You know those nice, cheap third-party iPhone cables you can buy for dirt cheap at the check out line at the convenience store? They might be capable of damaging a power management component in the iPhone 5 handset.

Per iOS device repair firm mendmyl, a series of damaged power management components in Apple’s iPhone 5 handset has been traced back to unofficial USB adapters as well as USB-to-Lightning cables.

The working theory, though not officially confirmed, is that the third-party charging accessories do not properly regulate electrical current as it flows into the handset, which will then either burn out or render a power distribution component labeled “U2”, which is located just beneath the A6 processor on the iPhone’s logic board. The U2 component routes power to the iPhone 5’s battery and integrated charging controller as well as the sleep/wake button and controls certain USB functions for the handset.

It’s presently unclear as to whether the problem is limited only to the iPhone 5, but the prevalent idea is that cheap third-party USB adapters could potentially damage the circuitry on any iPhone handset, working outside the unit’s established voltage and current tolerances. In recent instances, Apple recalled a number of 5 watt power adapters as well as issued a warning to Chinese iPhone users last July asking that they use only official power adapters like those supplied with the device. The notice was issued after two people were electrocuted, one fatally, by iPhones connected to “counterfeit” adapters.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.