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How to identify fake mobile chargers in Nairobi

By Winnie Mabel December 22nd, 2022 2 min read

Walk into any major designated public transportation stage in Kenya and you will stumble upon hawkers selling wares including water and snacks to small radios, power banks, mobile chargers, and flash drives, all bundled into boxes strategically draped across their bodies as they move from one vehicle to another trying to entice potential clients.

Some of these hawkers claim to be selling legitimate items including fast chargers but some victims often reveal on social media how they were duped into purchasing fake electronics that could not function for more than a day.

Roy Kanyi, a Kenyan technology reviewer on TikTok took the time to advise Kenyans how they could avoid getting scammed by knowing how to identify legitimate fast mobile chargers from the fake ones being peddled on the streets.

“Let’s talk about fast chargers and how you’re being scammed on the streets. For your phone to charge fast, it goes down to three things. Number one, your phone. You know how keen you are to know how much RAM your phone has, you should also know its wattage. How do you know this? Go to GSM Marena, type your phone’s name then scroll down to battery to find out the battery type and the charging data. You will know how many watts your phone has,” he explained.

“Number two is the power brick (‘charger head’. This is where we get it wrong. You see all power bricks have voltage and ampires indicated on them. Just multiply the two of them and you will know the wattage. It’s simple math. Therefore, if your power brick has 25 watts, that is the maximum power it can supply to your phone. Do we understand each other? And if your phone receives 45 watts, it means it is only going to charge at 25 watts. The same power brick can be a fast charge for another phone and a slow charger for another phone.”

“The last factor is the cable. Get a cable that can transfer all this power to your phone- especially these thick cable. Remember in physics? Electrical connectivity increase with the increase in the surface area. It applies here. I hope you’ve learnt something,” said Kanyi.

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