Exchanging your old phone: how the quote is worked out
Model, screen, battery and box: what we check in ten minutes, and how to get a fair exchange price.
Do cheap chargers and cables harm your phone?
What a poor charger can and cannot do, and how to choose a safe replacement without paying for a brand.
Customers often ask whether they must buy the phone maker’s own charger, or whether the ₹150 one from a pavement stall is fine. The honest answer sits in between. Cheap chargers are not all dangerous, but the worst ones can be.
A charger turns mains power into a low, steady voltage for your phone. A well-made one, from any maker, has proper insulation between the mains side and the cable, and circuits that cut power if something goes wrong. The cheapest copies often save money by skipping exactly those parts. In the best case, they charge slowly and get hot. In the worst case, they can overheat, damage the phone’s charging port or battery, or give an electric shock if the insulation fails.
The phone itself also protects the battery. It decides how much current to accept, so a 20 W charger will not push 20 W into a phone designed for 10 W. That is why using a more powerful charger from a reliable maker is usually fine. The risk comes from poor build quality, not from the number on the label.
When you buy a charger or cable, look for a solid weight, clear printing of the input and output ratings, a known maker’s name and a bill. Avoid chargers that feel very light, have loose pins or get too hot to hold. Our braided 1 m cable and 20 W charger cost ₹899, and we stock them because we have tested them on our bench with every phone we sell.
