Faux electronics fiascos

Till just lately, at the very least to the most effective of my consciousness and recollection, I’ve solely been fooled into three purchases of counterfeit tech gadgets, all of which I’ve documented in previous weblog posts:

1. Palms-on overview: Is a premium digital audio participant well worth the value? (Particularly notice the point out inside it of my acquisition of two fake-capacity 400GB microSD playing cards)
2. Reminiscence playing cards: Specs and (extra) deceptions, and
3. USB activation dongles: Counterfeit woes

Within the first and third instances, I ought to, looking back, have identified higher, for the reason that gadgets I purchased have been considerably decrease priced than equivalents from extra “professional” vendor sources. The second case was the seeming results of somebody returning to Amazon a falsely labeled subpar substitute for one thing they’d purchased, and Amazon not catching the switcheroo and reselling it as legit on the “Warehouse” space of their website. In all three instances, fortunately, I received my a reimbursement.

Mercari’s earlier monitor document

This fourth time, sadly, I wasn’t so fortunate. And the deception was, if something. extra spectacular (amongst different, less-positive adjectives) than earlier than. Mercari, for these of you not already acquainted with it, is a Japan-based purchaser/vendor middleman on-line service in the identical vein as eBay or (for audio gear) Reverb. It’s typically thought of to be extra “seller-friendly” than eBay; how a lot so will turn into clear shortly. My first (latest) buy there, which went easily and efficiently, was of a headphone amplifier. I subsequently picked up an identical equalizer from the identical producer (Schiit Audio) through one other vendor, together with two Raspberry Pi AI Cameras and a special-edition Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses set, the latter which shall be showcased in one other writeup (a pseudo-teardown, to be exact) this month. All went advantageous.

The sixth Macari-coordinated transaction? Not so advantageous. Maybe, looking back, the prior monitor document lulled me right into a false sense of complacency. Extra doubtless, I simply “needed to consider” an excessive amount of, referencing the memorable X-Information poster- and character-delivered quote:

I’d been watching the for-sale postings of a vendor with username “Skii” (apparently brief for “skiitheflipper”) for some time. This individual repeatedly listed claimed-legitimate and factory-sealed 2nd-generation Apple AirPods on the market, and Mercari dutifully let me know every time “Skii” lowered his gross sales value on the actual set I used to be watching. After they hit $93, I used to be severely tempted. And when Mercari did a one-day free-shipping promotion, I bit. The entire value, together with gross sales tax and a $3.54 “purchaser safety charge” (cue foreshadow snort), was $100.88.

A pause right here for some background: first off, on condition that I already had each a major and backup set of first-generation AirPods Professionals, why was I curious about a second-generation set the primary place, significantly with the AirPods Professional 3 rumored to reach later this yr? On the regular $249 value, I wasn’t. Even on the pretty frequent $189-or-thereabouts promotion value, I didn’t pull the set off. However why the curiosity at all? The AirPods Professional 2, compared to the first-generation forebears I already owned, have claimed superior lively noise cancellation, for instance, together with dynamically adaptive “transparency” mode and longer battery life. More moderen gen-2-only enhancements embody the Listening to Help function, which I don’t require (at the very least I don’t suppose so! What did you say?) however nonetheless needed to strive. And the additional temptation of probably upcoming Reside Language Translation pushed me over the sting…as soon as the worth tag dipped under $100, that’s.

About that value…a lot of you might be doubtless proper now pondering one thing alongside the strains of “Have been you actually so silly as to suppose that one thing offered at a roughly 2/3 low cost to MSRP was legit?”. Really, I wasn’t. Though, hey, who is aware of…per the “flipper” portion of the vendor’s username, possibly she or he had scooped up the stock of a going-out-of-business retailer and was reselling it. Regardless, I figured that I’d give the acquisition a shot, and if it was a pretend (as I assumed can be instantly apparent) I’d file a dispute and get my a reimbursement. Which was conceptually possible, thoughts you. However as a Mercari beginner, I didn’t understand how tough it will be, each in an absolute sense and in relative comparability to eBay (on which I’d been a daily participant since 1997), to translate the buyer-refund idea into actuality. Maintain that thought.

The itemizing 

Again to my story. To his credit score, the vendor at the very least was speedy from a supply standpoint; the package deal shipped on Tuesday, April 1 (April Idiot’s Day: how prophetic) and arrived that very same Saturday. At first look, at the very least to my uneducated-recipient’s eyes, the whole lot seemed genuine, though had I identified extra/higher I by no means would have clicked on “purchase” within the first place. Listed here are the images that accompanied the itemizing:

Seems to be legit, proper? Just one downside, I later realized: Apple reportedly not sells AirPods in shrink-wrapped packing containers. However faux for now that, like me on the time, you’re not conscious of that crucial nuance.

The supply

Right here’s the (shrink-wrap already eliminated) field of the particular product I acquired, as common, accompanied by a 0.75″ (19.1 mm) diameter U.S. penny for dimension comparability functions:

The tape strips on the prime and the underside have been seemingly “stiffer” than I’d remembered earlier than with different Apple gadgets, however I didn’t give that a lot thought, desperate to get inside:

Getting the 2 halves of the field aside was equally tougher than I’d remembered …however once more, I now take pleasure in hindsight in making these key-nitpick observations. The literature package deal up-top appeared to be legit:

The protecting plastic sleeve across the case admittedly additionally appeared flimsier than I’d remembered from different Apple earbuds (there’s that rear-view-mirror perspective once more):

Placing the case apart for a minute, let’s take a look at the remainder of the contents (once more, a reminder that these photographs have been taken post-initial elimination). Further earbud tip sizes:

And under them, an authentic-looking and purposeful (at the very least for charging) USB-C cable:

Now for that case. The LED in entrance seemingly operates as anticipated (each inexperienced and orange illumination mode choices), as do the audio system and USB-C port on the underside edge:

Open the case: it nonetheless appears, sounds (beep!), and in any other case acts legit.

Earbuds out: Charging contacts on the backside of every receptacle.

The earbuds themselves, from varied views. Apologies for the earwax remnants

“That’s odd.” 

Again within the case for preliminary pairing, which is the place my preliminary “that’s odd” second occurred (maintain that thought for a doable rationalization to observe shortly):

I didn’t recall this specific message earlier than, significantly for supposedly brand-new Apple earbuds, however I plunged on and received them paired and related to my Apple consumer account straightaway. They routinely additionally appeared within the paired-Bluetooth-devices listings of all my different Apple widgets. One factor that appeared a bit unusual upfront was that “Handoff” mode, whereby I may connect with them from one other account-associated machine even when they have been linked to a distinct machine on the time, didn’t appear to work. I as an alternative wanted to manually disconnect them from, for instance, my iPad earlier than I may join them to my MacBook Professional. However after a little bit of on-line analysis, I chalked that as much as a possible bug with the earbuds’ present firmware model (7A305, which dated from late September 2024). And about that…try the three-part post-activation settings itemizing:

All appears legit, proper? The earbuds even claimed that legitimate guarantee protection existed via June 2025! Activating noise cancellation appeared to do one thing, though I can’t say it was notably superior (and even equal) to what I’d skilled with their first-generation forebears. And once I tried to activate listening to help mode, it informed me that I’d must replace the firmware earlier than that exact function was accessible for my use. All cheap. Once I tried “Discover My” on them, it couldn’t find them, however I figured that since I’d simply activated them, Apple’s servers have been simply sluggish and so they’d present up finally. So, I linked them to my iPad, put them in shut proximity to it in order that the firmware would auto-update, and…

Mercari’s vendor ranking coverage

One other background-info pause. As quickly as USPS delivered the earbuds, Mercari as-usual despatched e-mail alerting me that they have been at my entrance door and—that is key—instantly encouraging me to “charge the vendor” so she or he may receives a commission. From previous expertise, these emails would proceed at a one-to-multiple times-per-day cadence till I both reported an issue or went forward and rated the vendor. And right here’s the twist that I didn’t understand till afterwards:

• The customer has solely 72 hours after package deal supply to report an issue
• Within the absence purchaser response on the contrary after (solely) 72 hours, Mercari goes forward and routinely marks the package deal as acquired and pays the vendor anyway (keep in mind my earlier “seller-friendly” remark in regards to the service?), and
• As soon as the transaction is full, Mercari washes its fingers (phrases paradoxically written by me inside the Triduum) of the matter and accepts no additional fiscal accountability.

Did I’m going forward and charge the vendor that very same night in order that he/she may get promptly paid? Bathed within the “giddiness glow” of a seeming legit transaction…sure, I did. Sigh. The following morning, in fact, once I checked the settings and noticed that the firmware had not up to date, alarm bells belatedly began going off in my head. A number of subsequent factory-reset and re-pairs have been equally unsuccessful in getting the firmware up to date. After which I discovered this video:

Totally different serial numbers on every earbud

whereby I remembered that though the serial quantity on the packaging matched that on the case and (by default) reported in settings, the serial numbers for the proper and left earbuds have been alleged to be completely different in each locations. Right here, for instance, are the serial quantity markings on the case and earbuds for my first-generation AirPods Professionals (apologies once more for the earwax bits):

The print is a bit faint, however hopefully you’ll be able to see that the serial numbers on the earbuds each don’t match these on the case (H6VHW8651059) and are completely different from one another (H6QHWQRX06CJ and H6VHX88Q0C6K).

Now right here’s the settings itemizing entry of curiosity for the “fakes”. In case you click on on it, it’ll report distinctive serial numbers for the case and every earbud:

And the mannequin numbers stamped on the case and each earbuds are additionally completely different, and match what they need to be. However the stamped serial numbers on all three? An identical: DT601W1T41.

And are, I’m guessing, additionally equivalent to the serial numbers stamped on and reported by who-knows-how-many different equivalent “fakes” additionally offered by “Skii” and others, which is why I received the preliminary “not your” notification at the start of the pairing course of. Apple, is it not doable to detect and extra meaningfully alert homeowners when a number of units of earbuds with equivalent serial numbers are activated? You’ve got each fiscal and reputational motivations to take action, in any case.

I’m begrudgingly impressed with the diploma to which these counterfeit earbuds mimic the actual factor. And right here’s the twist: have been I the proprietor of solely a single Apple machine, similar to an iPhone, due to this fact unaware of the “Handoff” glitch, and have been I a typical non-geeky (non-Brian) shopper, unaware tips on how to decide the present firmware model, removed from what the present model is, tips on how to replace it and what it will add to my utilization expertise…I may be blissfully unaware far into the longer term that I’d purchased a cheap-but-fake set of earbuds …possibly ceaselessly.

Reporting the pretend to Mercari

I reported the scenario intimately, full with photos, to Mercari. All through the following e-mail back-and-forth, they a number of occasions jogged my memory that:

While you submit a ranking in your transaction, you might be prompted to verify you perceive that after the ranking is submitted, the sale is last. As soon as submitted, funds are launched to the vendor and we’re not in a position to course of a return or refund. Transferring ahead, in case you obtain an merchandise that isn’t as described, please don’t submit a ranking in your vendor and make contact with us instantly.

That mentioned, additionally they made a promise:

Please know that if a report is made towards the vendor we are going to conduct an investigation to verify the suspicions. If the vendor is discovered responsible speedy motion shall be taken towards them relating to their listings. I recognize in your issues and only for you we are going to additional overview this for you. Your case shall be taken as a suggestions and we do worth your time in reaching out to us to tell us of this inquiry.

and:

Relating to your vendor’s motion, please notice that our group may be very vigilant with these sorts of actions. We’ll conduct monitoring the place we might want to examine all their transactions and guarantee that our Belief and Security group will overview this concern. Please depart it to us, relaxation assured that the proper sanction shall be given accordingly.

It’s been two weeks since I filed my report. “Skii” continues to be on Mercari. And as I write these phrases, she or he has three extra “genuine” AirPods Professional 2 units on the market. Admittedly, “Skii” might not even know that the earbuds being offered are fakes. Though I doubt it. Caveat emptor, certainly.

Then there was this closing e-mail from Mercari:

Thanks for reaching out to Mercari! We hope your difficulty was resolved to your satisfaction.

We might recognize it in case you may take a second to offer us along with your suggestions. Your enter helps us enhance our service. Thanks for serving to us serve you higher!

Grrr.

I plan to “flip lemons into lemonade” through future teardowns of each the case and one of many earbuds, evaluating them to current revealed teardowns of legit alternate options. Till then, I welcome your ideas within the feedback on what I’ve written thus far on this “fakes” saga.

—Brian Dipert is the Editor-in-Chief of the Edge AI and Imaginative and prescient Alliance, and a Senior Analyst at BDTI and Editor-in-Chief of InsideDSP, the corporate’s on-line e-newsletter.

Associated Content material

• Palms-on overview: Is a premium digital audio participant well worth the value?
• Reminiscence playing cards: Specs and (extra) deceptions
• USB activation dongles: Counterfeit woes
• Apple’s newest product launch occasion takes flight
• Apple’s fall 2024 bulletins: SoC and reminiscence improve abundance

The publish Fooled by pretend Apple AirPods 2: Idiot me as soon as, disgrace on you appeared first on EDN.