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Friday, March 21, 2014

Samsung MHL 2.0 Adapter Not Working? It May Be Fake!


Just yesterday I posted about Samsung MHL adapters and what to expect when using one to connect your Galaxy smartphone to a Pioneer AppRadio. The video in that post explains how the adapters are supposed to work.

I've been reading more about Android connectivity with AppRadio and have stumbled across some interesting information which I will be writing about in the coming weeks. One such story involves spotting a fake MHL 2.0 adapter for the Galaxy S4.

A while back I received an email asking me how to connect a Galaxy S4 to the AppRadio 3. The person wrote he had purchased a Samsung MHL 2.0 adapter from eBay but couldn't get it to work. At first I told him he needs to connect a power source to the adapter using the microUSB port. But that didn't work.

See, the new MHL 2.0 adapter is supposed to work even without a power source connected to it. So I advised the person that it may be a one-off faulty adapter and that he should return it and ask for a replacement. I haven't heard back from him since.

Then I found this post on the xda-developers forum. A member "jmelan" had posted this back in August last year suggesting fake MHL 2.0 adapters making their rounds on sites like eBay. He has even posted pictures on how to spot a fake product.




Apparently, the original adapter weighs 42 grams compared to the fake one that comes in at 26 grams. Other signs include different packaging boxes, inserts and overall finish of the product. Nice catch, jmelan!

So next time you purchase a Samsung MHL 2.0 adapter, make sure you check if it's an original product or just a cheap rip-off. According to Samsung, the original adapter costs $39.99.

I should also mention that the so called 'fake' adapters do not include third-party products which do work with a Galaxy S4. These do not use the Samsung brand-name because they aren't made by Samsung. There are also some instances of the fake Samsung adapters working too. To be safe however, I'd recommend buying the original product.

Non-Samsung adapters (whether fake or not) usually cost less than $20.

Source: jmelan on xda-developers

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