using a mobile phone while it is charging

[whitehill]

Is there any truth in an email doing the rounds at present which says that if you use a mobile phone while it is connected to the electricity supply, ie. if you make or take a call while it is charging, you can receive a severe electric shock? I think this is a hoax but..................

[swanko]

rubbish.

[Everhelpful]

Bollix.!!

[Hymie]

Providing you are using the charger that was supplied with the phone, or one recommended by the phone manufacturer – then I would agree with swanko & Everhelpful. If on the other hand you have purchased a charger from a well known internet auction site, with the unit very likely manufactured in China – then no such guarantee can be made.

Protection from a mains shock (from the charger) is achieved by insulation within the charger (between the mains circuits and the charger output). I have seen chargers manufactured in China, in which this insulation is not present – with a high risk of shock, should you touch the charger output.

My advice is to always use an approved charger, and do not allow children to play with the things (they are not toys).

[karenmac60]

http://www.snopes.com...techno/cellcharge.asp

[whitehill]

Thank you all - you have confirmed what I felt. But I think my grandson is scared to phone my mobile after reading that, in case I pick up the call while the phone is on charge and he is responsible for killing me! Now I can reassure him with some authority.

[Tim123]

I suppose that, in theory, a catalogue of highly improbable faults in both the charger and the phone could cause a metal part of the phone casing (if it has any) to become live, rather than something melting or a fuse blowing. However, you would get a shock as soon as you touched the part, which would most likely be when you unplugged the charger, rather than when answering a call.

It's maybe a tiny, tiny fraction more likely than the one about mobile phones potentially causing fires at petrol stations.