> Impacted products will be listed as “535 Power Bank (PowerCore 20K)” with model number A1366.

Edit 1: Fill this form if you are eligible for a refund

Anker used to be my go to brand for cheap electronics but after their spycam disaster with Eufy and now this, I don’t think I’ll be a repeat customer.

expanding from spy cameras to explosives

[removed]

Anyone got any Anker alternatives?

I’ve seen UGREEN floating around seem to be similar to Anker and make GaN products too. Haven’t personally tried their products though

I get the Eufy camera concerns, but practically every major electronics retailer has had a recall over battery issues at one point or another. As long as there isn't evidence that Anker is systematically ignoring battery concerns or there are widespread defects across multiple models, I don't see a reason not to trust their batteries even after this.

After the Eufy thing I’m not sure I trust them enough to plug a USB device of theirs into anything of mine.

I’m not as worried about fires.

[removed]

Understandable. I'm personally not freaking out about it but I get why some would.

Still the best powerbank I own, wouldn’t buy anything else from them

Im a huge fan of this brand. Love their products.

Baseus

Out of the loop here, what happened with Eufy? Never even heard of Eufy before.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/02/ankers-eufy-admits-problems-with-unencrypted-video-access-pledges-overhaul/

Their “no cloud” security cameras would actually allow third party access to unencrypted streams.

It took 3 months for them to come clean about the issue. An absolute disaster from a security perspective - multiple, multiple failings were required for those products to hit market.

Monoprice and ugreen

I don’t. it was an honest mistake in their software that has nothing to do with simple battery packs

"with proof of purchase and order number". Given that power banks are often a disress purchase not made online, who keeps receipts around for such a low value item?

Honest mistakes are minor. This was not honest, or a mistake.

They marketed these devices as specifically “no cloud” security, because of the concerns over Ring and other devices like that.

Then it turns out that it was all made up.

Their devices sent images to the cloud. Unencrypted. AND SAVED IT THERE

Their devices sent video to the cloud. Unencrypted. For anyone with the right url to view.

There were numerous, numerous failings in the security model of this supposedly secure device. They knowingly went to market with it. They avoided owning up to it for 3 months. They continued to sell the defective product during that time frame.

This was not an honest mistake.

I got rid of mine immediately, with the exception of two that point towards the street.

I originally had ring until they got bought out by Amazon.

now I’m at the point where i can’t trust any company with my privacy so I’m in the process of building my own security camera network from the ground up. Having some problems with chip shortages but it’s going well.

I just got one of these a month ago for my trip to Kenya. Worked great for recharging mine, wife and friends phones. Didn't get hot at all. Any reco's for replacement? 2 x USB-C ports a must have.

This battery costs around a hundred dollars jsyk

Use most of their stuff right now. It's great for the price

[deleted]

[deleted]

I had an ankle wall block go bad. Don’t even know how that happens.

Ravpower

[removed]

I contacted anker support and they have issued a full refund (waiting for it to complete) they also suggested the 537 as a replacement and offered me a 20% discount.

It's about 150g heavier, slightly more capacity and has a higher output.

[removed]

I used to use an Anker USB hub until it got extremely hot out of nowhere and fried my iPhone. I’m done with them lol

Oh great, I just bought a Power Core III 20k two weeks ago

And I think anker sells mostly online on Amazon. I don't remember ever seeing an anker product on physical retail stores. Not that it doesn't exist, but it isn't common.

You buy Anker stuff offline? Where? All of mine was bought through Amazon, and you can look up or PDF the order form for those

That article is really misleading.

> The encryption scheme on the URLs also seemed to lack sophistication; as the same researcher told Ars, it took only 65,535 combinations to brute-force,

It only takes 65,535 guesses if you already know the serial number, which is a 16-digit non-sequential alphanumeric string that would take longer than the age of the universe to guess.

me too,charges the xps 13,very solid

Yeah. It sucks because They were known for their quality products.

I don't think they could win me back ever after the Eufy thing though.

To be fair, the eufy products are junk anyway.

Their batteries are amazing and definitely will stick to them for their batteries. Haven't found a better alternative yet!

Off the top of my head, we purchased a PowerBank 500 Fusion at BestBuy in 2018, PowerCore 10000 in July 2022 at Walmart, both physically in the brick and mortar stores.

Neither had the whole gamut of Anker’s offerings, but it was nice being able to grab it off the shelf

I bought a Anker charger at Walmart, so they’ve hit the mainstream

I've never needed to replace a Monoprice cable, and they are ridiculously inexpensive. I love the 10-ft. braided nylon. I buy all my audio/video cables and adapters from them

Part of me wonders if it was a disconnect between development and product marketing honestly. Dev had one direction from management and then marketing had to find an angle to push and someone heard they were local only, wires got crossed and here we are.

Ah ok I didn’t know. I had seen some plugin charger adapters at Target but that was it and that was a while back.

it’s a big company. this is the most likely case, but people are quick to assume malicious intent.

regardless, i’m not gonna be scared to buy a battery pack because I’m scared they’ll intentionally put spying hardware inside.

[deleted]

Have you found a good alternative for Anker?

I like my Xtar power bank, because it is actually using replaceable 18650 lithium cells, and is actually also meant as a 18650 battery charger that has a powerbank function.

I'm sure there are powerbanks that take a little less space for the same capacity, but on the other hand you can grab a couple more 5-10$ 18650 cells (from e.g. Samsung, LG, Panasonic) and expand your capacity by just swapping those out. Can't get more compact than the cell itself...

I personally use a Romoss 30k. Dependable, economical, and reportedly uses high quality, sturdy plastic, and has cells sourced from the same plant that supplies iPhones, etc.

Dropped about 5-6 times from the top bunk to tiled floors. No issues, little deformation to the casing.

If you are asking about power banks that is.

I still use Anker cords in nearly all things.

Oh hello samsung, pardon me, anker

Yeah they’ve been pretty mainstream for a while now. I kinda miss when they were up and coming. Bought a lot of bricks and banks for great prices. I’ve still got a powercore 3k that’s flawless, think I paid $12 for. I still use it with my quest 2.

They were banned from Amazon for influencing reviews.

Their banks are real good, but a lot of the bricks now are real expensive, to the point where an Apple USB-C equivalent charger, or cables, are cheaper than anker

I bought my first powerbank from them in like 2013 and it still works. They were far cheaper and better than everything else on the market. Sad to see the Webcam thing. Fire thing seems par for the course for batteries now a days.

Thanks! I'll check them out.

Edit: Just bought one and received 40% off too. Thanks again!

I provided a source. You can do the same.

And no executives knew anything about the mixup. No one approved this, it just happened.

BestBuy usually has some Anker stuff.

Nice! Let me know how you like it once you have received it and used it!

Out of an ocean of power bank brands, Romoss was one of the firsts I found, and one I ended up sticking with lol.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/30/23486753/anker-eufy-security-camera-cloud-private-encryption-authentication-storage

If you read in between the fearmongering:

> the way we initially obtained the address required logging in with a username and password before Eufy’s website will cough up the encryption-free stream.

> that address largely consists of your camera’s serial number encoded in Base64

> On the plus side, Eufy’s serial numbers are long at 16 characters and aren’t just an increasing number. “You’re not going to be able to just guess at IDs and begin hitting them,” says Mandiant Red Team consultant Dillon Franke, calling it a possible “saving grace” of this disclosure. “It doesn’t sound quite as bad as if it’s UserID 1000, then you try 1001, 1002, 1003.”

Will do! Anker has always been my go to but I did notice they're always more expense than others which I convinced myself that's good thing. I needed to buy another power bank because my wife is always taking the one that I use for work. She can just keep the old one now. lol

I got the model A1364 lol

[deleted]

There are two different parts of the URL, one is a 4-digit hexadecimal number that has 65,535 possibilities, the other is the 16-digit serial number that has 43-thousand-million-million-million possibilities. The "researcher" was only able to brute force it in 65,535 tries because they had physical access to the camera and were able to read the serial number off the label.

Hmm, good to know. Thanks!

Interesting though that I have a 60W charger and a large battery pack and they are amazing. Not sure why they needed to do that.

Spycam

[deleted]

Ah, not as bad as it first looked, but:

> he points out that companies don’t tend to keep their serial numbers secret. Some stick them right on the box they sell at Best Buy — yes, including Eufy.

I’m good with condemning this massive lapse/lie about “no cloud” devices.

Their original statements, from that link: With secure local storage, your private data never leaves the safety of your home, and is accessible by you alone. False. Facial ID images were uploaded to the Eufy cloud. All recorded footage is encrypted on-device False. Footage was not encrypted. At all. Only the url was encrypted, not the footage. This is also known as a lie

Cheap?

Can also vouch for Xtar 18650 chargers and banks!

I use UGREEN HDD enclosures. Full SMART passthrough, never had an issue with the brand so I'd happily trust their power banks!

Any recommendations for a good brand? I look at Amazon… but not happy with knock off brands

Yea I got this exact power bank at target.

!remindMe 4hrs

You'd be surprised how little executives know about the business going on below them, they just like seeing profits. I honestly don't think this was malice or Anker/eufy thinking they could hide it from people forever, it was an oversight. Oversight doesn't mean it is ok though at all! These sorts of things should be avoided and corrected when pointed out for sure. I just don't really see the benefit they would gain from knowingly lying about it.

So the A1366 is being recalled. Lucky for me I have a A1244, which I'm sure doesn't share any of the same components.

I know everyone seemed to love Anker when they first started out but I had a lot of chargers that have died. You get what you pay for I guess.

Someone fucked up in an egregious way. While shit rolls downhill, I believe the ultimate accountability lies with the executive product owners who allowed this defective product to be marketed this way.

Whether or not they knew is immaterial, they should have known.

+1 . Their hdmi cables are always on spec (rare feat if you want 120 hz hdr 4k, even with much more expensive brands) and also have their high spec usb c cable and 4 port gan charger, both are 1+ year old and going strong.

I've had good experience with choetech even before anker had scandals

LTT basically slotted UGREEN directly into the sponsor position that Anker used to have

but more recently i've been most partial to ikea. you wouldn't think of them at first but they actually have some very good and price competitive offerings

You can just get another model from Anker if you’d like, they have several power banks that aren’t setting houses on fire.

my first goto is ikea now, if they don't have what i want then i look broader

I've been using this exact 535 (A1366) since november.

the only thing that has stood out, is how hot the gan brick can become when charging. after a full cycle, the unit seems to rival surface temperatures on the sun.

I own an Anker.

And like ALL devices, it's important to read the directions likeeee where it says, unplug when fully charged. Don't use as a wall plug power bank to charge multiple devices.

I'm not saying Anker isn't to blame here, but we can't treat technology like it's invincible.

Used to have a nice Anker Bluetooth speaker. It almost set my house on fire. Their customer service was like "thanks for telling us! Ok bye"

Oh we are completely in agreement trust me. They definitely fucked up. Fucking up with people's data is massive, let alone personal CCTV footage.

I was just saying I don't think the management at Anker decreed "we must store this data secretly for our own purposes and never tell anyone! Muahahaah" like some people seem to think about this news.

Management are ultimately responsible for this oversight and someone below didn't do things right for sure. It is just Hanlon's razor laid out by a large corporate.

Any recommendations other than Anker these days? I don't recognize any of the current brands.

Haven't some models of their power banks just been duds. Like I have heard about how some of the power banks only lasted a year and or were fire concerns.

[deleted]

Check your model # … I gave a PowerCore III 20k as a Christmas gift and just checked with the recipient, theirs says A1364. Whereas the recall is A1366. The model naming is very confusing.

I have an A1288, which I too am sure doesn't share any of the same components, lol.

[deleted]

[deleted]

Sure, it would just take longer than the age of the universe.

Yeah. Waiting for some zeros to come in then l I’ll be able to finish. I refuse to pay a 400% markup.

In the meantime, I’m working on my homelab.

They turned trash really quickly. Just like G-Tech/G-Drive did. I had a power bank die after a few months. Expensive shit too. And two heavy duty flashlights have had issues after swapping them out once already. Fuck Anker.

The good news is that my battery bank isn’t the recalled model number. The bad news is I’m probably going to need glasses soon.

I also use Xtar and ask the pros are true. However some competitors charge a lot faster (I have a XMI one that can charge laptops at full speed) and are lighter/less bulky for sale capacity. Xtar is lot better in the sense you can carry a larger capacity on planes as each individual battery won't be over the limit

Yeah, 2013 was still when they mad good products. I’ve since purchases a power bank which died in under a year. Two flashlights from them had major issues. Im over Anker.

[deleted]

[deleted]

I probably have one of those idk

You bought a Chinese camera and you didn't know this? Bullshit.

A1288 gang here! Prime day special!

[removed]

I agree, but it also seems like if you happen to have one of these, they should just replace it no questions asked. Does it really matter where you got it from or if you have a receipt?

It says only the black ones which is weird

Moulding black plastic is typically cheaper than colors.

A1271 and I literally just took it out of my pocket when I sat down before seeing this

Thanks for the heads up

Not often but I don't buy powerbanks daily anyway. A while ago - but not currently - they were on the shelf at mediamarkt, and I've seen them in malls in dubai.

I know it's different for everyone, but that's not usually something I'd be particularly careful about receipts beyond the first month or so ; when they usually live in a pile on the kitchen table (single guy).

It's not the 90s anymore. Any charger that will overcharge the battery if left plugged it does not deserve to go into production.

I got 2 A1365s

[removed]

Darn I don’t know which one I have but I have one of those now I need to check

Edit: good news it’s not the one I have

I have the A1229 one same

[removed]

I still buy RAVPower power banks, despite Amazon banning them. Still make good products. Anker are nice since they are decent quality and next day delivery from Amazon. Ravpower still seems to dropship from amazon, which is kinda weird, but I'm told that the warehouse shipping didn't ban RAVPower just the webstore portion.

[removed]

Nitecore has nice powerbanks, I have https://www.nitecorestore.com/Nitecore-NB10000-Gen-2-Power-Bank-p/bat-nite-nb10000.htm

Anyone have problems with their chargers or type c cables?

I also really like RavPower products. But I hate their pricing. So many different ads and deals and codes and specials and inconsistent pricing across platforms.

I also like Zendure a lot

Well shit. I have one of these somewhere in my apartment fully charged but I don’t know where it is.

The recall statement does not say that a component is faulty, it's just that a component (NTC thermistor) is misplaced during production, and so could press on and/or rupture the battery cells.

If you think Anker's quality is bad, Ugreen is much, much worse.

A1366 max input is 30W, so if you're using a 30W adapter to charge the A1366 power bank, it is using its full effort to charge it. In such a compact size and load, heat should be expected.

I have been using zendure recently and have not looked back. They are also significantly faster To charge than the ankers

>And I think anker sells mostly online on Amazon

OK, I guess that means that Anker is legally entitled to murder their other customers and burn their houses down

Which model

This sounds interesting, I've always wanted to get into the DIY powerbank space but I'm not sure how to begin.

Zendure!

a 30W GaN is not expected to become scalding hot during normal operation. no other device in my lineup - that draws identical wattage - elicits an identical response.

Works to charge an Apple Watch also without shutting off. Yes xtar is great.

There's not much to it, it's just a magnetic case/shell into which you place the batteries. Xtar even allows you to use smaller batteries in it as well (half-size 18650, forgot the correct designation), can't really mess it up in any way as far as I know.

I bought it as a charger for 18650 since I have some lithium battery flashlight, but the power bank function ended up being even more useful.

Some new flashlights have a reverse-charging powerbank function too. Probably Wurkkos of Sofirn. Though don't fall too deep into that flashlight enthusiast rabbit hole. If you've never owned an enthusiast flashlight, it's amazing how powerful they are compared to the stuff they normally sell in stores. And interestingly, quality western made flashlights are very rare, the chinese are the best in this field and you can get the best flashlights easily on aliexpress.

I got mine for a trip to Uganda and the model number has rubbed off, welp!

Whether or not they lied is a separate issue to whether or not your camera data was feasibly vulnerable to attack.

That’s my power bank. Damn.

Well it's probably a dud. My GaNPrime 65W does not feel hot even in full load.

Aren’t setting houses on fire yet

[deleted]

I’ve always loved Aukey banks

I realize this seems a bit like a different segment, but the 737 is fantastic. I have a few powerbanks (used to travel for work), but the 737 goes on sale pretty often for like $110 (it's currently $149.99 but with a $40 coupon on Amazon) and has 24,000mAh, 140W output, 2 full-speed Type-C and 1 Type-A port, and a helpful display that shows exactly how fast it's charging/discharging. I've only had this one for like 2 months, but it's been great.

It's hard to find a powerbank that charges as quickly as it discharges...but I've charged this thing at 120W (fastest charger I had) and I have no reason to believe it wouldn't charge at 140W if I had a charger for it. It's the only powerbank I've owned that can charge my MBP at full speed through the MagSafe (which is 100W, IIRC, on the 14" M1 Pro MacBook Pro).

Keyword here

I really need to get a power bank with fast charging. The current Anker one I have maxes out at 10W I'm pretty sure

I agree with that, I think the other commenter meant that this isn't some NSA-style deliberate spying on the part of Anker/Eufy. Some have framed it that way, as if Anker/Eufy is going to put a secret camera and wifi transmitter into a power bank.

Their robovacs are pretty decent, unfortunately I fucked up and left the cat's water bowl on the ground and it ran into it and sucked up water.

True, this one may not be designed to get rid of the heat buildup from charging and passing power through at the same time. They may need to redesign it to be larger or disable the ports when it's plugged in.

Black or white is usually a default color for a lot of plastics

SoundCore Pro I think

[removed]

I have a kinda old power bank from them and it still works really well. It’s nice that they do a recall of a defective product. I’ve heard that they’ve been in some shady stuff lately so that’s not a good thing. But in general I’m happy of the products I bought from them even if it’s not that many products

Quite the opposite. But if you say so

I just committed to one, excited to try it out. Do you plan on getting 747 charger too? I have the Nano 3 30w and it’s been a lil trooper. My strongest brick is my 61w MacBook charger.

Nah, I don't need to charge that fast. I have a few 60W Anker charging blocks and they're great.

> refund offered with proof of purchase

Isn't having one proof of purchase? Someone had to buy it

shits lit 🔥🤡

I buy their stuff constantly. I have never had an issue with anything.

[removed]

[removed]