How to Identify a Fake Xiaomi (Mi) Power Bank

Owing to its quality built, better specifications and cheapest prices, Chinese Smartphone manufacturer ‘Xiaomi’ has gained a hell lot of attention from tech enthusiasts. But unfortunately, as the old saying, 'more popularity brings more fakes' and the current scenario is that there are more fake Xiaomi Power Banks in the global market than there are original ones. Using a fake power bank is something very dangerous as one is risking the life of their device, and more importantly one's own life. Listed below are the various tests which one should perform in order to differentiate a fake power bank from a legitimate one:

Differentiating between Genuine and Fake

Depending on the company manufacturing the fake power banks, there can be some cases where it works similarly to the genuine one, but it will surely fail most of the tests mentioned below:

• 20-digit Code Sticker on Retail Packaging

This is the first and the most easiest step to check if the power bank is a genuine one. There would only be a rare case wherein a fake Power Bank passes this test.

Genuine- Majority of the genuine Xiaomi power banks come with a sticker on the retail packaging which can be scratched off to reveal a unique 20-digit alpha-numeric code. Entering the code on the Xiaomi website would confirm the originality of the power bank. There may be some cases in which the packaging does not carry such a sticker, so please do consider performing other tests before coming a conclusion.

If you purchase the power bank from WS Retail seller on Flipkart, the product packaging won’t contain the 20-digit code. It is still genuine though as it passes the remaining tests.

Fake - A Fake power bank usually will not include any such sticker on the packaging or on the power bank, confirming that it is a fake product. Even if it carries a sticker, it will definitely fail the originality test on the official Xiaomi website.

You can check it here: http://chaxun.mi.com (in Chinese)

• Branding and Color on USB Cable

Genuine - The MicroUSB cable included with genuine Mi Power Banks does NOT carry any ‘Mi’ branding. If you see one with ‘Mi’ printed on it, it is a fake device. The genuine cable also has a black interior in the standard USB port.

Fake - Fake power banks ship with a MicroUSB Cable which has ‘Mi’ printed on it. Many of us gullible customers would take this as a sign of genuine product and apparently that’s what these fake sellers want to achieve by printing ‘Mi’ on the USB cable. Fake ones also have a white interior in the standard USB port.

• Colour of USB Ports on the Power Bank

Genuine – The front visible part of both the Micro USB and standard USB port have a rice white (creamish) color.

Fake - Most of the fake power banks on sale have a milk white color on the Standard USB port and a Black color on the micro USB port.

• Branding on the Standard USB Port

Genuine – A genuine ‘Xiaomi’ power bank carries a small ‘Mi’ branding on the chassis of the standard USB port in the power bank. It is small, but easily visible while observing under bright / natural lighting conditions.

Fake – Fake power banks don’t carry any such branding at all.

• Pass-Through Charging

This is the only foolproof test one can perform in order to check the originality of the power bank.

Genuine: The original Mi Power bank supports pass-through charging. Meaning the power bank will also charge a mobile phone connected to it while it itself is being charged from a wall-fitted power source.

Fake: The fake power bank does not have this capability and it will just charge itself and won’t pass on any current to the device(s) connected to it. It will only charge the mobile when you disconnect the power bank from the external power source.

• Printing at the Bottom

Genuine - Has ‘Mi’ printed on the bottom side of the device. It is well textured and can be easily felt by moving a finger over it.

Fake - Darker and blurry black ink is used for printing.

• LED Lights Function while Using

Genuine - While charging a device, holding the power button will turn off all the LED lights and they light up sequentially once the button is released.

Fake - No effect on pressing the power button while charging.

• No 20,800 mAh Power Bank

There are some sellers selling a Xiaomi Power Bank with a battery capacity of 20,800 mAh. All of these are fake devices, as Xiaomi does not manufacture any power bank with a capacity more than 10,400 mAh. So, if you see a retailer from China or on eBay selling a Xiaomi power bank of such capacity, you very well know its a fake one.

Does your Xiaomi power bank pass the above mentioned test or it fails most of them? Let us know below in the comments section.