THIS week, tabloid headlines screamed that so-called 'Kodi Boxes' were a threat not only to the entertainment industries around the world, but to your life.  

A few articles claimed that these devices could 'kill' their owners due to electrical safety standards failures - based on the findings of a safety report. 

But before you toss your set-top box in the bin, it's worth bearing in mind that a lot of electrical goods that don't carry a brand name fall into that 'unknown' category and that doesn't mean they should be discarded.

Normally stories surrounding Kodi revolve around the illegal content available through third-party add-ons, but this time it's about how the box could pose a physical risk to their owners.

TorrentFreak looked into the claims and examined the full report issued by Electrical Safety First (ESF). 

Glasgow Times:

(Picture credit: eBay)

The tests were carried out by Electrical Safety First, a charity which was prompted into action by the UK anti-piracy agency, Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT).

Their statement read: “A series of product safety tests on popular illicit streaming devices entering the UK have found that 100% fail to meet national electrical safety regulations.

“The news is all the more significant as the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) estimates that more than one million of these illegal devices have been sold in the UK in the last two years, representing a significant risk to the general public.”

The truth of these safety findings is that this has absolutely nothing to do with Kodi or any other piece of software. 

Software does not catch fire.

Interestingly enough, ESF only tested nine devices out of the million or so allegedly sold in the UK during the past two years. Even more importantly, every single one of those devices was supplied to ESF by FACT.

Nobody is suggesting these devices were hand-picked to fail but it is interesting that the samples weren’t provided from a neutral source.

It's also worth noting that it is possible to determine if an item will fail to meet UK standards simply by looking at its packaging and casing.

Even more intriguing is that the electrical testing carried out by ESF related to the power supplies, not the set-top boxes. 

“The product review relates primarily to the switched mode power supply units for the connection to the mains supply, which were supplied with the devices, to identify any potential risks to consumers such as electric shocks, heating and resistance to fire,” ESF stated in their report.

The set-top boxes themselves were only assessed “in terms of any faults in the marking, warnings and instructions,” the group added.

None of the equipment supplied by FACT complied with Schedule 1 of the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994. This means that they failed to have the “Conformité Européene” or CE logo present - that is unacceptable and a safety risk.

None of the devices lived up to the requirements of Schedule 3 of the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 either, which in part requires the manufacturer’s brand name or trademark to be “clearly printed on the electrical equipment or, where that is not possible, on the packaging.”

This is how you can tell if a product will fail UK safety standard tests.

ALWAYS check for the UK safety mark pictured below.

Glasgow Times:

Several of the samples provided were considered to be a potential risk to their users, either through electric shock and/or fire - if you suspect you have such a device at home, please check it out.

One of the key findings of the report is that set-top boxes come unbranded, something which breaches safety regulations while making it difficult for consumers to assess whether they’re buying a quality product or not.

“Issues with power supply units or unbranded and counterfeit chargers go beyond illicit streaming devices. In the last year, issues have been reported with other consumer electrical devices, such as laptop chargers and counterfeit phone chargers,” the ESF report revealed.

The total annual online sales of mains plug-in chargers is estimated to be in the region of 1.8 million and according to ESF, it is likely that most of these sales involve cheap, unbranded goods.

Glasgow Times:

Trading Standards reports that 99 per cent of non-genuine Apple chargers bought online “fail a basic safety test”.

But buying from reputable High Street retailers doesn’t help either.

During the past year, Poundworld was fined for selling 72,000 dangerous chargers and Home Bargains was also fined for selling power adaptors that failed to meet UK safety standards.

“All samples provided failed to comply with Electrical Equipment Safety Regulations and were not marked with the manufacturer’s name,” Trading Standards reported at the time.

Glasgow Times:

Macbook Pro charger for sale on eBay at £25.99 - a genuine charger from the Apple store costs £49.99

Glasgow Times:

iPhone lightning cable charger for sale on eBay at £2.59 - a genuine iPhone charger on the Apple store costs between £25 - £35

This is a bigger issue affecting imported electrical goods in general, so instead of getting rid of your so-called 'Kodi box', take a closer look at the charger - and any cheap ones you've bought for other devices around the home.