Counterfeit (Fake) Headsets - How to recognize and avoid them; what are the differences?
Share this page:
After we have discussed the physical
differences, the most notable were the variations in the headsets performance –
battery times, sound quality and range. Even though some of the counterfeits actually performed better in several situations, the overall results shows considerably lower battery lives, range and voice quality.
First, judging sound quality and volume is
very subjective. We tried to stay as objective as possible – the team members
who were testing the headsets actually did not know if they had a real or a
fake one. The overall results show a total score of 21.96 points for the real
ones, and 17.83 for the fakes. If the numbers are converted in percentages, the
counterfeit had ~25% lesser quality.
Our next test was to distance the headset
from the phone to which it was paired to the maximum range at which the
conversation could still be sustained. By sustained we mean able to clearly
understand the other party. All the headsets were tested with the same two HTC
Wizards, at the same exact location. The results again show about 25%
difference between the original and fake ones. The overall range accomplished
by the genuine ones was 423 feet, while the fakes scored 364.
The continuous stand-by time test was
completely flunked by the fakes. They got a total of only 1320 minutes, while
the real ones had about 2080 – 50% more ! Almost all fake ones lasted
only about 50% of what they real counterparts did.
This should be enough to convince even the most skeptical users that the problem is real. Now we have to determine how widespread it is...
Share this page:
15 Comments
1. Anthony (unregistered) posted on 20 Oct 2010, 01:41 0 0
I have a fake BH-700 Nokia headset. I must say I thought it was a fake from the start. Battery life is bad, but on top of that it doesn't keep the "security" code so every time I turn it on & attempt to pair I have to type 0000. That doesn't happen w/ the real BH-700 I also have. Great article! Thanks for confirming my suspicions.
2. (unregistered) posted on 05 Feb 2007, 23:35 0 0
Wow.....it took this long for someone to actually post an article on fake bluetooths? These have been circulating for months and months now. Another should be written on car and home chargers too. Oh and even the handset themselves.
3. PR5 (unregistered) posted on 06 Feb 2007, 20:54 0 0
i disagree with the buying from large companies bit, i got my Jabra JX10 from a well establish online US company, and its still a fake, its been 3 months and i havent had a problem with the fake, it works suprisingly good for a POS. it was only $60CAD Vs $200 CAD (bestbuy). i dont mine counterfit as long as it works GOOD and is super cheap. also the motorola headset that i got from bestbuy was a fake too, the HS820, i know there was something wrong with it, it even smelled bad, i returned it that day since it was so obvious
4. raulr (unregistered) posted on 22 Feb 2007, 17:42 0 0
Motorola does have a site dedicated to fake accessories. It shows you how to identify the real from the fake and give you a link to report it. The site ishttp://www.motorola.com/original
5. ad070 (unregistered) posted on 22 Feb 2007, 23:04 0 0
i bought 3 of them from retail stores and they were fake but i was more than happy with the quality so i dont really care. your going out to buy a headset, as long as it does the job, the quality is good and your happy, i don't really care, its exactly what i was expecting.
6. PhoneArena (unregistered) posted on 23 Feb 2007, 04:26 0 0
Raulr, At the time this article was published, Motorola did not have that site. It is something new and I guess created after we wrote our piece.
7. Metallic (unregistered) posted on 25 Feb 2007, 02:41 0 0
So the motorola h700 FAKE is actually better, am I seeing these charts right?
8. LS (unregistered) posted on 26 Apr 2007, 17:11 0 0
Hmmm ... I should buy the fake H700 then. According to the charts, in overall the fake H700 has better performance than the real one. Very weird unless the charts were messed up.
9. confused (unregistered) posted on 22 May 2007, 18:53 0 0
I'm a bit confused. I purchased the Nokia BH-800 and read your review on pg 2. The one I have matches up with the genuine one you described... everything except for the box. Mine came in the darker box w/o the animation. Is mine a fake?
10. (unregistered) posted on 01 Jun 2007, 08:08 0 0
very nice, i didnot know there are such things!
11. jay (unregistered) posted on 20 Jun 2007, 17:21 0 0
i bought a fake spellchecker on eBay once...
12. malouu (unregistered) posted on 09 Oct 2007, 08:06 0 0
I BOUGHT A FAKE BH700 FROM EBAY. Sound horrible, But looks like a Nokia. The most faked is the ac3 charger which is NOT an AC3 and the MANUAL which is In English anf Chinese
13. nickel (unregistered) posted on 18 Jan 2008, 15:56 0 0
To confused, I have the same thing you got. The one we have is the real one. The box is different for different countries and different models. The one in Canada at Tiger Direct have both the darker box and the lighter box. They have different model number, but are both real.
14. Nickel (unregistered) posted on 18 Jan 2008, 16:02 0 0
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3475109&CatId=1810 The necklace is the dead giveaway. It looks more expensive then the ones you get at the silver necklace stand, so you can't get the real thing for under $30 retail just the necklace alone. And then you have the bluetooth to account for. I don't care how cheap nokia can make them in China, but I am very impressed with the necklace.
15. hooher tod (unregistered) posted on 14 Sep 2011, 09:46 0 0
Yes there should realize the reader to RSS my feed to RSS commentary, quite simply