USB Killer Test: iPhone 8 Plus vs Laptop
When I first got my hands on a USB Killer, I had one thought: this has to be one of the most evil tech pranks you could ever pull off. But let me be clear right away, this isn’t something you should mess around with. It’s less of a prank and more of a device designed to straight-up murder electronics.
It comes with a USB stick, a few adapters, and the main unit that does the damage. Once plugged in, it stores up electrical energy and blasts it back into the port. In theory, that can fry whatever device you connect it to.
The Test: iPhone 8 Plus vs. USB Killer
For the sake of science (and because I’m curious about this kind of stuff), I decided to test it on an iPhone 8 Plus.
The setup is pretty simple:
Plug the USB Killer into the adapter.
Touch the red and black wires together to arm it.
Plug only the USB part into the device you want to test.
I plugged it into the iPhone, armed it, and waited for the destruction.
But here’s the surprising part, the iPhone didn’t die. Apple actually seems to have built in a failsafe system to protect against malicious USB power attacks. That means the iPhone 8 Plus completely survived the USB Killer test.
The Laptop Didn’t Survive
Since the iPhone came out unscathed, I decided to move up a level and try it on a laptop.
This time, there was no protection. The moment I plugged in the USB Killer, the laptop was instantly fried. It was completely bricked and would not turn back on.
So while the iPhone was safe, the laptop didn’t stand a chance.
Why You Shouldn’t Try This
This was purely for research purposes. A USB Killer is no joke, it’s literally designed to destroy electronics instantly. Using it on someone else’s device could be a very expensive mistake (and probably illegal).
The main takeaway here? iPhones are surprisingly resilient, but laptops are sitting ducks.
Final Thoughts
Testing the USB Killer was both fascinating and terrifying. Apple clearly built in some protections against malicious USB attacks, which is impressive. On the other hand, many devices don’t stand a chance if someone slips one of these into a port.
So yeah, don’t try this at home unless you want to turn your gadgets into paperweights.
See you in the next article.
