Xiaomi stops selling its 65W charger due to a security breach

Xiaomi has recalled its ultra-fast 65-watt charger with gallium nitride technology (Xiaomi GaN Type-C 65W). It went on sale simultaneously with the Xiaomi Mi 10 smartphone series.

The reason behind the removal of the popular accessory from store shelves was its potential vulnerability for hackers. Yes, that’s right, Xiaomi fast charger can be hacked remotely and thus harm users.

Security experts found that the Xiaomi GaN Type-C 65W gallium nitride charger has a memory chip used to fix potential problems and update the charging protocol. At the same time, the firmware has not encryption, that is, hackers have the opportunity to change it.

Hackers can crack Xiaomi 65W fast charger

As the simplest scenario for exploiting this vulnerability, the application of a very high output voltage could be done. This can damage the performance of the charged devices.

Sources from the supply channels confirmed that Xiaomi removed this charger from all digital platforms, as well as from retail stores, citing the so-called “emergency reasons.”

The Xiaomi GaN Charger Type-C 65W can provide a maximum charging power of 50W for the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro. It takes only 45 minutes to charge the Mi 10 Pro fully. At the same time, it supports Xiaomi’s fast flash charging, PD 3.0 and other fast charging protocols. Also, you can use it to charge the iPhone. The company said that using the 65W charger to charge iPhone 11, the charging speed is higher than the original 5W charger by about 50%.

Thanks to the new semiconductor material GaN (gallium nitride), the size of this charger is about 48% smaller than that of the Xiaomi notebook’s standard adapter. In addition, Xiaomi’s GaN charger Type-C 65W’s USB-C interface supports intelligent adjustment of output current in multiple gears. It can charge up to 65W for high-power devices such as the new MacBook Pro and Xiaomi notebooks. At last, the product package contains Xiaomi USB-C to USB-C data cable, equipped with an E-Marker chip, and supports a maximum current of 5A.