How do I spot a fake power bank?

Excellent question!

Related to this question on how to spot a fake power bank:

1. Difference between fake and original power bank
2. How do you know if a power bank is good or not
3. Ways to test a power bank
4. Do cheap power banks work?
5. How do I know if power bank is faulty?
6. How to identify original/real vs fake power bank - a comparison
7. Fake vs original power bank
8. How to know if a power bank is fake
9. Did I buy a fake power bank?
10. How to avoid buying a fake power bank
11. Spot fake capacity power banks

Sadly there are too many fake power banks out there and it is crucial to know how to spot them. There were several cases all over the world between 2014 and 2016 of smartphones and power banks exploding. These fake power banks have wreaked havoc all over the world.

So, what basic things can you look out for and what questions should you ask before you buy? The unbridled proliferation of fake power banks emphasises the need to know how to spot the fakes and avoid risk of explosion or wasting time and energy charging them to no avail. Some people have reported finding sand in their powerbanks instead of rechargeable batteries. 

I recommend you have a look at “What is a Power Bank?” and “How To Detect a Fake Solar Power Bank” sections of the HetoGrow Quality Assurance page. It is an excellent effort to simplify technical and basic info about power banks so that anyone can understand.

Top Tips:

1. Look out for brand and warranty. Branded products tend to come with a reliable manufacturing guarantee
2. This may sound a bit silly to note but there should be a detailed product spec and user manual which you must read to understand the limits of the product.  Have a good look at the product spec and user manual. Can you readily understand the content? If not, can you get additional info from the seller/manufacturer? If not then that's probably a good reason not to buy it.
3. There are other basic checks you can do to avoid buying a fake portable power bank. Avoid unbranded mobile power banks especially 20000mah 30000mah, 50000mah, etc. If you think about it, a standard car battery is about 45Ah to 75Ah, equivalent to 45000mah to 75000mah. If you think about the weight alone, for a portable power bank alarm bells should immediately start to ring. There are of course other things like voltage, ability to retain charge, etc. Note that voltage for a car battery is at least 12 volts hence much higher watt (Amp x Voltage) output compared to a power banks that is just 5 volts. The key point is that high mAh means heavier battery pack and larger size. But it is also important to test and ensure the pack is made of real batteries.  You can test with a portable battery meter but you might not have it to hand. Hence the below checks are pertinent.
4. How heavy it is compared to the capacity of your phone battery? The power bank mAh divided by your phone mAh, will indicate how many times it should charge your phone. This is a crude measure but in the absence of any reliable test on the spot, this is a good one to bear in mind.
5. Importantly, think of the content of the power bank. Some of them contain sand and other garbage, rather than safe rechargeable batteries. This is probably the most important thing to think about. You don’t have any gadgets to test on the spot, so ask questions and look out for speed of reply, confidence in answering your questions, additional info volunteered, use your wits to decipher honesty of intent. If unsure, get a second opinion 
6. Don’t be in a rush to buy. Do your research first and understand what you are about to buy. Check the brand on the internet, ensure its a good brand and read customer reviews to sieve out basic info. For detailed info about key points to consider, see HetoGrow's "How To Detect a Fake Solar Power Bank - Functionality, Quality and Originality Test"

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