Effective autumn 2024 only universal chargers legal in the EU

The European Union (EU) has approved the universal charger concept which will be effective from autumn 2024, requiring every supplier to use the same model.

The agreement announced today June 7 will see all electronic equipment, phones, camera, laptops etc being required to use the USB type C cable for charging the equipment.

Already in use on many items and phones, with the exception of iphones, the change will only affect new equipment supplied after the autumn date. A number of suppliers will have to make significant changes to their production to enable the use of the agreed cable, hence the two year grace period.

The change will make a huge difference for consumers who will now know not to buy a variety of cables in order to charge their item, with some companies already having taken to supplying items without a charger cable.

USB Type-C or Universal Serial Bus ports are now found on a wide range of devices, from simple external hard drives to high-end laptops and the latest smartphones. Although every USB Type-C cable looks the same and fits the same ports, they do have differing capabilities.

It is hoped that the change will bring the cost down for some consumers and perhaps most importantly it will do away with the problem of redundancy. That also means less waste and less draw space, with many of us having to keep a variety of cables to keep items charged or connected.

It has taken some time to get the legislation approved and to the surprise of many, the date that the universal charger law comes into effect is much earlier than expected.

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