That tacky 3C logo might actually be a real cyber amulet.
The power bank of Romoss exploded, and this news has been on the hot search for quite some time.
A few days ago, the author of "Chaping" found that their company seemed to be on the verge of collapse...
Since its 3C certification qualification was directly cancelled and relevant products were removed from the market across the network, the company has also issued a notice of work suspension. It seems to be doomed.
This is not the end. Ampower, the supplier of battery cells for Romoss, is also reported today that as many as 73 3C certificates will be cancelled as a result of the incident. What to do next is also unknown.
However, the biggest impact of this explosion on us onlookers is at the airport. Now all domestic flights are blocking non-3C power banks. Most of the old power banks you bought a few years ago have to be left behind.
Some people even try to make fake 3C stickers to get through the security check when boarding the plane. (Absolutely don't do this. You won't pass the security check and may even be suspected of breaking the law!)
Things have come to this point that every time people say goodbye to their power banks at the security checkpoint, they feel frustrated. It's just a power bank. Why has it become a dangerous item?
Don't worry. This matter has to start with the logo that we see every day but few people really care about - CCC Certification.
Many readers may think that printing a logo on a product just proves that it has good quality and is a "good student", right?
Wrong! Totally wrong!
3C Certification, with the full name of "China Compulsory Certification", means "China Compulsory Product Certification" in Chinese.
Pay attention to the keyword, compulsory.
This thing is not a certificate at all, but a school uniform. It doesn't guarantee how good your academic performance is, but only guarantees that you are a proper student coming to school. Otherwise, who knows where you come from.
This certification covers a very wide range. From the mobile phones and computers in your hands, to the TVs and washing machines at home, and then to the electric toys in your kids' hands, all need this logo. There are even different distinctions for safety (CCC+S), electromagnetic compatibility (CCC+EMC), fire protection (CCC+F), etc.
To put it simply, it is a safety red line drawn by the state. If you want to sell products in the Chinese market, you must have this certification. There is no room for negotiation, and it doesn't matter who your father is.
Then why do we have to have such a thing?
We need to go back to the beginning of this century. At that time, China had just joined the WTO, and the domestic market was in a complete mess. There were various certification standards flying everywhere. There was CCIB for imported products and Great Wall CCEE for domestic products. The standards were inconsistent, and there was repeated charging. It was a complete mess.
What's even more terrible is that inferior products were rampant. Electrical appliances caught fire here today, and toys hurt people there tomorrow. Consumers were like opening blind boxes. Buying a product was like taking a risk with their lives.
Just then, the national team stepped in. In 2001, because of joining the WTO and better aligning with international standards, the authorities issued an order to sweep all those messy certifications into the dustbin of history and launched the unified 3C Certification.
The purpose is very simple: Unify the market and set a bottom line.
After the implementation of 3C Certification, the effect was immediate. Take children's toys, which require the most safety, as an example. Since this category was included in the 3C compulsory list in 2007, the number of domestic children's injury accidents has directly decreased by 52%! This has saved countless children and families.
Take power banks as an example. Since power banks (lithium battery mobile power supplies) were included in the 3C Certification, a large number of small workshops have been eliminated. The remaining products on the market are now standard - equipped with over - charge protection and temperature control modules. In 2025, the spontaneous combustion rate of certified products has dropped to 0.003%.
The B - station up - master "Jiuwu Research Society" pointed out that he disassembled Romoss power banks before and after 2024. Except for the 3C logo, the shells of the two power banks are exactly the same without any difference. But after opening them, you will find that the power bank with 3C Certification really has an additional safety module, while the old one doesn't have it at all.
Another example is that the prevalence of inverter air - conditioners and the gradual elimination of fixed - frequency air - conditioners are actually related to 3C Certification.
So we should understand that on the surface, 3C Certification provides a safety guarantee for consumers. More importantly, 3C Certification can force the entire industry to progress. In the future, for smart home appliances and new energy vehicles, the standards will only become stricter.
To put it simply, when all brands must meet a safety standard, the average technical level, production process and quality management ability of the entire industry will be forcibly improved, which is good for the whole industry.
That is to say, today, this thing is no longer just a ticket for you to enter the market to sell products. Instead, it is to force the entire manufacturing industry to continuously upgrade. Therefore, basically all manufacturing powerhouses in the world will have similar certifications.
At this point, surely some knowledgeable readers will raise their hands and say, "I don't have a 3C logo on my power bank, but I have a CE logo! That's a European Union certification. Isn't it even more powerful?"
You've hit the nail on the head. These two logos seem similar, but in fact, they are very different. If 3C Certification is like a father's strict management, then CE Certification is like free - range parenting.
For 3C Certification, you first have to send your products to a national - designated laboratory (such as CQC) for item - by - item testing. After passing the test, it's still not enough. The certification agency will also send people to your factory for on - site inspection to see if your production line and quality management are in place. This is called factory review. Only after passing all these can you get the certificate. But this certificate is not permanent. It has to be re - examined every year. This is called annual supervision.
The whole process is strictly monitored by the national team, long and strict, just like raising a son, for fear that you will go astray.
The core of CE Certification is: self - declaration by the manufacturer.
For most products, especially power banks, there is no strict requirement for the involvement of a third - party agency. Manufacturers can find a laboratory to test their products by themselves (or even not test at all). If they think their products meet the EU standards, they can print a "Declaration of Conformity" by themselves and then print the CE logo on their products with peace of mind.
You read it right. It's just that if I think I can do it, then I can.
The EU's logic is that it believes you are a good child and you are responsible for your own products. But if you dare to lie and your products are found unqualified during spot checks in the EU market, sorry, huge fines, product recalls, and market access bans will directly make you bankrupt. This is called post - event accountability.
Now the problem comes. Countless small workshops producing counterfeit power banks in China have long discovered this huge loophole. They print the CE logo on their products but have no intention of selling them to Europe. Anyway, they only sell in the domestic market, and the EU can't fine them!
As a result, the CE logo, which is supposed to be a passport for the European market, has been completely ruined in China and has become a fake foreign logo for a bunch of inferior power banks to glorify themselves.
So, don't blindly trust your CE logo anymore. In China, 3C Certification is the health green code for electrical appliances.
Well, now we can answer the ultimate question: Why can't my well - functioning power bank that I've used for several years be taken on the plane now? The reason is actually easy to understand.
First of all, although the 3C system has been in place for more than 20 years, the mandatory national standard "GB 31241 - 2022" specifically for lithium batteries and power banks was issued in 2023 and began to be implemented on a large scale in 2024. Before that, the power bank market was in an era of "no unified school uniforms", and product safety entirely depended on the conscience of manufacturers.
Second, lithium batteries are consumables and have a lifespan. Even if a power bank bought a few years ago was made of high - quality materials at that time, after hundreds or thousands of charge - discharge cycles, the internal chemical substances are already exhausted, and the stability is much worse than before. The risk of internal short - circuit, swelling, and fire will continue to increase. It's like a time - bomb. You may use it without problems, but no one knows when it will go off.
In addition, the security check officer is not a god. He can't judge by naked eyes within a few tens of seconds whether the internal battery cells of your power bank bought four or five years ago are aged or whether the protection board has failed. He can't do a CT scan for you at the security checkpoint, right?
So, the 3C logo has become the only reliable and quickly recognizable ID card.
Having a 3C logo means that it has at least passed a whole set of the latest and strictest national safety tests (such as over - charge, short - circuit, needle - prick, high - temperature tests, etc.), and the safety bottom line is guaranteed.
Without a 3C logo, it's hard to say, and the risk is unknown. Airlines don't want to take the risk, and you don't want to take a flight like playing Russian roulette, do you?
