The popularity of the low-cost 10400mAh Xiaomi power bank in China has seen knock-off versions of the battery pack spring up from clone makers. So how do you find out if you have real battery or a clone?

The Xiaomi power bank is a great piece of kit for keeping your mobile devices fully juiced up while you are out and about. The problem is how do you know if you have the real thing or a clever fake from a clone maker? Well the issue has become so serious for Xiaomi that they have put together a webpage teaching customers what to look out for.

How to tell if your Xiaomi power bank is fake

Heading over to the official Xiaomi page, will show a video going through all the possible ways you can tell if you have a real or fake Xiaomi power bank. There are plenty of ways to tell but the most obvious ways to avoid a fake are as follows.

First of all you should only buy your Xiaomi products from an authorised seller. Now this is fine if you are in China, but what about outside of China? Choose a trusted store, to do that read reviews. When you get your Xiaomi power bank check here, to see if the serial number matches those on the official records. Check the packaging, if the battery is wrapped in a paper sleeve then it is fake, the real packaging is made of a plastic paper. Take a look at the finish of the metal. A real Xiaomi power bank has high quality sand-blasted finish with a neat Mi logo. Fakes will have lower quality finish. Also check for rough or sharp edges, the real thing won’t have them. Text printed along the bottom of the battery should be light grey in colour and have a neat and clean appearance. Fake batteries use darker ink and don’t appear well finished. When charging the lights on the real battery should not blink. When plugged you your device for charging the real Mi battery pack needs the power button to be pressed and the LED lights will stay on. The clones will begin charging without pressing the button and the LED’s will flash.

Fake Xiaomi Power Bank Vs the real thing

It can be quite important not to buy a fake battery pack as it has been known that they can explode and cause injury. If you have a Xiaomi power bank go through the steps provided above and let us know if you think you have the real thing or something fake.