If you flip any device you have, whether iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, you will find on its back a row of strange incomprehensible symbols, why would a company put these strange symbols on its devices and in visible places? If these signs are necessary, then what is the reason to prevent them from being minimized and hidden inside the device, for example, or in any place that is not prominent so as not to spoil the view? But the truth is that this strange mixture of symbols is necessary and indispensable for global trade, in this article we explain to you what these symbols mean in order to know more about your device.


Each mark symbolizes a certificate or tests that the product has succeeded in passing and obtaining, and the most famous of these marks are

Underwriters Laboratories is an independent, not-for-profit organization that aims at “safety science” and conducts extensive testing and analysis of products sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico to ensure they comply with federal safety laws. Almost all industrial products sold in North America is tested by "UL" and the mark if any, it means that the product in your hands has been tested and complies with US consumer protection laws and that it performs its function successfully under normal operating conditions.

“CSA” is another non-profit organization that seeks to find the required integration between the industrial product and the consumer. The presence of the CSA mark means that the device in your hands matches or exceeds the acceptable use standards.

Due to the continuous increase in communication technologies and the abundance of wireless devices, the waves that transmit the transmission and reception operations have begun to get crowded, which may cause disturbance or interference between the waves, which is reflected negatively on communication or data transmission, and this mark "FCC" symbolizes the Federal Communications Commission "The Federal Communications Commission." It means that the waves that the device relies on do not interfere with other waves, and there are two classifications from this committee, the first classification is for devices sold inside the United States of America and the second is for products sold outside the United States, but they both have the same mark.

Any product manufactured, sold or exported to the European Union must have this mark “CE” which is an abbreviation of the words “European Conformity” and the presence of this mark means that the product is fit to enter the 27 member states of the Euro Economic Zone, although this mark is It is not an evidence of the quality of the product, it is only evidence that it is suitable for trading within the European market, meaning that the product exceeds the minimum quality that allows it to trade in these countries. The four numbers next to the mark are an indication of the party or organization that tested the product and granted it this mark.

Officially known as “CE R & TTE” and symbolized by the exclamation mark, this mark means that the device may conflict with the list of countries or another with regard to wireless devices, which may make it ineffective or have a legal ban in this country, for example, the iPhone when it works in In the open air, its network operates at a frequency of 2.4 GHz, and this frequency conflicts with a French regulation to regulate wireless communications, which makes the iPhone come in a classification II and gets this mark, while the devices of the category I do not get the mark because it does not conflict with any of the regulations.

The certificate of conformity with the requirements of the European Union “CE” also extends to how the devices should be disposed of when their useful life ends and they cease to perform their functions effectively, and the WEEE mark “Waste Electric & Electronic Equipment” appears separately if the device cannot be disposed of by throwing it That is, it must undergo recycling and separating processes.

There are some countries that have special standards in product testing and require a higher degree of accuracy, such as Germany, although it is a member of the Eurozone, but the “CE” mark is not sufficient alone, and electronic products must perform a higher degree of testing in order to obtain this mark, which means the validity of the product Trade in Germany that applies strict quality and safety standards.

“CCC” is the first three letters of the phrase “China Compulsory Certificate”, which means China Compulsory Certificate, and this certificate is an amalgamation of a set of quality and safety tests that the product must pass in order to be traded in the Chinese market. Few products are excluded from obtaining these. Certification, such as car tires, and in any case, electronic devices must obtain this mark in order to pass to China.

The strange thing is that these marks come on the products that reach us without change, so we follow one of the safety and quality standards applied in one of these areas.

Are there signs or symbols that you see on your device that you find no explanation for? And do you expect that one day there will be safety standards for us and put on global products? Share your opinion
Source:gizmodo

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