Hardware mods can be tricky business. Modifying software is one thing, because if it messes up you can always restore that back up that all our rooted readers should have by now. Then it's back to normal to try something different another day. With hardware mods, though, there's a much bigger risk because if you mess up it is the end of the line for whatever you're hardware modding. So, with that in mind, be careful when doing hardware mods because if it gets messed up, that's the end of the road.

Depressing consequences aside, XDA Recognized Developer TRusselo has posted a way to modify cheap aftermarket rapid AC chargers to perform like OEM Samsung AC chargers do. This would provide users with the full charging capacity of the Samsung branded AC chargers at a cheaper price.

The modification is pretty self explanatory and involves simply bending and connecting a few pins within the charger itself to fool the Samsung Android phone into believing it's using a real Samsung charger. As TRusselo explains:

The theory behind it is with samsung galaxy phones and "official chargers":

if the middle 2 data pins on the usb, while getting 5v to the outer 2 pins it tells the phone that it is an *official samsung* charger and enables full speed charging.

without the middle 2 pins connected (with or without data flow) will not charge at full speed. even if you supply 800mA it will only charge around 350mA.

This mod fixes that 350mA problem and charges the phone at the full capacity it supports. It is highly recommended that you not try this if it's your only charger, as breaking it will leave you charging via USB and nobody likes to charge via USB.

For anyone who's interesting in turning their chargers into Samsung chargers, check out the modification thread for photos of how it works and a complete explanation on how and why it works. Additionally, for those carrying the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, check out your local kernel devs to see if they've implemented the force AC charge kernel mod for theoretically similar, but without the hardware modification.