Apple hit with class action suit over fire-prone MagSafe adapters
A new lawsuit seeking class action status has accused Apple of neglecting a flaw in the MagSafe power connector for MacBooks that might not only cause a break but could trigger sparks, forcing customers to buy replacements and even creating a potential fire hazard.
Submitted late last week to a Northern District of California court in San Jose, the joint complaint from Tim Broad, Naotaka Kitagawa and Jesse Reisman claims that the MagSafe cable used for the MacBook and MacBook Pro will inevitably fray near one of its connecting ends, contradicting Apple's claims that the adapter is "durable." The plaintiffs believe that day-to-day use, including winding the cable around the power adapter's pop-out guides, ends up destroying the cable over time -- and that Apple is aware of the problem but hasn't fully addressed it with a safer design.
All three at varying points have had to buy replacement MagSafe adapters for their systems that, in two cases, have already either needed a replacement or are showing signs of needing one. The plastic sheath on the cable in each circumstance was often melted away and exposed the bare wiring; Broad noted the heat was enough that it might have caused fire damage to his home if he hadn't been present to watch for the danger signs.
"It almost burned my hand when I brushed it accidentally," he says in the 27-page filing.
The trio also points to numerous examples of similar patterns online, including Apple's own online store, where the cables had frayed, melted or sparked and forced customers to get one or more replacements. Apple, meanwhile, only asks customers to visit a certified Apple service location if sparks occur anywhere other than at the power plug's metal prongs; many of these visits, however, only result in the customers buying another $80 adapter rather than receiving a free replacement.
As the problem is already known to affect "at least thousands" of users and may well include hundreds of thousands with the exact same issue, the plaintiffs want class action status to represent anyone who may have bought an affected MacBook and have charged Apple with violating California's business codes as well as breaching the implied and explicit warranties attached to the computers.
A MagSafe adapter cable whose sheath has melted, exposing the wire. | Image credits: Flickr user AriXr.
Broad, Kitagawa and Reisman want Apple to not only refund any of the associated costs with the known defective products but to warn the public and, if successful, pay punitive damages alongside the expected compensation.
As always, Apple hasn't commented on the lawsuit, but faces a large hurdle given the collective evidence. AppleInsider has also heard of Apple redesigning its adapters as early as October 2007 to try and resolve its cable issues, but many of the incidents reported in the new lawsuit have occurred well after the fix was supposed to have taken effect that year, surfacing as recently as March 2009.
Submitted late last week to a Northern District of California court in San Jose, the joint complaint from Tim Broad, Naotaka Kitagawa and Jesse Reisman claims that the MagSafe cable used for the MacBook and MacBook Pro will inevitably fray near one of its connecting ends, contradicting Apple's claims that the adapter is "durable." The plaintiffs believe that day-to-day use, including winding the cable around the power adapter's pop-out guides, ends up destroying the cable over time -- and that Apple is aware of the problem but hasn't fully addressed it with a safer design.
All three at varying points have had to buy replacement MagSafe adapters for their systems that, in two cases, have already either needed a replacement or are showing signs of needing one. The plastic sheath on the cable in each circumstance was often melted away and exposed the bare wiring; Broad noted the heat was enough that it might have caused fire damage to his home if he hadn't been present to watch for the danger signs.
"It almost burned my hand when I brushed it accidentally," he says in the 27-page filing.
The trio also points to numerous examples of similar patterns online, including Apple's own online store, where the cables had frayed, melted or sparked and forced customers to get one or more replacements. Apple, meanwhile, only asks customers to visit a certified Apple service location if sparks occur anywhere other than at the power plug's metal prongs; many of these visits, however, only result in the customers buying another $80 adapter rather than receiving a free replacement.
As the problem is already known to affect "at least thousands" of users and may well include hundreds of thousands with the exact same issue, the plaintiffs want class action status to represent anyone who may have bought an affected MacBook and have charged Apple with violating California's business codes as well as breaching the implied and explicit warranties attached to the computers.
A MagSafe adapter cable whose sheath has melted, exposing the wire. | Image credits: Flickr user AriXr.
Broad, Kitagawa and Reisman want Apple to not only refund any of the associated costs with the known defective products but to warn the public and, if successful, pay punitive damages alongside the expected compensation.
As always, Apple hasn't commented on the lawsuit, but faces a large hurdle given the collective evidence. AppleInsider has also heard of Apple redesigning its adapters as early as October 2007 to try and resolve its cable issues, but many of the incidents reported in the new lawsuit have occurred well after the fix was supposed to have taken effect that year, surfacing as recently as March 2009.
Comments
As to things wearing out, well if Apple can solve that problem they could very well own the world. There isn't a know way to make anything last forever. The closest we have come is the cast iron frying pan, everything else has limited durability.
It is funny that this should crop up because I just got back from my local Apple store where I had to replace the USB cable for my iPhone. Funny but it broke down in a similar manner, that is right at the connector that plugs into the dock socket. Now this was a warranty replacement but it didn't take more than ten minutes to get that taken care of. Probably would have been less than ten but there was a new guy involved.
As a side note if Apple focuses to much on making the environmentalist happy you can expect even more durability problems in the future. Not that I support pollution just that sometimes the environmentalist have ill advised policies.
Dave
Perhaps Apple needs to redesign the magsafe connector and offer a model that locks onto the laptop and make the magnetic latch optional.
Punative damages should be levied when a company actually does something worthy of punishment. In this case the uncomfort of a few is usurped by the benefits to the extreme majority IMO.
I was pretty ticked off but the service I got from the Apple Store made up for it. No appointment; I just walked in with my heavily burnt MagSafe adapter and in less than 5 minutes I was walking out with a brand new one, right off the shelf.
Makes me wonder what kind of unplugging action would damage the insulation like that. I mean the magnetic connection comes off so easily. I'm wondering if it isn't the way the cable is twisted/bent/banged around inside the carry case.
P.S. I've never wrapped the cable around the male ends of the adaptor.
I had two that did this, one went on fire with smoke in the room. If I had not have been there at the time...
I got both replaced with no problem and the new ones are way better than the originals. I thought the problem was solved?! I'm in Ireland and have no interest in this class action stuff, so long as Apple do their job and get them up to safe standards then that is fine by me.
If the magsafe is say %20 defective then it's certainly a problem but if it's only %5 defective them the risks are mitigated by the amount of laptops save from untimely death being yanked from where they are perched.
Perhaps Apple needs to redesign the magsafe connector and offer a model that locks onto the laptop and make the magnetic latch optional.
Punative damages should be levied when a company actually does something worthy of punishment. In this case the uncomfort of a few is usurped by the benefits to the extreme majority IMO.
If "uncomfort" is defined as "the thing sets on fire and burns your house to the ground", then I think that's a big problem even if it is "only" a 5% risk.
Think about it, 5% would mean that one out of every 20 Macs caught fire. You don't think that would be a problem?
If "uncomfort" is defined as "the thing sets on fire and burns your house to the ground", then I think that's a big problem even if it is "only" a 5% risk.
Think about it, 5% would mean that one out of every 20 Macs caught fire. You don't think that would be a problem?
Yes I was actually mentally think more like .5 %. I would have to see numbers that show Apple was hiding a LOT of failures. Any device I plug into the wall has the potential for sparking. It has to be proven that Apple is negligent here.
I think people have a distorted view about how our legal system works. The courts understand that little issues arise but they don't levy punitive damages unless there has been gross negligence on the part of the defendant or egregious damage to the plaintiff's body or circumstances.
I say good luck to them but it'll take a lot more than a few flickr pics to win the case.
If the magsafe is say %20 defective then it's certainly a problem but if it's only %5 defective them the risks are mitigated by the amount of laptops save from untimely death being yanked from where they are perched.
Perhaps Apple needs to redesign the magsafe connector and offer a model that locks onto the laptop and make the magnetic latch optional.
Punative damages should be levied when a company actually does something worthy of punishment. In this case the uncomfort of a few is usurped by the benefits to the extreme majority IMO.
The "magsafe" is not the issue (idiot)... it's that the cable frays... which imho, is something all cables do, especially the used and abused ones.
My original power cable from my Ti PowerBook frayed like this (not mag safe) after three years of use (abuse)... it was time to replace! It that guy was too lazy to replace a frayed cord, then he deserves to get shocked!
I've got to tell ya, I've had my MacBook Pro for nearly two years. During that time I have travelled all over the US, and 'plugged'/'unplugged' my cable hundreds of times, yet it still looks nearly brand new. Certainly there is no evidence of the wear pattern shown in the photo.
Makes me wonder what kind of unplugging action would damage the insulation like that. I mean the magnetic connection comes off so easily. I'm wondering if it isn't the way the cable is twisted/bent/banged around inside the carry case.
P.S. I've never wrapped the cable around the male ends of the adaptor.
Ditto- my cord is perfect after three years of use!
I've got to tell ya, I've had my MacBook Pro for nearly two years. During that time I have travelled all over the US, and 'plugged'/'unplugged' my cable hundreds of times, yet it still looks nearly brand new....
P.S. I've never wrapped the cable around the male ends of the adaptor.
I'm pretty sure that the wrapping and unwrapping is what causes the problem, at least in a lot of cases. That's what did it to mine. (I use my laptop from multiple locations throughout the day, and I wrap and unwrap the adapter each time I switch locations.)
I have AppleCare, and I took my almost-3-year-old MacBook in with the frayed cable and they replaced it for free, no questions asked. I don't know if it would have been different if I didn't have AppleCare or not.
... Perhaps Apple needs to redesign the magsafe connector and offer a model that locks onto the laptop and make the magnetic latch optional. ...
It doesn't appear to be anything to do with the magsafe part though. This is simple wire stressing/breaking almost certainly. The magsafe tears away with even the slightest pressure, locking it on would only increase the stresses and make things worse.
I've seen many Apple adapters and power supplies that have failed over the years in this way, but except for a few models that have very thin wires, they are mostly just fine.
The majority of problems in this area seem to be caused by people who wind them really tightly around the brackets. Every time I've been handed a laptop with a bad power supply cable, it's wound up tight like thread on a spool, or the person in question is very strong, or both. Almost always a male too for what it's worth.
Apple does have some problems in this area IMO, but they do their best to fix them and a class action suit is totally not necessary. The majority of the time it's the user being too rough with the product. As many have already said, Apple will replace them the minute they are frayed or overheating, and the only reason they would overheat is again the wires breaking in the middle (from the winding) and the current trying to go through less wire.
Yes I was actually mentally think more like .5 %. I would have to see numbers that show Apple was hiding a LOT of failures. Any device I plug into the wall has the potential for sparking. It has to be proven that Apple is negligent here.
I think people have a distorted view about how our legal system works. The courts understand that little issues arise but they don't levy punitive damages unless there has been gross negligence on the part of the defendant or egregious damage to the plaintiff's body or circumstances.
I say good luck to them but it'll take a lot more than a few flickr pics to win the case.
Well that good... on the product end, the more durable components, such as PVC, is bastardized by the green movement. Companies respond, taking out PVC from the jacketing, and you end up with a less durable cord, and more landfill.
Unintended consequences.
It's the same with all cords and wire jacketing. Non-plenum rated material is very durable (PVC) while plenum rated material is less durable & can be very brittle at certain temperatures.
STILL- it's the responsibility of the owner to replace a worn out cord! Apple can't guarantee it for life!
As a side note if Apple focuses to much on making the environmentalist happy you can expect even more durability problems in the future. Not that I support pollution just that sometimes the environmentalist have ill advised policies.
Yes.
Blame for Apple's gradual descent into half-assed QC should be placed on the "environmentalist" and their "ill advised policies."
It's good to know that you don't "support pollution."
If the magsafe is say %20 defective then it's certainly a problem but if it's only %5 defective them the risks are mitigated by the amount of laptops save from untimely death being yanked from where they are perched.
Makes sense.
After all the potential of a burnt house and people killed in an electrical fire due to faulty adapter is mitigated by laptops saved from breakage when someone yanks their cable.
WTF?
Apple need to make sure they are putting the "Safe" back into MagSafe power supplies. These power supplies need to be as hazard free as possible from a health and safety perspective.
I had two that did this, one went on fire with smoke in the room. If I had not have been there at the time...
I got both replaced with no problem and the new ones are way better than the originals. I thought the problem was solved?! I'm in Ireland and have no interest in this class action stuff, so long as Apple do their job and get them up to safe standards then that is fine by me.
I have to say that I just don't believe this post at all.
Wires don't overheat to the point of spontaneously catching fire for no reason. For that to happen Apple would have had to purposely undersize the wire and the odds of that are remote given that it works for the majority of folks and that it would be criminal fraud or criminal negligence to do so.
The two most common causes of this kind of thing are handling it so roughly that some of the wires inside break, or cat pee, with cat pee being the more common one.