I'm continually moving my Pro from room to room, and my cord as well. No problems whatsoever. AND if I ever saw any damage or fraying I'd have the common sense to know that the cable needed replacing.
This sounds indeed like an insurance company looking at Apple's deep pockets. Nothing to see here. Move along.
A product defect doesn't mean that all product fails. Maybe only a portion will.
By faulting the insurance company, it sounds like you are the close-minded person without looking at evidences.
Already, quite a few people have told you their personal stories. Do a google on "Magsafe defective" and you will get more than enough complaints to tell you there is a real chance that this fire is caused by the adapter.
If you are so against Google, Bing would work too.
And seriously, anyone using the old magsafe adapter SHOULD BE CAREFUL. The new one is much nicer (wonder why Apple re-designed it?) I would pay out of my own pocket for the new adapter for the peace of mind (but I got a new MBP instead)
My adapter never showed any signs of wear. Maybe people shouldn't yank the magsafe out of the computer by the cord? just a thought here. Mine lasted two years just fine, and my fathers lasted 4 years with no problems... hmmm.
Sory for that person, but MagSafe is no more dangerous than any other charger. Mine is fine and i'm using it as it should be used. Some people should pay attention how they use stuff.
Going to have to disagree with you here. I am on my fourth adapter for my 1st gen. MBP. The previous three all had the same problem, with the sleeve pulling out from the "brick" part of the adapter over time. I am never rough with these (I just "flick" the connector off, never pulling on the cord). Apple replaced my first two (the second was well out of warranty) because they were well aware of the issues with these (hence the redesign). If you did not have problems then consider yourself lucky. However, don't dismiss others as negligence because you did not have the same problem. That is just very short sighted and arrogant.
Save the insults. A google search for "car" shows pictures of cars. A google search of "burned car" shows what you describe! Do you not understand what my point was!?
The abundance of these photos when searching for the product (not JUST " Magsafe burned") would leave anyone to reach a logical conclusion that this seems to be an abundant problem with this product.
I guess its just all those trolls being paid by Apples competition, right? They bought all the immediate image results for "MagSafe" lol
My insults were nice and depending on a page you are in a google search there are burned cars. MagSafe is no more dangerous than any other charger. Phones and bateries too explode every once in awhile. If we started to have tens and hundreds of MagSafe adapters burn out of thin air all over the world you would be right. Now it could be many things if at all MagSafe was the cause. I have seen quite few charger abused to the point that only moron that abused them could use them. And even if that was true where exactly is Apples fault? It's a know fact that home appliance, electronics can be a fire hazard.
Going to have to disagree with you here. I am on my fourth adapter for my 1st gen. MBP. The previous three all had the same problem, with the sleeve pulling out from the "brick" part of the adapter over time. I am never rough with these (I just "flick" the connector off, never pulling on the cord). Apple replaced my first two (the second was well out of warranty) because they were well aware of the issues with these (hence the redesign). If you did not have problems then consider yourself lucky. However, don't dismiss others as negligence because you did not have the same problem. That is just very short sighted and arrogant.
You know what is just very short sighted and arrogant? Assume that every consumer is an angel. Everything we create is oerfect, but if Apple is involved let's just get some money no matter what. Still we know 0 about the actuall cause of fire.
Sue Greenpeace. Its these pricks wanting a nice environmentally friendly Apple that caused this. The removal of the harmful shit in the plastics weakens them and due to this the conductors can move more and fray inside the plastic sheath. They then heat up and cause fires.
Tree hugging bastards burned down my house. LOL
But seriously, the original magsafe plug was a bit wanky due to the fact that users don't have the wire fed to their macs from the sides but the rear. The redesigned 'right angle' plug feeds the cable towards the rear and removes the stress on the cable. Apple is not alone in this design as I have seen countless laptop power supplies from HP, Dell and Acer all fail when they feed into the laptop from the side and the cable is bent backwards. I had to replace the powersupply on my sons Dell this week after it burned through the plastic casing on the cable at the laptop end.
I had one of the old ones and now have one of the new L-shaped ones with a new MBP.
They've changed more than the shape of the connector (from T to L). The strain relief is a lot bigger. And also, with regard to the comment
Quote:
What I find odd is that the adapter can provide enough energy on the low voltage end to start a fire in anything but an explosive atmosphere.
the cable itself is changed. It's now very stiff. There are no markings on the cable jacket but it feels to me like the difference between regular network cable and plenum-rated cable (usually has a Teflon jacket). The old cable was soft and flexible and I guess it would burn a lot more easily.
My thoughts exactly. Anyone who pulls out any cable by the cord is asking for trouble. This is true of any plug whatsoever.
I have personally had 4 of these, no problem at all. I also have two carts full of them, 40 MBPs in all, no problem with any of those, either.
Insurance companies the world over just want to collect the premiums and never pay out a dime. Such is the nature of their racket. Like banks, they are never exposed to any actual risk, and if they were, they would simply go out of business and not pay.
You know how the new adapter's connector is different? It addresses this problem.
The problem is that people pull the cord to disconnect the connector. (Please don't say "you are not supposed to pull the cord", that is what people do for decades) The problem is that the magnet is pretty strong, so after N times, the plastic gets a little lose. Eventually, that creates a kind of shorts which burns through the plastic.
If you are lucky, the adapter simply stops working and you get to buy another one. If you are not lucky, I can see fire potential.
The new design is L-shaped. So to disconnect, you cannot pull the cord (wrong direction). Instead, you pull the connector directly which is hard plastic. This completely fixed the problem.
This is one case that I think Apple should give all previous MB and MBP owners a replacement adapter (based on serial number).
I agree. The new design of the connector fixed the problem. We went through two of the old connector's separating the cord from the connector.
No, the problem is that the strain relief was inadequate. It was too thin and too short to adequately protect the cable. The adapter should have never been given a UL label. This isn't the first power adapter that Apple has shipped with this type of problem.
Yep, the power adapter for the original Titanium Powerbook G4. Also a strain-relief problem, iirc.
Quote:
What I find odd is that the adapter can provide enough energy on the low voltage end to start a fire in anything but an explosive atmosphere.
The adapter has to put out enough to run the laptop at full tilt plus extra for charging the batteries. Could be over 100 watts. That's plenty of energy, and if shorted that energy is dissipated in a small area. More than enough to start a fire.
I've had magsafe adaptors since they came out on multiple macbook pros. I've also bought extra adaptors so I don't have to cart just the one around the house.
I've never had a problem with any of them.
If this issue is caused by users pulling the cables out by the cable and not by the plastic connector then it's their own fault.
2 problems with that. First, the original design presented a strong latching and a very small slick surface for the user to grasp when pulling the connector. It can be difficult for people to remove the proper way. Second, the entire reason for magsafe is that it will disconnect if someone walks into the cord. That's a heck of a high-strain moment. Instead of a substandard strain-relief, one would expect this particular adapter to have extra-strong construction. Instead they went for an "elegant", thin and supple cord. So, 2 failures in design as regards the intended application.
Quote:
If the adaptors were not magsafe adaptors and were the rubbish pc type "kettle" ones would they pull them out by the cable instead of by the connector?
Maybe less likely. Again, the original magsafe design practically invites pulling the cord.
Shouldn't have Apple done a recall if this were a real hazard? If they knew about it and did nothing then they should pay-up. Burning a person's house down (allegedly) with the possibility of a death is very serious. I have a Macbook so it would be responsible of Apple to own up to this making a statement either way and if there's an issue then tell folks, like me, of the potential issue.
This is a fictionalized account of the way big companies work from the movie Fight Club:
This happened to my macbook I got in late december of 2007 in the summer of 2009.
I went for a run and came home to the smell of burnt electronics and a fried cord. My computer was fine and I don't even have apple care. When I went into the store, they fixed it at no cost. The guy at the store said it was fixed because something like that should "Never" happen. I assumed this would come up again.
Pretty interesting.
The same here with my son's laptop, in a classroom. Just spotainiosly, nobody was close to the MB. The teacher was in the classroom and pulled the cable in two because it was melted and couldn't get it off the MB. Still fighting to get the repair paid back.
My insults were nice and depending on a page you are in a google search there are burned cars. MagSafe is no more dangerous than any other charger. Phones and bateries too explode every once in awhile. If we started to have tens and hundreds of MagSafe adapters burn out of thin air all over the world you would be right. Now it could be many things if at all MagSafe was the cause. I have seen quite few charger abused to the point that only moron that abused them could use them. And even if that was true where exactly is Apples fault? It's a know fact that home appliance, electronics can be a fire hazard.
yes yes, if someone's magsafe catches on fire, it's because they are a moron and they abused them lol
Why does my charger spark at the plug when I plug it in to the wall? Apple says it's normal, but I really don't think the plug should spark. And I'm an amateur radio operator with an extra-class FCC license, but I still don't like that the thing sparks.
Why does my charger spark at the plug when I plug it in to the wall? Apple says it's normal, but I really don't think the plug should spark. And I'm an amateur radio operator with an extra-class FCC license, but I still don't like that the thing sparks.
That is normal but I don't like it either. It might be capacitors or something like that discharging. I hated it on the old iMacs with the kettle plugs because the spark was huge and right near your hand. The sooner we get near-field inductive charging on everything the better.
You'd just have a plastic square on the wall and a flat, plastic plug and there would be a magnet on the wall and metal inside the plug and it would just stick on. This obviously means the large square part of it has to sit on the floor but it's not a big problem and it means you have a far greater limit on how many items you can plug into one socket.
Comments
I'm continually moving my Pro from room to room, and my cord as well. No problems whatsoever. AND if I ever saw any damage or fraying I'd have the common sense to know that the cable needed replacing.
This sounds indeed like an insurance company looking at Apple's deep pockets. Nothing to see here. Move along.
A product defect doesn't mean that all product fails. Maybe only a portion will.
By faulting the insurance company, it sounds like you are the close-minded person without looking at evidences.
Already, quite a few people have told you their personal stories. Do a google on "Magsafe defective" and you will get more than enough complaints to tell you there is a real chance that this fire is caused by the adapter.
If you are so against Google, Bing would work too.
And seriously, anyone using the old magsafe adapter SHOULD BE CAREFUL. The new one is much nicer (wonder why Apple re-designed it?) I would pay out of my own pocket for the new adapter for the peace of mind (but I got a new MBP instead)
Magsafe burn
There are many many more photos of burnt Magsafe adapters on the net.
Sory for that person, but MagSafe is no more dangerous than any other charger. Mine is fine and i'm using it as it should be used. Some people should pay attention how they use stuff.
Going to have to disagree with you here. I am on my fourth adapter for my 1st gen. MBP. The previous three all had the same problem, with the sleeve pulling out from the "brick" part of the adapter over time. I am never rough with these (I just "flick" the connector off, never pulling on the cord). Apple replaced my first two (the second was well out of warranty) because they were well aware of the issues with these (hence the redesign). If you did not have problems then consider yourself lucky. However, don't dismiss others as negligence because you did not have the same problem. That is just very short sighted and arrogant.
Save the insults. A google search for "car" shows pictures of cars. A google search of "burned car" shows what you describe! Do you not understand what my point was!?
The abundance of these photos when searching for the product (not JUST " Magsafe burned") would leave anyone to reach a logical conclusion that this seems to be an abundant problem with this product.
I guess its just all those trolls being paid by Apples competition, right? They bought all the immediate image results for "MagSafe" lol
My insults were nice and depending on a page you are in a google search there are burned cars. MagSafe is no more dangerous than any other charger. Phones and bateries too explode every once in awhile. If we started to have tens and hundreds of MagSafe adapters burn out of thin air all over the world you would be right. Now it could be many things if at all MagSafe was the cause. I have seen quite few charger abused to the point that only moron that abused them could use them. And even if that was true where exactly is Apples fault? It's a know fact that home appliance, electronics can be a fire hazard.
Going to have to disagree with you here. I am on my fourth adapter for my 1st gen. MBP. The previous three all had the same problem, with the sleeve pulling out from the "brick" part of the adapter over time. I am never rough with these (I just "flick" the connector off, never pulling on the cord). Apple replaced my first two (the second was well out of warranty) because they were well aware of the issues with these (hence the redesign). If you did not have problems then consider yourself lucky. However, don't dismiss others as negligence because you did not have the same problem. That is just very short sighted and arrogant.
You know what is just very short sighted and arrogant? Assume that every consumer is an angel. Everything we create is oerfect, but if Apple is involved let's just get some money no matter what. Still we know 0 about the actuall cause of fire.
Tree hugging bastards burned down my house. LOL
But seriously, the original magsafe plug was a bit wanky due to the fact that users don't have the wire fed to their macs from the sides but the rear. The redesigned 'right angle' plug feeds the cable towards the rear and removes the stress on the cable. Apple is not alone in this design as I have seen countless laptop power supplies from HP, Dell and Acer all fail when they feed into the laptop from the side and the cable is bent backwards. I had to replace the powersupply on my sons Dell this week after it burned through the plastic casing on the cable at the laptop end.
"I lost everything and I need someone to blame. Lets blame a big company, they usually settle for lots of $$$!"
They've changed more than the shape of the connector (from T to L). The strain relief is a lot bigger. And also, with regard to the comment
What I find odd is that the adapter can provide enough energy on the low voltage end to start a fire in anything but an explosive atmosphere.
the cable itself is changed. It's now very stiff. There are no markings on the cable jacket but it feels to me like the difference between regular network cable and plenum-rated cable (usually has a Teflon jacket). The old cable was soft and flexible and I guess it would burn a lot more easily.
I never had a problem with the old one FWIW
I have personally had 4 of these, no problem at all. I also have two carts full of them, 40 MBPs in all, no problem with any of those, either.
Insurance companies the world over just want to collect the premiums and never pay out a dime. Such is the nature of their racket. Like banks, they are never exposed to any actual risk, and if they were, they would simply go out of business and not pay.
You know how the new adapter's connector is different? It addresses this problem.
The problem is that people pull the cord to disconnect the connector. (Please don't say "you are not supposed to pull the cord", that is what people do for decades) The problem is that the magnet is pretty strong, so after N times, the plastic gets a little lose. Eventually, that creates a kind of shorts which burns through the plastic.
If you are lucky, the adapter simply stops working and you get to buy another one. If you are not lucky, I can see fire potential.
The new design is L-shaped. So to disconnect, you cannot pull the cord (wrong direction). Instead, you pull the connector directly which is hard plastic. This completely fixed the problem.
This is one case that I think Apple should give all previous MB and MBP owners a replacement adapter (based on serial number).
I agree. The new design of the connector fixed the problem. We went through two of the old connector's separating the cord from the connector.
That reimbursement would be peanuts. It is not a class action or patent infringement case.
Apple should have notified every registered user of a recall of the adapters in the first place.
Sure, this one is peanuts, but what about the next 70,000 cases brought against them after this one is settled?
No, the problem is that the strain relief was inadequate. It was too thin and too short to adequately protect the cable. The adapter should have never been given a UL label. This isn't the first power adapter that Apple has shipped with this type of problem.
Yep, the power adapter for the original Titanium Powerbook G4. Also a strain-relief problem, iirc.
What I find odd is that the adapter can provide enough energy on the low voltage end to start a fire in anything but an explosive atmosphere.
The adapter has to put out enough to run the laptop at full tilt plus extra for charging the batteries. Could be over 100 watts. That's plenty of energy, and if shorted that energy is dissipated in a small area. More than enough to start a fire.
I've had magsafe adaptors since they came out on multiple macbook pros. I've also bought extra adaptors so I don't have to cart just the one around the house.
I've never had a problem with any of them.
If this issue is caused by users pulling the cables out by the cable and not by the plastic connector then it's their own fault.
2 problems with that. First, the original design presented a strong latching and a very small slick surface for the user to grasp when pulling the connector. It can be difficult for people to remove the proper way. Second, the entire reason for magsafe is that it will disconnect if someone walks into the cord. That's a heck of a high-strain moment. Instead of a substandard strain-relief, one would expect this particular adapter to have extra-strong construction. Instead they went for an "elegant", thin and supple cord. So, 2 failures in design as regards the intended application.
If the adaptors were not magsafe adaptors and were the rubbish pc type "kettle" ones would they pull them out by the cable instead of by the connector?
Maybe less likely. Again, the original magsafe design practically invites pulling the cord.
This is a fictionalized account of the way big companies work from the movie Fight Club:
Narrator: "A new car built by my company
leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The
rear differential locks up. The car crashes
and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now:
should we initiate a recall? Take the number
of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the
probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the
average out-of-court settlement, C. A times
B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost
of a recall, we don't do one."
Business woman on plane: "Are there a lot of
these kinds of accidents?"
Narrator: "You wouldn't believe."
Business woman on plane: "Which car company do
you work for?"
Narrator: "A major one."
This happened to my macbook I got in late december of 2007 in the summer of 2009.
I went for a run and came home to the smell of burnt electronics and a fried cord. My computer was fine and I don't even have apple care. When I went into the store, they fixed it at no cost. The guy at the store said it was fixed because something like that should "Never" happen. I assumed this would come up again.
Pretty interesting.
The same here with my son's laptop, in a classroom. Just spotainiosly, nobody was close to the MB. The teacher was in the classroom and pulled the cable in two because it was melted and couldn't get it off the MB. Still fighting to get the repair paid back.
My insults were nice and depending on a page you are in a google search there are burned cars. MagSafe is no more dangerous than any other charger. Phones and bateries too explode every once in awhile. If we started to have tens and hundreds of MagSafe adapters burn out of thin air all over the world you would be right. Now it could be many things if at all MagSafe was the cause. I have seen quite few charger abused to the point that only moron that abused them could use them. And even if that was true where exactly is Apples fault? It's a know fact that home appliance, electronics can be a fire hazard.
yes yes, if someone's magsafe catches on fire, it's because they are a moron and they abused them lol
Why does my charger spark at the plug when I plug it in to the wall? Apple says it's normal, but I really don't think the plug should spark. And I'm an amateur radio operator with an extra-class FCC license, but I still don't like that the thing sparks.
That is normal but I don't like it either. It might be capacitors or something like that discharging. I hated it on the old iMacs with the kettle plugs because the spark was huge and right near your hand. The sooner we get near-field inductive charging on everything the better.
You'd just have a plastic square on the wall and a flat, plastic plug and there would be a magnet on the wall and metal inside the plug and it would just stick on. This obviously means the large square part of it has to sit on the floor but it's not a big problem and it means you have a far greater limit on how many items you can plug into one socket.