Weird vibration when power is plugged in?

[exe163]

Well I notice this weird vibration from time to time. First I thought it was just my imagination, but then I notice it only happens when i plug the power in. There is this small vibration that can be felt only if I slide my hand across the wrist rest area of the laptop.


While I can't say I feel it 100% of the time when the power is plugged in, but every time I felt it and unplug the power adapter, it's gone. To add to my suspicion, the battery is right under wrist as I type. Or maybe some magnetic problem.

I have the '10 MBP

 

[Detrius]

Here are the possibilities as I see it: you're feeling the normal motion of the hard drive, you're feeling an ever-so-slightly-off-balance fan, or the source of the vibration isn't the laptop. It's possible it's psychosomatic, and it's possible it's something else on your desk.

Additionally, it's also possible that something has shorted out somewhere and what you're feeling is a slight AC current causing your muscles to contract which you're interpreting as vibration. Note: the power adapter only supplies DC current to the laptop, and your laptop is LED backlit (florescent lights require AC), so the short would not be in the laptop itself.

 

[wordoflife]

Try using the three prong adapter if you haven't done so.

 

[Tim018]

I think i know exactly what your talking about, ive gotten that a few times before too. it feels to me more like something like it is more magnetized or like it has electricity going through the palm area. I've found it only does it out of one outlet of my house, try moving to a different outlet and see if that makes any difference. after that you might want to check what else the cable is touching before it gets to the laptop, see if its touching anything that might cause something weird power wise...

 

[exe163]

I am currently on vacation, so I have tried different outlet, even different voltage. I don't have the prong with me and I usually don't use it, so I can't be sure. But I am almost 100 percent certain that it comes from the power adapter. I can feel the "vibration" on the magnet plug when unplugged to the computer but plugged to power.

 

[cujimmy]

I get that too - have always had it. First noticed it on my 2005 PowerBook.

 

[rectifiability]

Well I notice this weird vibration from time to time. First I thought it was just my imagination, but then I notice it only happens when i plug the power in. There is this small vibration that can be felt only if I slide my hand across the wrist rest area of the laptop.


While I can't say I feel it 100% of the time when the power is plugged in, but every time I felt it and unplug the power adapter, it's gone. To add to my suspicion, the battery is right under wrist as I type. Or maybe some magnetic problem.

I have the '10 MBP

Same thing happened to me when I moved to France this summer. I also have a '10 MBP. Sliding my hand across the base or the back, I felt a weird vibration. Then I did some research. Turns out that because I'm plugging my three-pronged plug into an (ungrounded) European adapter, a charge differential is building up. That vibration is not the machine-- it's your hand! Incredible, isn't it?

You should ground your machine better, but I believe this is otherwise not a problem. I'd love for others to tell me if I'm wrong, however.