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Does your magsafe adapter (power brick) has failed you within your 3 years of AC?

  • No, still going strong!

    Votes: 88 70.4%
  • Yes, just once.

    Votes: 13 10.4%
  • Yes, more than once.

    Votes: 19 15.2%
  • Yes, but after the 3 year period.

    Votes: 5 4.0%

  • Total voters
    125

Gildarts

macrumors regular
Oct 20, 2014
236
171
It's ridiculous. I'm on my third charger since 2012. They always break at the magsafe connector. They the rubber just starts expanding, then it tears open which exposes the wires.

And from there it's just a matter of time before it doesn't charge anymore.

It sucks.
 
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abta1

macrumors 6502
Jul 5, 2010
334
11
Paris, France
We still have the chargers from a 2008 MBP and 2009 MB, both going strong. In fact, the MB itself gave up a couple of years ago while its charger is still perfectly fine.
 
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VulchR

macrumors 68040
Jun 8, 2009
3,358
14,217
Scotland
One of my kids is on their third 45W charger for her MacBook. What do we get for our £65 (the equivalent of $97 in the UK, whereas the US price is $79)? A poorly designed POS. While many here have had not problem, using a short section of heat shrink tubing as cable strain relief is just poor engineering for a cable that cannot be replaced. Apple is supposed to be green, and power supplies tend to be one of the most polluting electronic components. Apple should redesign the power supplies with replaceable cable or adequate strain relief, sell replacements at cost, or simply replace defective units for free.

I have an old PowerBook 180 that still boots after more than 20 years. It's power supply has a moulded plastic strain relief that actually works. Apple's devotion to resilience in its engineering has taken a nosedive. Shame on them. My kid asked for a PC given all the problems she has had with her MacBook (bad battery, bad trackpad, bad keyboard connector) and the power charger. The PC cost about a fifth of what we paid for for the MacBook, and it has been more reliable.

Off to the Apple Store to buy yet another POS charger because there is no alternative other than to scrap the MacBook....
 

T5BRICK

macrumors G3
Aug 3, 2006
8,313
2,387
Oregon
I've owned 4 MacBook Pros dating back to the 2006(glossy) model. That's the only one that had an issue and it was due to the way I was handling it. AppleCare replaced the A/C adapter under warranty. Additionally, my family has 3 different Mac portables dating back to an original white MacBook, and none of their MagSafe adapters have failed.

I'm going to venture a guess that the vast majority doesn't have any problems with these.
 
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VulchR

macrumors 68040
Jun 8, 2009
3,358
14,217
Scotland
I've owned 4 MacBook Pros dating back to the 2006(glossy) model. That's the only one that had an issue and it was due to the way I was handling it. AppleCare replaced the A/C adapter under warranty. Additionally, my family has 3 different Mac portables dating back to an original white MacBook, and none of their MagSafe adapters have failed.

I'm going to venture a guess that the vast majority doesn't have any problems with these.

Well, on the UK Apple store for the charger I have had to purchase to replace the previous piece of crap charger, the average rating was given as 1.5 stars out of 5. The actual ratings were

5 stars: 24
4 stars: 5
3 stars: 7
2 stars: 26
1 star (the lowest): 221

In the US the figures are (again, 1.5 star average):

5 stars: 135
4 stars: 64
3 stars: 56
2 stars: 188
1 star (the lowest): '1k+' (more than a thousand)

So, yeah, it must be my imagination. Funny how my imagination seems to be catching. I note that the median and mode of both the UK and US distributions is 1 star, the lowest rating possible. Having a few people submit ratings of 5 stars pulls up the average so that the average is a poor measure of central tendency.
 

T5BRICK

macrumors G3
Aug 3, 2006
8,313
2,387
Oregon
Well, on the UK Apple store for the charger I have had to purchase to replace the previous piece of crap charger, the average rating was given as 1.5 stars out of 5. The actual ratings were

5 stars: 24
4 stars: 5
3 stars: 7
2 stars: 26
1 star (the lowest): 221

In the US the figures are (again, 1.5 star average):

5 stars: 135
4 stars: 64
3 stars: 56
2 stars: 188
1 star (the lowest): '1k+' (more than a thousand)

So, yeah, it must be my imagination. Funny how my imagination seems to be catching. I note that the median and mode of both the UK and US distributions is 1 star, the lowest rating possible. Having a few people submit ratings of 5 stars pulls up the average so that the average is a poor measure of central tendency.

Using the star rating system at Apple is a poor measure of actual problems. You realize that it doesn't actually represent the number of issues out there? It isn't even a valid sample.
 

VulchR

macrumors 68040
Jun 8, 2009
3,358
14,217
Scotland
Using the star rating system at Apple is a poor measure of actual problems. You realize that it doesn't actually represent the number of issues out there? It isn't even a valid sample.

I think you mean 'representative' rather than 'valid' sample. In any case, when the majority of people who bother to write a review give a product the worst score possible, there is an issue. Moreover, if one actually reads the written comments, the stories are the same: multiple instances of the cable strain relief failing. Compare the rating of the MagSafe power supplies with other Apple accessories and you'll see that the chargers have atypically low ratings and an atypically high proportion of scathing written comments.

This just isn't a money issue: the high cost of replacing these poorly designed chargers will tempt people to use them even when the insulation is frayed, or, even worse, try to repair them at home. There are a series of irresponsible YouTube videos advocating the latter. There are even third party-cable strains (US) and replacement cables (UK) being offered.

IMO Apple has dropped the ball on this big time. Of course Apple can ignore their customers if they wish, just like MicroSoft, HP, and a slew of other companies once they got big, but they do so at their peril. As noted in my first post, my kid asked for a PC after this experience (in addition to the MagSafe problems, her MacBook has had connectors, a battery and the touchpad replaced already - all recognised by Apple as defective - and it is less than 2 years old).

EDIT: Just fired off an e-mail to Tim Cook about this. Wonder if I'll actually get a response. :)
 

b0fh666

macrumors 6502a
Oct 12, 2012
954
785
south
only problem i had with magsafe was crud in connector, the thing almost burnt up :)

cleaned real good, some wd-40 and it was working like a charm again.
 

T5BRICK

macrumors G3
Aug 3, 2006
8,313
2,387
Oregon
I think you mean 'representative' rather than 'valid' sample. In any case, when the majority of people who bother to write a review give a product the worst score possible, there is an issue. Moreover, if one actually reads the written comments, the stories are the same: multiple instances of the cable strain relief failing. Compare the rating of the MagSafe power supplies with other Apple accessories and you'll see that the chargers have atypically low ratings and an atypically high proportion of scathing written comments.

Or it could just mean that the 1000+ people buying MagSafe adapters are doing it because theirs failed. I'd be annoyed about that too. I'm not saying that it's not a problem, I'm saying that it's a minor problem and not as widespread as the complainers posting reviews at Apple and posting on here would lead anyone to believe.

To address the question in the thread title. Apple isn't addressing the "issue" because Apple doesn't seem to think it's a big enough deal to spend time or money addressing.
 

b0fh666

macrumors 6502a
Oct 12, 2012
954
785
south
i have 3 macbooks in the house, 5 magsafes (4 real 1 knockoff). one had the aforementioned problem (wife's care for electronics is lacking at best), others going strong since 2012.
 

happyfrappy

macrumors 6502
Oct 14, 2007
343
50
Location eh?
Never abused mine but my 2010's original Magsafe one day began leaking or oozing capacitor/waxy fluid, Apple Genius Bar guy replaced it at no cost even though I was out of warranty.

As far as the cable wear & tear, Apple doesn't give enough cable stress protection in the area where a cable is unplugged so under certain situations you see this with Magsafe or cables for the iPod/iPhone/iPad.
 

simonsi

Contributor
Jan 3, 2014
4,851
735
Auckland
Well, on the UK Apple store for the charger I have had to purchase to replace the previous piece of crap charger, the average rating was given as 1.5 stars out of 5....


Just as valid to claim the resulting millions of Apple chargers NOT reviewed must be good??? There is a well-known "complaint bias" on these forums (any such forums, not just Apple ones), and any product review collectors, its just the nature of the beast.

A review of issues on here though and the trend is some users seem to have persistent problems with them, other users have none - which would point to the user or their environment being hostile (mine, is, I have run over 2 in roller-chairs and had pets chew 2 cables - but none have just failed or had cable strain relief issues)
 

BoneDaddy

Suspended
Jan 8, 2015
527
966
Texas
Regardless of how happy people are with their chargers, Apple does in fact have a big problem on their hands. I think the reasonable sum of this situation, is in the middle.

Apple chargers can last quite a long time, if you take care of them, but they also fail quicker than other company's chargers, and fail badly. I am actually happy with my experience, even though I have reason to be upset about the chargers.

Out of six Macbooks in the past 8 years, all of the chargers (except the two new ones) rubber has disconnected at the end, on all of them, regardless how well I take care of them. Usually it's not a huge deal. I mostly just tape them up. There was one time where it was a big deal, and had I not been a DIY guy, would have cost me. The rubber had just barely became torn and one day I plugged in my 2010 Macbook Pro, and the charger fried the port. Pissed me off for the moment. But I ordered a new port off of ebay for 10 dollars, took the Macbook apart and replaced it, bought a new charger, and was all set.

So in 8 years I have had about 7 magsafe one chargers, all worn out at the tips within one year. So far the two magsafe two chargers are still in great shape. Ever other magsafe one charger I have seen in person, be it friend or someone at a Barnes and Nobles, has had the frayed ends. The twos seem thicker and harder rubber, so maybe they've fixed it.

Whatever the case, there is a clear problem with the magsafe one chargers wearing out on the rubber.

OH, I actually had the magnet part fall off once. It completely disconnected from the rest of the tip and stayed in the charging port. But I glued it back on and till this day, it works.
 

Amelia Pond

macrumors newbie
Oct 14, 2015
18
5
5 1/2 years and still going strong. I've had a problem with my iBook charger, but this one is great. I've taken it with me during numerous travels (national and international), 2 moves, and to/from work in a bag where it "flies" around. I do wrap it around the brick and it is fine.
 

IHelpId10t5

macrumors 6502
Nov 28, 2014
486
348
Since the introduction in 2006, I have had already 10 apple chargers!
They just break, at the cable, a the connector or fry somewhere else.
...
They don't even lats 18 months! And they are completely overpriced!
The cable should be a removable part, so when the cable dies (it will eventually) you could just exchange this part, and not the whole transformer.

They should hire you as an extreme use product tester! I've personally had 5 mag-safe chargers over the past 7 years, and have supported dozens of business users with mag-safe adapters, and have never seen a single one fail!
 

BoneDaddy

Suspended
Jan 8, 2015
527
966
Texas
They should hire you as an extreme use product tester! I've personally had 5 mag-safe chargers over the past 7 years, and have supported dozens of business users with mag-safe adapters, and have never seen a single one fail!
I can understand a possible suspicion that he's over exaggerating, but to be fair, there are at least half Apple users who report issues with chargers.

Let's assume we couldn't possibly know what the number is, because people don't usually take to the internet to give happy reviews, and measure this by your experience, as well as mine; Assuming we are both being honest, your experience is that you've never seen one fail, and mine is that I've never seen one the wasn't torn somewhere. Without getting extremely technical as far as how many you've seen vs me, this means that roughly 50% of Apple chargers are going bad, fast. However satisfied I may be with my bumpy experience with them, this number is unacceptable.

Therefore, and although you are mostly just poking fun, I think your comment is unreasonable. He should only be hired as a moderate to harsh product tester. :D
 

simonsi

Contributor
Jan 3, 2014
4,851
735
Auckland
Regardless of how happy people are with their chargers, Apple does in fact have a big problem on their hands.


Hmmm, ignoring the logical fallacy self-evident in that statement - just because you say so? What is the evidence of a "big problem"? Are Apple sales falling as a result? Are there press stories about the scandal? In fact other than the "evidence" of 221 reviews what evidence is there that the failure rate is "unacceptable" and who is it unacceptable to?

Anecdotal evidence even from this thread is that some users have zero problems and other users have a string of issues. Logic say the environment and user are key factors...
 

BoneDaddy

Suspended
Jan 8, 2015
527
966
Texas


Hmmm, ignoring the logical fallacy self-evident in that statement - just because you say so? What is the evidence of a "big problem"? Are Apple sales falling as a result? Are there press stories about the scandal? In fact other than the "evidence" of 221 reviews what evidence is there that the failure rate is "unacceptable" and who is it unacceptable to?

Anecdotal evidence even from this thread is that some users have zero problems and other users have a string of issues. Logic say the environment and user are key factors...

You must have reading comprehension issues. "Just because you say so" is exactly the point I was making. So you can take your logical fallacy contradiction and shove it up you ass, smart guy.

Seems like you couldn't comprehend your own post. You basically just reiterated my post, which is kind of funny.

Nice try though, princess.
 

simonsi

Contributor
Jan 3, 2014
4,851
735
Auckland
You must have reading comprehension issues. "Just because you say so" is exactly the point I was making. So you can take your logical fallacy contradiction and shove it up you ass, smart guy.

Seems like you couldn't comprehend your own post. You basically just reiterated my post, which is kind of funny.

Nice try though, princess.

Ah - so you don't have an argument and it is "just because you say so". Keep saying it, you obviously believe yourself.
 

BoneDaddy

Suspended
Jan 8, 2015
527
966
Texas
Ah - so you don't have an argument and it is "just because you say so". Keep saying it, you obviously believe yourself.

Typical response champ. Still riding the "cause you say so train", while claiming that train is a bad train. Go ahead and get you last word. I'll forfeit, in the face of idiocy, to save us both time. You're welcome.
 

VulchR

macrumors 68040
Jun 8, 2009
3,358
14,217
Scotland
Two of my mag safe chargers have failed. Each time it's the power brick not wires. Apple has replaced each of them.

If Apple replaced at no cost the charger that failed due to the poorly designed cable strain relief, I would be less annoyed, but in our case they haven't. One can tell when a cable has been abused (it will show wear and tear along the whole length of the cable), and when it hasn't (broken insulation only at the point of cable strain). Our chargers had problems only at the point where the DC cable leaves the body of the charger, yet we've had to pay for two of these things at full price.

I wonder if Apple thought that the Mag connection would preclude cable strain and therefore under-engineered the cable strain relief. The cable is also subject to strain when wrapped on the two moveable flaps of the charger, and I wonder if the process of winding the cable has something to do with the failures in the insulation.

In any case, no word back yet from Tim Cook. :(

why not serious?? that's fact.

Because WD-40 acts as an electrical insulator when it drys and is highly flammable when it is in aerosol. Not really something I'd watt to spray on an electrical connection...;)
 
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