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3rd Party Magsafe Power Adapter
- Thread starter SamIchi
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Have you had bad experiences with 3rd party power adapters? Or heard bad things?
I used a $25 third party magsafe adapter for about 9 months without any issues at all. I literally just bought a new magsafe adapter from Apple last week, because I had the money to spare, and because I wanted the new L-type connector.
I have, picked one up from Amazon. All the lights lit up like it was working, but it never outputted voltage and subsequently never charged the battery. Fortunately Amazon took the return, I just bought genuine from there. I was doing the "aww, I'll save a few bucks" thing too, and thought "it's only a power adapter". Clearly I was wrong.
Yes, many have reported problems with non-Apple adapters. While some have had success with them, I'm not willing to risk my Mac for the sake of saving a few dollars on a non-Apple adapter. If something goes wrong while using an Apple adapter, warranty or AppleCare will cover it. If I use a 3rd party product, I'm on my own.
I too have had problems with non-apple magsafe power adapters. It was the flakiest thing I ever used. I've bought many items off of ebay including batteries and chargers, but it seems like every "fake" power supply (whether it's Dell, Apple, Lenovo, etc.) have all given me problems. I just buy branded power supplies now.
My understanding is that there technically isn't a such thing as a 3rd party MagSafe adapter because the MagSafe is a patented design that Apple does not license for manufacture by 3rd parties. I don't remember the name of the company, but Apple recently stopped a 3rd party company from producing products using MagSafe connectors. Also, as others have already mentioned the internet is littered with negative experiences of using 3rd party "MagSafe" power adapters. I'd say in this case the real deal is worth it.
For those who are interested, I bought the cheapest one off ebay for $25. Got it today and have been using it. I don't see any short term problems. Everything seems to be kosher. Checked all the power voltage and watss seems to be the same.
The brick is a little bit larger, but I'm not moving it around so it's fine. I bought an extra one so I don't have to bring it to school everyday.
I had a 3rd party for my old MacBook, and I never had a problem with it. My authentic Apple one had the wire start tearing apart (for my old MB), because I brought it to and from school everyday. It was a good investment.
The brick is a little bit larger, but I'm not moving it around so it's fine. I bought an extra one so I don't have to bring it to school everyday.
I had a 3rd party for my old MacBook, and I never had a problem with it. My authentic Apple one had the wire start tearing apart (for my old MB), because I brought it to and from school everyday. It was a good investment.