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Apple Voluntarily Recalls Some Older Three-Prong Wall Plug Adapters Due to Risk of Electrical Shock
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I'm still using my 2nd gen 20GB iPod from 2002. The charger / plug has been continuously plugged into the wall socket since 2003 (socket is switched off when not in use) since I got the iPod all those years ago.
When u use this in certain area like Singapore, it produce slight electric shock to your skin when u're touching the laptop.... grounded AC adapter does not!
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the grounding is provided by the center vertical neutral prong on the plug...
A way to fix this is here: https://codesandbolts.com/macbook-power-adapter-static-issue/
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I'm hoping the Apple Store can swap these rather than having to order one. I'm going to Gibraltar next week and they use this plug. They are also used in the Persian Gulf region alongside the EU plugs.
So it’s technically safer, but how does that translate in to real world results? If it’s say twice as expensive and twice as wasteful (in terms of materials used) but results in say, less than 0.001% electrical related accidents is it worth it? What are the trade offs? Maybe it is, but the article only talks about how it’s technically safer, not real world numbers.
I have loads of these (fat ones) that have come with various Apple devices that I have purchased over the years. So I went to the Apple recall site only to find that I need to input the serial number of the item that the adaptor came with. What! How am I supposed to know which adaptor belongs to which device?
You would thought they would have learned their lesson back in 2016 when I had a big bag of chargers to get replaced.
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Cons
Benefits as to why the British plug is best
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Cons
- if you stand on one of those upturned you are in for a whole heap of pain.
- the plug is bigger
Benefits as to why the British plug is best
- You plug it in and it stays in.
- It is easier to fumble around and plug it in.
- It has a fuse.
- Its easier to grab on to.
- You can wire the plug yourself more easily. (Unless the nanny state has got to you)
- Less likely to have fires due to overheating christmas tree lights if the fuse blows.
- The plug can handle more current
White with no writing = bad
Grey with writing = good
What about Grey without writing?
I have five grey without writing....anyone else?
I am assuming good.
Grey with writing = good
What about Grey without writing?
I have five grey without writing....anyone else?
I am assuming good.
There is a problem with both the old and the new UK adapter that Apple ships now... both of them do not provide any grounding as there is no electrical connection at all to the vertical center prong on the UK plug.
why is it a problem, without grounding some people might experience slight sensation of electricity by touching the palm rest area of the laptop!
The only way to have proper grounding is to use the extension cable that Apple used to ship prior to 2016.
Or u can try this solution if you can only to use only the Apple provided adapter: https://codesandbolts.com/macbook-power-adapter-static-issue/
why is it a problem, without grounding some people might experience slight sensation of electricity by touching the palm rest area of the laptop!
The only way to have proper grounding is to use the extension cable that Apple used to ship prior to 2016.
Or u can try this solution if you can only to use only the Apple provided adapter: https://codesandbolts.com/macbook-power-adapter-static-issue/
I have just spoken to someone at Apple support about this, and they clearly had no idea what they were talking about!
I wanted to know if my plug is affected, because it is white WITH writing. So not one of the two versions shown on Apple's web site.
When I go through the recall process, at no time does it ask me for the serial number of my device, which as someone already mentioned, is a daft way of identifying this plug.
Anyone know how to find this information? Trying to talk directly with an Apple store is nigh impossible. You just get sent round the same Apple support loop.
I wanted to know if my plug is affected, because it is white WITH writing. So not one of the two versions shown on Apple's web site.
When I go through the recall process, at no time does it ask me for the serial number of my device, which as someone already mentioned, is a daft way of identifying this plug.
Anyone know how to find this information? Trying to talk directly with an Apple store is nigh impossible. You just get sent round the same Apple support loop.
It was designed a long time ago. The primary purpose wasn’t to perform a cost/benefit analysis on deaths-by-electrocution and deaths-by-electrical fire versus cost.
Surely when designing a connector that will be in ubiquitous use throughout a nation, used millions of times per year by tens or hundreds of millions of people, it’s a good idea to make it as safe as possible?
If having a plug that costs a penny or two more to manufacture makes me and my property (and everyone else and their property) a fair bit safer, I’m cool with that.
Besides, the retail, non-trade, non-bulk, sales-tax-inclusive, including a fuse cost of one of our plugs is £0.99. Or a pack of 3 for £2.50.
(there’s a reasonably short list of British things I’m absolutely unequivocally proud of, and our mains plugs and sockets are on it )
I was going to say you were incorrect, because you don't need the ground if the appliance is double insulated. but I do know what you mean about touching a mbp or rubbing your fingers across the top of a closed laptop, I could feel what you were saying. It was like a rumble strip with mini static shocks. It wasn't painful in any sort of way, just like a static rumble if that makes sense.
I have about 3 of these so called 'affected' plugs all around my house - one to charge my iPad Air 2 and one for each of my kids (which are continually plugged into wall sockets) to charge their iPhone 6 handsets.
The chargers have been fine for absolute years on end so I doubt they are now going to all of a sudden, cause faults just because of this article so won't be replacing mine.....
In any case - looks like for us in the UK, we would have to visit a store of some kind or an approved repair shop in order to get repairs/exchanges, none of which are near me.
The chargers have been fine for absolute years on end so I doubt they are now going to all of a sudden, cause faults just because of this article so won't be replacing mine.....
In any case - looks like for us in the UK, we would have to visit a store of some kind or an approved repair shop in order to get repairs/exchanges, none of which are near me.
As do practically all of the US/Japan style plugs I’ve ever used. Next.
Completely subjective and utterly nothing to do with how much safer it is in practice.
No one is disputing that, how much safer does that ACTUALLY make these plugs? Next.
Again subjective. Also you know what else is easy to grab on to? A coffee mug. Doesn’t make it a safer plug. Next.
And? Who the hell actually does that? Practically no one. A feature that’s unused by 99.999999% of users isn’t much of a selling point.
Are you? Do you have any evidence to back up this claim? Also, how many fires are caused by overheating Christmas lights? One? One hundred? One million? It matters how big the problem is.
What worse, a disease that’s 100% fatal but only one in 100 million people have, or a disease that’s 5% fatal but affects 1 in every million?
The actual numbers matter. Next.
Which doesn’t mean it’s safer, in fact it means that there is great current running through the wiring which is MORE dangerous, not less.
Baseless assertion and logically flawed too. Whether it’s safer would be determined from the data not what “people” know. Lots of incorrect things are or have been “well known and agreed upon”
You did two things with your post:
1. Regurgitated information from the original article without adding any new or supporting information
2. Made irrelevant and/or subjective claims
You didn’t do the actual important thing, back up your argument with any actual data.
You should do the latter, not the former.
About the serial number thing - I initially got this and after entering 100% the correct serial number, the website kept saying it was not recognised. You'll get this if you follow this incorrect link: https://www.apple.com/uk/support/ac-wallplug-adapter/ and choose the 'web' option:
, which will then show this:
However, I then realised that I was following a link to the U.S. Apple Support page, which does ask for a serial number. If you follow this correct link: https://www.apple.com/uk/support/three-prong-ac-wall-plug-adapter/ you'll see that really, the only options are, to go to a store to get it replaced:
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Stats are difficult but we get to use all sorts of 2 and 3 pin plugs from shaver sockets to 2 pin euro connectors. Uk ones are definitely the most sturdily anchored in their sockets.
I’ve wired up loads of plugs, and replaced many fuses.. Clearly these are good features - being able to replace plug heads easily is great.
The safety thing on the central hole makes them tamper proof so kids can’t get into trouble messing with sockets as easily. And that has clearly saved lives. In the US the advice is clover all your sockets. In the UK we’re advised not to.
We love our chunky sockets/plugs here. Individual switches are great too.
I’ve wired up loads of plugs, and replaced many fuses.. Clearly these are good features - being able to replace plug heads easily is great.
The safety thing on the central hole makes them tamper proof so kids can’t get into trouble messing with sockets as easily. And that has clearly saved lives. In the US the advice is clover all your sockets. In the UK we’re advised not to.
We love our chunky sockets/plugs here. Individual switches are great too.
Rubbish. Not worth my time responding to such rubbish.
Well! Bought an adapter at the Covent Garden store in 2010, and it has resided in my travel kit ever since as I use it a couple of times/yr. I bet once I exchange it I will probably not need it ever again...!
Whilst higher current is obviously more dangerous in general, its safe use within such a system would be determined from the data, so please could you back that fact up?
Though dilbert99 was wrong about the current. That plug type is only rated to 13 amps whereas many countries with 220 – 240V mains use plugs rated up to 16 amps, despite lacking the other safety features of British plugs. The plugs used in the U.S. and Japan are also rated at 15 amps, but at a lower voltage of 110 – 127 volts.
And the fuse within the plug sits between the live (hot) pin and the wiring, so for many appliances that current will never be able to reach any wiring.
Of course it is also important to remember that that is the maximum rating, not the draw. I cannot imagine any socket-uisng home appliances needing the full 2,990 watts (the U.K. mains supply is 230V) for which they are officially certified. That is more than an oven, which has to be directly wired into its own circuit because of its high power requirement.
It is certainly far more than required by Apple adapters, which are supplied with 3A fuses fitted.
Incidentally, when dilbert999 said "You plug it in and it stays in" I think they meant that it cannot be accidentally pulled loose from the socket. Increasing pressure is instead more likely to dislodge the internal wiring within the plug, but it designed in such a way that even if that happens it will first break the live for safety.
But it means MagSafe connectors are even more wonderful, because the other end will sit fast if you get caught up in your laptop cable!
I followed that link (thanks for that) and as you say, it doesn't recognise the serial number (which I cut and pasted).
I have a lot of Apple's stuff and really like most of it but I have to say that their previous high standards have dropped significantly. It's such a shame, as the competition is even worse.
About these UK plugs being 'the best'.
While they may have some features that may or may not make them safer, one thing that any Brit knows is how annoying they are to deal with, when you have to (a) carry them around in a bag, and even worst (b) plugging lots of them into a tight space on a multi-strip or similar.
For the former issue, why on earth Apple don't standardise their plugs into the folding pin type, instead of only keeping it as an £29 extra purchase option for just the smaller 5W (USB-A) and 18W (USB-C) sizes?
https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/MU7W2B/A/18w-usb-c-power-adapter
https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/MGRL2B/A/apple-5w-usb-power-adapter-folding-pins
(why you'd buy the lower 5W version, instead of the 18W one, given the latter can work with more devices and costs the same!?)
And given Apple can manage to make a folding pin type, why oh why do other companies not do them? (Yes, I've seen mentioned about it breaking some standard or another, but again, if a huge multinational like Apple can manage it, then why no one else? Surely if made in bulk, the slightly higher manufacturing costs can't be an issue.)
And the latter issue has always been an absolute pain, as certain plugs (especially those that incorporate the power supply block on them) take over a whole socket and block access to others nearby. Other 2-pin plugs from around the planet don't have this issue to anywhere near the same extent.
So next time I hear someone espouse just how wonderful the virtues are of our ones, I think they're being completely delusional.
While they may have some features that may or may not make them safer, one thing that any Brit knows is how annoying they are to deal with, when you have to (a) carry them around in a bag, and even worst (b) plugging lots of them into a tight space on a multi-strip or similar.
For the former issue, why on earth Apple don't standardise their plugs into the folding pin type, instead of only keeping it as an £29 extra purchase option for just the smaller 5W (USB-A) and 18W (USB-C) sizes?
https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/MU7W2B/A/18w-usb-c-power-adapter
https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/MGRL2B/A/apple-5w-usb-power-adapter-folding-pins
(why you'd buy the lower 5W version, instead of the 18W one, given the latter can work with more devices and costs the same!?)
And given Apple can manage to make a folding pin type, why oh why do other companies not do them? (Yes, I've seen mentioned about it breaking some standard or another, but again, if a huge multinational like Apple can manage it, then why no one else? Surely if made in bulk, the slightly higher manufacturing costs can't be an issue.)
And the latter issue has always been an absolute pain, as certain plugs (especially those that incorporate the power supply block on them) take over a whole socket and block access to others nearby. Other 2-pin plugs from around the planet don't have this issue to anywhere near the same extent.
So next time I hear someone espouse just how wonderful the virtues are of our ones, I think they're being completely delusional.
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Giant annoying power blocks aren’t any more common here in my experience? They’re always annoying everywhere but realistically cable management is straightforward everywhere if you’ve got good plug boards/sockets.
Funniest blocks I have are 2 pin euro style ones with a tall built in adaptor, so not only is the block massive but it’s also wobbly as heck. Infuriating.
Pretty sure it's not as expensive as you make out (I'm thinking you're imagining it as being way bigger than the US plugs). Besides, why would you put a price on life?
Also, check the video I linked here: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...electrical-shock.2179142/page-2#post-27314166
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That's a neat design, but knowing Apple, they've probably patented it lol. Also, it has a limited use case - there's not many reasons why you'd want to fold a plug in the first place and therefore limited reason for manufacturers to bear the additional cost making foldable plugs.
That's equally a design flaw for the power strip manufacturers putting the sockets too close together. But yeh, I get the point that this problem isn't present with non-UK plugs. I've had this problem myself.
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