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Bad smell from MacBook USB C power cable

zepman

zepman

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 1, 2010
196
16
Sweden
I bought a MacBook Air M1 16/512 from Apple’s Online store.
When I opened the white box with the laptop in I was met with an odour of mildew. It smelled like it has been in an old basement for a very long time.
I called Apple about it and they agreed to send me an replacement.
When the new laptop finally arrived, the packaging didn’t have that odour of mildew. But when I unwrapped the USB C power cable I got that odour of mildew again.
I called Apple again and asked what they could do about it. I got refunded for the value of the cable and was asked to buy a replacement cable from a store nearby.
Okey, so I went to the store and bought an new original Apple USB C (2m) power cable. I unwrapped it. That one also got that same odour of mildew. Very disappointed and annoyed I returned the cable.

At this point I decided to by a third party power cable instead. Found a Satechi cable that didn’t smell bad.

I’m very dissipated in Apples quality control.
Is it common for Apple’s power cables to have a odour of mildew?
Does your USB C power cable (2m) smell bad? How do you handle that? Do you use it anyway? Or do you use a third party power cable?

TL;DR
Apple’s UBS C power cable (2m) have an odour of mildew.
Is it common? How do you handle that?
 
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Is it at all possible that what you consider the odor/odour of mildew is not mildew at all? You haven't mentioned that you saw mildew, which would seem likely if you also smelled it.

The cables are made of plastic and metal, which are generally indigestible by fungi like mildew. The smell of mildew is the scent of mildew spores which are expelled into the air to propagate the species. If the mildew can't feast and grow on its natural foods, it isn't going to live to propagate.

I hate to suggest it, but Apple is using less plastic and more paper in its packaging. Paper, if not treated with anti-fungal agents is a growth medium for mold and mildew (hence the common use of anti-fungal treatments for paper). Thanks to international trade, many nations have import regulations meant to minimize the import of unwanted biological agents - insects, mold, mildew, etc. So overall, despite the possibility that you actually smelled mildew in a variety of different products... I'd guess you smelled/smelt something entirely different - the scent of the plastic, for example.

Long ago, in the deeps of time, animals developed the sense of smell in order to detect risks - the presence of enemies, foul water and food, etc.. So if something smells bad to us our natural instincts take over. Of course, not everyone smells through the same nostrils. Take Roquefort or Stilton cheeses, for example, or the yeasts used in bread making and brewing. All are dependent upon fungi and yes, many people find the scents to be objectionable. But for those who enjoy the end product (and not everyone does, of course), it's an entirely different matter (yum!).
 
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The best I can describe the smell is by saying it smelled like something that's been in the basement of an old house for a very long time.
If it's mildew that cause it or something else, I don't know. It wasn't pleasant and not something I would expect from an Apple product.

I don't what to use the cable because I don't want to risk the smell to spread to other items (my backpack for example).
 
About a year ago quite a few people reported the USB-C charging cable supplied with M1 Macs smelled bad. Some even said it smelled like cat pee!
At one time Apple would only replace everything, including the Mac, which seems an odd way to go about it.
I've not heard that camplaint for a while so don't know if they've changed their policy (or their QC).
 
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zepman said:
Apple’s UBS C power cable (2m) have an odour of mildew.
Is it common? How do you handle that?
Click to expand...

Randomly farting cable is not common, especially Apple ones. The first way I would handle it would be to wipe it with isopropyl alcohol to mitigate the distasteful odours. If that does not help, I would either return it if that is possible or send it to the bin and get something else.
 
I know exactly what you mean, I recently bought two Macbook Airs which both stink and have also bought a new 14"pro which the box doesn't stink. I just use a different charger but can confirm this is a genuine Macbook air charger thing,

Don't forget though the 14 is a Magsafe cable maybe it is just Apples usb C to usb C cables which stink
 
zepman said:
I bought a MacBook Air M1 16/512 from Apple’s Online store.
When I opened the white box with the laptop in I was met with an odour of mildew. It smelled like it has been in an old basement for a very long time.
I called Apple about it and they agreed to send me an replacement.
When the new laptop finally arrived, the packaging didn’t have that odour of mildew. But when I unwrapped the USB C power cable I got that odour of mildew again.
I called Apple again and asked what they could do about it. I got refunded for the value of the cable and was asked to buy a replacement cable from a store nearby.
Okey, so I went to the store and bought an new original Apple USB C (2m) power cable. I unwrapped it. That one also got that same odour of mildew. Very disappointed and annoyed I returned the cable.

At this point I decided to by a third party power cable instead. Found a Satechi cable that didn’t smell bad.

I’m very dissipated in Apples quality control.
Is it common for Apple’s power cables to have a odour of mildew?
Does your USB C power cable (2m) smell bad? How do you handle that? Do you use it anyway? Or do you use a third party power cable?

TL;DR
Apple’s UBS C power cable (2m) have an odour of mildew.
Is it common? How do you handle that?
Click to expand...
Just want you to know I bought 3 of them and they all stink of what smells like mildew. It's the Apple brand USB power cables. All 3.
 
jccrtv said:
Just want you to know I bought 3 of them and they all stink of what smells like mildew. It's the Apple brand USB power cables. All 3.
Click to expand...
It's awful that Apple sells cables like that.
Good to know it's not only me that notice it.
I ended up buying a third party charge cable instead.
 
I’ve had the same problem with the last two USB-C cables I bought from target. They’re both Apple sealed products and smell like mildew. I’m searching now for other brands to purchase. These are gross and the smells don’t appear to go away.
 
Just got a brand new Apple 2-meter USB-C charging cable and immediately smelled a strong mildewy smell. You don't have to put your nose to it. It's stinking up the whole room. Has anyone had any luck with getting rid of the smell?
 
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The original USB-C to USB-C charging cable that came with my 2017 MacBook Pro finally died so I got a replacement 2 m identical cable from the Apple store and it does have a strong organic smell to it. It smells like halfway between cat pee and mildew. It’s very strange. Does the 1 m cable have this problem? Or the thunderbolt version?
 
Consider dousing them with perfume. If the combination of perfume and mildew is even worse, saturate everything in the room. If that doesn’t help, add a second perfume to the mix so 2 out of 3 smells are nice smells. Keep going until you outnumber it.

you should definitely stop when your eyes water and your nose won’t stop running
 
ThunderSkunk said:
Consider dousing them with perfume. If the combination of perfume and mildew is even worse, saturate everything in the room. If that doesn’t help, add a second perfume to the mix so 2 out of 3 smells are nice smells. Keep going until you outnumber it.

you should definitely stop when your eyes water and your nose won’t stop running
Click to expand...
I’m allergic to mold and some perfume. Would change the smell but not solve the issue. Thanks though.
 
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It has to do with storage. I suspect a M1 that had been sitting in a warehouse for a long time. I have had this smell from other items shipped from China. It could be that the items were shipped on a boat and again we're stored for a long time.

Generally speaking is the cardboard packing that gets mildew and that smell transferred to the plastic parts.

There is nothing you can do but replace the item or clean it with a strong cleaner like bleach. The bleach will disinfect the surface and kill all the mildew. Just be safe and don't let the bleach get in contact with any internal parts just the outside plastic cord and if you want the plug but be sure to wipe with clean water like a damp cloth afterwards and make sure everything dries off properly.
 
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Yeah my guess is they made like a million of these cables a couple years ago and they sat in a moldy warehouse or shipping container. It’s really not good though.
 
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