Could a charging wire cause static in brand new laptop?

[rrungta]

I recently bought a macbook pro 2017 13inch and as I was using it at work and home hence bought a braided usb c cable from Amazon (it had good reviews and seems like a very sturdy cable) to use for charging at work. I had an issue with wifi when it just stoppped working for about an hour later in the evening (was not connected at that time to power outlet) and on contacting Apple Support once it started working, I was told that it seemed to be static that caused it (support tried booting in safe mode and all was working fine).

Am wondering if it could be the external usb C cable that caused it ? I have had 2 issues within a span of 2 weeks and taken replacements from Apple as well each time - has been painful to keep setting up the laptop hence wanted to check.

Would appreciate any advice here.

 

[white7561]

I live in country with only 2 prongs on AC plug. So no ground . And yeah when I charge my MacBook. If I'm grounded and I touch my MacBook I feel static electricity. So it could be it or idk

 

[MC6800]

I recently bought a macbook pro 2017 13inch and as I was using it at work and home hence bought a braided usb c cable from Amazon (it had good reviews and seems like a very sturdy cable) to use for charging at work. I had an issue with wifi when it just stoppped working for about an hour later in the evening (was not connected at that time to power outlet) and on contacting Apple Support once it started working, I was told that it seemed to be static that caused it (support tried booting in safe mode and all was working fine).

Am wondering if it could be the external usb C cable that caused it ? I have had 2 issues within a span of 2 weeks and taken replacements from Apple as well each time - has been painful to keep setting up the laptop hence wanted to check.

Would appreciate any advice here.

A static discharge knocking out your MBP is possible, as Apple Support suspected. To avoid this, make sure to first discharge *yourself* before plugging it in. For example, if you walk across a carpet you may build up a charge (relative to ground and your wall power), and if you then pick up your MBP, you transfer that charge to it, and if you then plug it in, that charge all gets discharged through the cable when it's plugged in. If you instead touch something grounded first, that charge will be dissipated through your finger-- it may spark.

The general idea is that you don't want that spark going through delicate electronics.

I live in country with only 2 prongs on AC plug. So no ground . And yeah when I charge my MacBook. If I'm grounded and I touch my MacBook I feel static electricity. So it could be it or idk

Just to be clear, what you must be feeling there is the buzz of a small AC current, not static electricity. You'd only feel a static discharge at the moment of contact.

 

[white7561]

A static discharge knocking out your MBP is possible, as Apple Support suspected. To avoid this, make sure to first discharge *yourself* before plugging it in. For example, if you walk across a carpet you may build up a charge (relative to ground and your wall power), and if you then pick up your MBP, you transfer that charge to it, and if you then plug it in, that charge all gets discharged through the cable when it's plugged in. If you instead touch something grounded first, that charge will be dissipated through your finger-- it may spark.

The general idea is that you don't want that spark going through delicate electronics.



Just to be clear, what you must be feeling there is the buzz of a small AC current, not static electricity. You'd only feel a static discharge at the moment of contact.

Umm. Yeah I feel it when I touch it. I don't get the buzzing feeling.

 

[MC6800]

Umm. Yeah I feel it when I touch it. I don't get the buzzing feeling.

Ok-- note that that would not be due to lack of grounded outlets, as a static discharge doesn't care about that relatively small voltage (it's thousands of volts).

 

[white7561]

Ok-- note that that would not be due to lack of grounded outlets, as a static discharge doesn't care about that relatively small voltage (it's thousands of volts).

Sometimes. After plugging my laptop to my outlet (no ground) and I turn it off. When I touch my MacBook after a while it shock me for a sec. And didnt shock me again so static electricity I say

 

[jerryk]

I recently bought a macbook pro 2017 13inch and as I was using it at work and home hence bought a braided usb c cable from Amazon (it had good reviews and seems like a very sturdy cable) to use for charging at work. I had an issue with wifi when it just stoppped working for about an hour later in the evening (was not connected at that time to power outlet) and on contacting Apple Support once it started working, I was told that it seemed to be static that caused it (support tried booting in safe mode and all was working fine).

Am wondering if it could be the external usb C cable that caused it ? I have had 2 issues within a span of 2 weeks and taken replacements from Apple as well each time - has been painful to keep setting up the laptop hence wanted to check.

Would appreciate any advice here.

Try the cable apple provided? Just because a cable looks robust does not mean it performs well. ^*%%*& Monster cables!

Another option is to use the grounded plug charger extension cord. I am not sure if the newer units come with them, but on the rMBPs these would cure the static charge that would build up when the unit was plugged into the wall.

 

[MC6800]

Sometimes. After plugging my laptop to my outlet (no ground) and I turn it off. When I touch my MacBook after a while it shock me for a sec. And didnt shock me again so static electricity I say

Yes, and if your outlet was grounded you'd still feel that shock. It is you who is building up the charge (by walking across carpet, typically).
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Another option is to use the grounded plug charger extension cord. I am not sure if the newer units come with them, but on the rMBPs these would cure the static charge that would build up when the unit was plugged into the wall.

I'm trying to clear up the confusion here between the shock hazard to humans that a grounded outlet is meant to prevent, and the shock hazard to electronics due to static electricity.

A grounded outlet is meant for grounding the metal case of equipment plugged into it so that any short that might happen between the live AC wires and the case will cause the outlet's fuse (or breaker) to blow instead of passing through and killing you.

A static charge, on the other hand, doesn't care if the outlet is grounded or not-- the AC lines are relatively close to ground potential compared to the thousands of volts of the static charge. There's always some leakage through transformers and supplies to keep isolated AC near ground. This charge isn't a real hazard to humans because the total charge is much too small to create much current when it discharges. It takes something like a cloud to do that. It may be large enough to disrupt or destroy electronic devices though.

 

[rrungta]

Try the cable apple provided? Just because a cable looks robust does not mean it performs well. ^*%%*& Monster cables!

Another option is to use the grounded plug charger extension cord. I am not sure if the newer units come with them, but on the rMBPs these would cure the static charge that would build up when the unit was plugged into the wall.

Thanks, is there anyway of testing if the cable is faulty or maybe the culprit. I will be using the apple wire from now on to charge laptop but it was just handy to have spare wires. New Macbooks dont come with the extension cables sadly - apple seems to be just increasing costs and cutting down on what they provide to the customers.
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A static discharge knocking out your MBP is possible, as Apple Support suspected. To avoid this, make sure to first discharge *yourself* before plugging it in. For example, if you walk across a carpet you may build up a charge (relative to ground and your wall power), and if you then pick up your MBP, you transfer that charge to it, and if you then plug it in, that charge all gets discharged through the cable when it's plugged in. If you instead touch something grounded first, that charge will be dissipated through your finger-- it may spark.

The general idea is that you don't want that spark going through delicate electronics.



Just to be clear, what you must be feeling there is the buzz of a small AC current, not static electricity. You'd only feel a static discharge at the moment of contact.

Thanks, I have had the old macbook pro for 2.5 years and never faced this kind of an issue hence makes me wonder if there is any issue of quality of materials on the new ones.

I do feel the tingling sensation when I move my finger along the side of the macbook pro when its charging.