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zachleft

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 27, 2018
28
27
More specifically the 60W charger, model number A1344?

I ordered a new one on eBay, since mine died and I want to make sure it's legit.***

- The serial number printed on a white sticker (https://imgur.com/6xpIVgz.png) rather than on the grey plastic (my cousin's, brother's, mom's charger are all printed on the grey plastic and don't have a sticker)

- Some fakes apparently have a seam on the magsafe cable socket (https://imgur.com/Ge0PeMl.png). Mine has a seam (https://imgur.com/ypYpHyF.png) though my brother's does too but it's the charger than came with his MB (and different year/model) so idk if this test is reliable.

I was hoping someone could take a quick photo of their serial number and magsafe cable socket to see if it's different than mine or not.

***(Before I get people responding to just buy a new one from Apple, I figured I'd take a chance with eBay by searching for used chargers (since there's no way there's brand new OEM chargers from 2012 out there for discounted prices) and only from sellers that offer free returns so I don't waste money returning it if it's fake)
 
More specifically the 60W charger, model number A1344?

I ordered a new one on eBay, since mine died and I want to make sure it's legit.***

- The serial number printed on a white sticker (https://imgur.com/6xpIVgz.png) rather than on the grey plastic (my cousin's, brother's, mom's charger are all printed on the grey plastic and don't have a sticker)

- Some fakes apparently have a seam on the magsafe cable socket (https://imgur.com/Ge0PeMl.png). Mine has a seam (https://imgur.com/ypYpHyF.png) though my brother's does too but it's the charger than came with his MB (and different year/model) so idk if this test is reliable.

I was hoping someone could take a quick photo of their serial number and magsafe cable socket to see if it's different than mine or not.

***(Before I get people responding to just buy a new one from Apple, I figured I'd take a chance with eBay by searching for used chargers (since there's no way there's brand new OEM chargers from 2012 out there for discounted prices) and only from sellers that offer free returns so I don't waste money returning it if it's fake)

In my experience with OEM chargers on eBay or Amazon, they fakes are extremely hard to detect and are almost 100% alike the Apple chargers. I had one I just assumed was fake. I never had problems with it, though looking back I would never do that again.

Chargers are a surprisingly finicky thing and I'd advise buying a genuine Apple charger from a reputable retailer if you don't want to introduce risk to your machine. Again I've never had a negative experience with a fake charger but have seen many that have.
 
Plug the charger into your laptop. If the charging light comes on instantly when you connect it, it is most likely fake.

Real chargers take a second or three as the CPU in the charger communicates with the laptop to determine the voltage to deliver. Fun fact, the CPU in the charger has more compute power than the original Mac.

Fake power supplies don’t have this chip to negotiate with the laptop, so the light comes on the instant you connect to the laptop.
 
I bought replacement charger 2 times, and both of them are fake (though the price is quite expensive). I bought it from 3rd party and they claim both are original.
 
More specifically the 60W charger, model number A1344?

I ordered a new one on eBay, since mine died and I want to make sure it's legit.***

- The serial number printed on a white sticker (https://imgur.com/6xpIVgz.png) rather than on the grey plastic (my cousin's, brother's, mom's charger are all printed on the grey plastic and don't have a sticker)

- Some fakes apparently have a seam on the magsafe cable socket (https://imgur.com/Ge0PeMl.png). Mine has a seam (https://imgur.com/ypYpHyF.png) though my brother's does too but it's the charger than came with his MB (and different year/model) so idk if this test is reliable.

I was hoping someone could take a quick photo of their serial number and magsafe cable socket to see if it's different than mine or not.

***(Before I get people responding to just buy a new one from Apple, I figured I'd take a chance with eBay by searching for used chargers (since there's no way there's brand new OEM chargers from 2012 out there for discounted prices) and only from sellers that offer free returns so I don't waste money returning it if it's fake)
This is almost certainly a counterfeit. Ebay is rife with counterfeit chargers and cables; to be sure you're getting a legitimate one, you need to buy it from Apple.
 
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When I needed a new charger, I got one from OWC.
Was less than buying directly from Apple.
I'm hoping it's not a counterfeit.
Works ok... ;)
 
Plug the charger into your laptop. If the charging light comes on instantly when you connect it, it is most likely fake.

Real chargers take a second or three as the CPU in the charger communicates with the laptop to determine the voltage to deliver. Fun fact, the CPU in the charger has more compute power than the original Mac.

Fake power supplies don’t have this chip to negotiate with the laptop, so the light comes on the instant you connect to the laptop.

Forgot to mention in the original post that it has a delay, which lead me to believe it was legit, until I saw the sticker - which has numbers printed on it that don't look like any of the other mac chargers owned by my mom or brother
 
Forgot to mention in the original post that it has a delay, which lead me to believe it was legit, until I saw the sticker - which has numbers printed on it that don't look like any of the other mac chargers owned by my mom or brother
I have an official Apple power adapter that has a serial sticker like the one in your picture. This power adapter came in the box with my laptop so it better not be fake! Just took a picture of it now. This is from my late 2010 13” MBA.

Checked my late 2008 MBP’s power supply and it has the serial sticker also.

image.jpg
 
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