hot charger

[Acorn]

When Im at home I can have my 2013 macbook air plugged in for days and the power brick never gets more then luke warm. Even that is stretching it because its basically cold to the touch.

when I connect the same power brick to this one power outlet at my parents house the brick gets scorching hot in less then 15 minutes. Like hot enough if its touching your skin its uncomfortable.

Could this damage my computer or power brick. Im not quite sure whats making it get so hot like that but I was scared to leave it plugged in all night. The strange thing is if I change plugs it cools down and is normal again. I dont know enough about electricity to even speculate why this is happening.

 

[keysofanxiety]

When Im at home I can have my 2013 macbook air plugged in for days and the power brick never gets more then luke warm. Even that is stretching it because its basically cold to the touch.

when I connect the same power brick to this one power outlet at my parents house the brick gets scorching hot in less then 15 minutes. Like hot enough if its touching your skin its uncomfortable.

Could this damage my computer or power brick. Im not quite sure whats making it get so hot like that but I was scared to leave it plugged in all night. The strange thing is if I change plugs it cools down and is normal again. I dont know enough about electricity to even speculate why this is happening.

Hi Acorn, in my experience the Apple chargers do get very hot and quite often scorching to the touch. Of course this isn't to say that yours doesn't have a problem - however you're certainly not alone with your concerns, whatever reassurance that may provide.

The main thing to ensure is that it's a genuine charger, and that it's the same wattage. If it is and one charger is getting much hotter than the other, it may be worth popping into an Apple Store to ensure there isn't a problem.

 

[Acorn]

well it is a genuine adapter that came with the air. I had many problems with my 2012 macbook air and they gave me a brand new 2013 in exchange for it since I had so many issues. They opened the new box for me then gave me the stuff inside and kept the box for the old machine they were sending back to apple.

 

[motrek]

When Im at home I can have my 2013 macbook air plugged in for days and the power brick never gets more then luke warm. Even that is stretching it because its basically cold to the touch.

when I connect the same power brick to this one power outlet at my parents house the brick gets scorching hot in less then 15 minutes. Like hot enough if its touching your skin its uncomfortable.

Could this damage my computer or power brick. Im not quite sure whats making it get so hot like that but I was scared to leave it plugged in all night. The strange thing is if I change plugs it cools down and is normal again. I dont know enough about electricity to even speculate why this is happening.

If you leave the laptop plugged in for days, then the laptop becomes charged and then the charger no longer has to do anything. So it's cool to the touch.

If you drain the laptop's battery, then the charger has to charge it back up, which means it will get hot due to various electronics inefficiencies.