MagSafe chargers faulty, and here's why.

[Pikachu4170]

I am a very happy Mac user with no problems with it.

Except for one thing, the MagSafe chargers are absolutely a flop!

Anyhoo, my first charger was the L-shaped kind which worked fine for about a year, until it broke (I don't know why, though...). My second one was a T-Shaped one until it also broke down with the same reason as the first one (Maybe...). My third one is a third-party L-Shaped one which did a good job, until the wire that goes to the Mac was worn too much... My latest one is, and this time it's an official one, also a L-Shaped which I had for a few months, but this one was more abnormally odd. My latest charger is now making this odd tone (3 notes: 1 is short and low pitched, the 2nd is a few milliseconds longer than the first with the pitch a bit higher, and the 3rd one is the same length as the second with a higher pitch. And it loops again and again. Also, when you unplug it, it dies out for a few seconds then stops until you plug it back in and the notes play again and again. Man, that was too long to describe. So, if you please, give me a solution to fix it).

Since my Warranty expired, my only choice is to call Apple and spend lots of money (You know you don't wanna do that, so as me...)

These chargers are confirmed a FLOP!

Anyone agree? And sorry for the LONG post since I need to share tons of detail...

 

[gr8tfly]

Been using MagSafe since 2006 with zero issues. That includes three years of original on late 2006 MBP, four years on Early 2009 UB MBP, five years of 'L' style on original MBA (and that one gets multiple plug/unplug cycles per day), and seven months of MagSafe 2 usage on a rMBP.

It's completely inaccurate to state that all MagSafe chargers are "bad" simply because of your individual problems - which includes a third-party charger.

I can't help but make a guess that you aren't following Apple's guidelines (and general electronics connector useage common sense) to only disconnect the MagSafe connect by grasping the connector housing - not the wire.

 

[Pikachu4170]

Been using MagSafe since 2006 with zero issues. That includes three years of original on late 2006 MBP, four years on Early 2009 UB MBP, five years of 'L' style on original MBA (and that one gets multiple plug/unplug cycles per day), and seven months of MagSafe 2 usage on a rMBP.

It's completely inaccurate to state that all MagSafe chargers are "bad" simply because of your individual problems - which includes a third-party charger.

I can't help but make a guess that you aren't following Apple's guidelines (and general electronics connector useage common sense) to only disconnect the MagSafe connect by grasping the connector housing - not the wire.

I kinda understand that you have been using MagSafe chargers with no problems making you have more luck than I do.

Also, Apple's Guidelines (which I never cared to see) are meant to limit the freedom of their UNIX-based machines, making developers ignore the guidelines (Like the order of operations, they are useless...).

(I should start reading THAT book by Thomas Paine already...)

 

[theluggage]

Been using MagSafe since 2006 with zero issues.

My aunt used anecdotal evidence every day, and she lived to be 102...

However, I've been working with a team of ~8 MacBook pro users since forever and MagSafe has been a vast improvement on the old jack-style plugs on Macs & other makes of laptop. With the old plugs, it wasn't just the cable fraying, but the sockets in the computers getting knackered on a regular basis.

Looking at reports from people who need a new cable every couple of months, I can only assume that, either:

(a) There is some regional variation in quality, or some 'bad batches' out there;
(b) Some environmental factor - I wonder about places with bright sunlight and/or air conditioning set to "kill" causing the cables to go brittle.
or (c) perhaps some people think that you have to remove MagSafe cables by tripping over the lead.

 

[Giuly]

Also, Apple's Guidelines (which I never cared to see) are meant to limit the freedom of their UNIX-based machines, making developers ignore the guidelines (Like the order of operations, they are useless...).

(I should start reading THAT book by Thomas Paine already...)

Care to elaborate?

 

[gr8tfly]

I kinda understand that you have been using MagSafe chargers with no problems making you have more luck than I do.

Also, Apple's Guidelines (which I never cared to see) are meant to limit the freedom of their UNIX-based machines, making developers ignore the guidelines (Like the order of operations, they are useless...).

(I should start reading THAT book by Thomas Paine already...)

I don't know why developer guidelines would be relevant to MagSafe usage (or why you think there's a "limit" as far as UNIX goes (though there are some private APIs, like any other commercial OS)).

Here's the KB article that graphically shows their suggestions for handling the MagSafe connector: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5234?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

 

[Pikachu4170]

Here's the KB article that graphically shows their suggestions for handling the MagSafe connector: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5234?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

Umm... Ok... *Reads it and memorizes it for next time*

*Starts reading troubleshoot and attempts some, but fails*

Gah... Lemme see what the shop can do...

 

[paulrbeers]

Umm... Ok... *Reads it and memorizes it for next time*

*Starts reading troubleshoot and attempts some, but fails*

Gah... Lemme see what the shop can do...

I would love to see what you are doing to your magsafe power adapters....

Since 2009, I've had 6 magsafe power adapters and all still work today. They are various T (old and new) and L adapters and they are just fine.

My wife and I were just talking about how thankful we are that we have the magsafe as our 2 year old loves to trip over our laptop power cords.

Even if there is a higher rate of failure than others (which I haven't seen), I would much rather pay for a $70-80 power supply than a $400+ motherboard or a $1500 laptop....

Just sayin'

 

[Jessica Lares]

Don't use third party chargers. That's where the noise is coming from. These are usually rejected cables to begin with.

I had the 2006 one and it just stopped working. My dad opened it up and patched it up with electrical tape. Lasted for another two years.

Electrical tape for tears will most likely work while you save up to buy another one.

 

[MisterMe]

I kinda understand that you have been using MagSafe chargers with no problems making you have more luck than I do.

...

It has nothing to do with luck. To the best of my knowledge, there has been one problem identified with the MagSafe connector. That problem is that the T-plug was subject to damage because it oriented the power lead perpendicular to the side of the laptop. The L-plug was developed as the fix to the T-plug problem.

 

[Radiating]

Been using MagSafe since 2006 with zero issues. That includes three years of original on late 2006 MBP, four years on Early 2009 UB MBP, five years of 'L' style on original MBA (and that one gets multiple plug/unplug cycles per day), and seven months of MagSafe 2 usage on a rMBP.

It's completely inaccurate to state that all MagSafe chargers are "bad" simply because of your individual problems - which includes a third-party charger.

I can't help but make a guess that you aren't following Apple's guidelines (and general electronics connector useage common sense) to only disconnect the MagSafe connect by grasping the connector housing - not the wire.

Agreed. I've had zero problems with 10+ mag safe chargers except for one that I horribly abused for 3 years and physically damaged.

 

[Pikachu4170]

Don't use third party chargers. That's where the noise is coming from. These are usually rejected cables to begin with.

I had the 2006 one and it just stopped working. My dad opened it up and patched it up with electrical tape. Lasted for another two years.

Electrical tape for tears will most likely work while you save up to buy another one.

This topic is NOT about 3rd party chargers...

Most of the chargers I used are legit, but they still have tons of problems... Planning to get an iMac and do a migration from my laptop to the iMac and forget about the suffering MagSafe problems because this topic is getting confusing as I speak...

My last ditch option: Get a new Mac

 

[Jessica Lares]

This topic is NOT about 3rd party chargers...

Most of the chargers I used are legit, but they still have tons of problems... Planning to get an iMac and do a migration from my laptop to the iMac and forget about the suffering MagSafe problems because this topic is getting confusing as I speak...

My last ditch option: Get a new Mac

If they stop working out of the blue, you might want to get your outlets checked. It just sounds more than a cable issue. Do you have other electronics that plug into the wall that have issues?

 

[jdaniel]

I try not to plug my mac directly into the wall, only when I travel at hotels and the hotels I stay at usually have very good outlets no issues there. At home I use one of those belkin power bars that come with warranty and damage insurance from surges etc. This would eliminate or at least when something happens you know it came from the outlet and even if it did you are covered.

 

[outie2k]

I have a 2011 MBA with the bar macsafe. It started failing in 2013 for no apparent reason. The unit is still like new (no abuse, plugged in most of time), but it stopped charging (no light) most of the time. However if I move the adapter a bit, plug/unplug multiple times, wait 10min and repeat, etc., and it would start charging again until the next time I unplug it.

It does bother me that something fails just like that. I am on my 2nd adapter now so let's see how long this one lasts before I comment about their reliability concerns.

 

[MisterMe]

I have a 2011 MBA with the bar macsafe. It started failing in 2013 for no apparent reason. The unit is still like new (no abuse, plugged in most of time), but it stopped charging (no light) most of the time. However if I move the adapter a bit, plug/unplug multiple times, wait 10min and repeat, etc., and it would start charging again until the next time I unplug it.

It does bother me that something fails just like that. I am on my 2nd adapter now so let's see how long this one lasts before I comment about their reliability concerns.

This does not sound like a failure of your MagSafe charger. The fact that wiggling the connector restarts the connection sounds more like an issue with the computer itself. OTOH, the problem may be the MagSafe plug on the computer. Have you used canned air or anything else to blow-out your MagSafe plug? Have you done anything else to ensure that nothing is blocking your connection?