New Style Magsafe is rubbish!

[AndyR]

Recently brought a early 2011 MBP to replace my old late 2008 MBP. Never gave the Magsafe any thought but when I got my new 2011 MBP I noticed the MagSafe was the newer long style rather than the blocky old one. Initially I liked it, but today I caught my foot on the cable and to my horror it dragged my mbp across the desk and I literally just caught it in time!!! It didn't disconnect at all!!!!

In fact I've tried since and I can basically move my MBP across the table by pulling the MagSafe because its go that strong a grip on it, but if I use my old style one it disconnects easily.

Bit peeved with that 🙁

 

[miles01110]

Then use the old one? I agree that the L-style connector somewhat defeats the purpose of the "mag"safe (easy disconnection), but the old one still works fine.

 

[MrCheeto]

I dislike that the old one will disconnect when sitting cross-legged, but other than that, the old style is the way to go. Never seen that magsafe fail.

 

[Medic278]

I have never had a problem per se with the new one. Although like you said I have been able to pull on the charger and drag my MBP instead of it just popping off, its kind of a disappointment the old one was awesome, why mess with awesome?

 

[AndyR]

Oh yeah I know I could use the old one, just surprised that it didn't work the same as the old magsafe was such a clever invention that seems to have too a backwards with the new one. No worries though.

 

[yetieater]

Sure the old one works, but there's also that class action suit that Apple is paying out specifically in regards to the old style Magsafe. Not saying that it isn't safe, though. I have two that are great.

 

[Zwhaler]

I can see what you're saying, if you pull in the direction of the cord on the new Mag Safe it won't always disconnect. It is more convenient but less "safe"

 

[AndyR]

I can see what you're saying, if you pull in the direction of the cord on the new Mag Safe it won't always disconnect. It is more convenient but less "safe"

Totally. When one of the big things when Magsafe came out was the "safe" aspect of it saving your laptop from a fall if you caught the cable, well, in my case as this this has been mitigated now by the new style. Oh well, not to worry 🙂 Still the coolest power lead out there 😀

 

[rainking]

That's why I got two of the old style mag safe from ebay. Hate the L shape ones.

 

[Gomff]

I prefer the old ones too....still use them instead of the new one that came with my machine.

 

[QuarterSwede]

I dislike that the old one will disconnect when sitting cross-legged, but other than that, the old style is the way to go. Never seen that magsafe fail.

I agree but the cross legged disconnect drove me nuts. Luckily my T magsafe frayed (like they all will eventually) so I got the new L one. I prefer it as it's definitely built better.

 

[adztaylor]

Agree, the new one I got with my 2011 MBP just failed recently. Luckily I had a spare old one which I'm now just going to use. The old style ones have always been better IMO.

 

[WRP]

I have actually noticed the complete opposite to be true. The new one unplugs on me with the slightest of tug.

 

[darwinian]

I prefer the old one, too.

I agree but the cross legged disconnect drove me nuts. Luckily my T magsafe frayed (like they all will eventually) so I got the new L one. I prefer it as it's definitely built better.

All of my old magsafes have lasted since 2007/8 without fraying ....

 

[QuarterSwede]

I prefer the old one, too.



All of my old magsafes have lasted since 2007/8 without fraying ....

Does it just an your desk though? If you move it around it's prone to fraying. Hence the recall program.

 

[Gator24765]

My old magsafe frayed and broke. Granted it went through 2 years of heavy use.

The new one seems more durable, but I have only used it for about a month or two.

That being said in regards to your problem, I havent had any problems.

 

[darwinian]

Does it just an your desk though? If you move it around it's prone to fraying. Hence the recall program.

No, I schlep it around a fair amount. I'm just very careful with this stuff. Probably to an extreme.

I recall that I had some issues with my old PowerBook Pismo UFO adapter. The power cable itself (from the adapter to the wall) had this issue where it would easily short -- you could see the burn mark through the translucent cable casing exactly where the cable had failed. This happened twice, and I'm not sure what I could have done to prevent this within normal use. But the other problem it had was at the end connecting to the computer: there was an obvious stress point that would wear out over time.

There are several obvious stress points on the magsafe adapters I have. I'm not sure where everyone is seeing fraying exactly (or the details of the recall), but the worst design decision to me has actually been on the body of the adapter, where the thin cable comes out (magsafe end). If you wrap your cable around those fold-out clips, the cable is not flexible enough right there to deal with the acute angle. So it makes sense to give it slack there.

The other problem I've seen with these adapters is with the duck heads. During normal use or when they get pulled too hard, they seem to be prone to cracks because of the way stress (and gravity!) is applied to the duck head unevenly during normal operation. I bet this is more of a problem on the duck heads and not the long cables.

If the fraying occurs right at the magsafe connector, then I guess it's something about how people are using it (even sensibly), since it's just not that flexible. Any acute angle will stress it, so I generally allow it to extend straight out as much as possible.

Anyway, the point of all of this is that the adapter could have been designed better. The new adapter is not the solution, and I think this because it is no longer symmetrical, in the sense that you can no longer flip the body around with full functionality (in the 'wrong' direction, it obscures ports). In either situation, when it's obvious something was designed less than perfectly that could reasonably fail, simple enough workarounds exist.

I'm due for a new machine at work (eyeing a 17" MBP!), but I intend on keeping an older magsafe around as long as possible.

 

[grahamnp]

They changed it to the current style cos the old one was holding on too tight when dragged in the direction of insertion or removal and the cable was breaking because people usually have the PSU behind the notebook. The new one ends up holding on too tight if you drag from behind. Neither is perfect but it beats having a normal barrel connector.

 

[darwinian]

They changed it to the current style cos the old one was holding on too tight when dragged in the direction of insertion or removal and the cable was breaking because people usually have the PSU behind the notebook. The new one ends up holding on too tight if you drag from behind. Neither is perfect but it beats having a normal barrel connector.

Frankly, I miss the days of having (at least some) ports behind the Mac.

 

[QuarterSwede]

No, I schlep it around a fair amount. I'm just very careful with this stuff. Probably to an extreme.

I recall that I had some issues with my old PowerBook Pismo UFO adapter. The power cable itself (from the adapter to the wall) had this issue where it would easily short -- you could see the burn mark through the translucent cable casing exactly where the cable had failed. This happened twice, and I'm not sure what I could have done to prevent this within normal use. But the other problem it had was at the end connecting to the computer: there was an obvious stress point that would wear out over time.

There are several obvious stress points on the magsafe adapters I have. I'm not sure where everyone is seeing fraying exactly (or the details of the recall), but the worst design decision to me has actually been on the body of the adapter, where the thin cable comes out (magsafe end). If you wrap your cable around those fold-out clips, the cable is not flexible enough right there to deal with the acute angle. So it makes sense to give it slack there.

The other problem I've seen with these adapters is with the duck heads. During normal use or when they get pulled too hard, they seem to be prone to cracks because of the way stress (and gravity!) is applied to the duck head unevenly during normal operation. I bet this is more of a problem on the duck heads and not the long cables.

If the fraying occurs right at the magsafe connector, then I guess it's something about how people are using it (even sensibly), since it's just not that flexible. Any acute angle will stress it, so I generally allow it to extend straight out as much as possible.

Anyway, the point of all of this is that the adapter could have been designed better. The new adapter is not the solution, and I think this because it is no longer symmetrical, in the sense that you can no longer flip the body around with full functionality (in the 'wrong' direction, it obscures ports). In either situation, when it's obvious something was designed less than perfectly that could reasonably fail, simple enough workarounds exist.

I'm due for a new machine at work (eyeing a 17" MBP!), but I intend on keeping an older magsafe around as long as possible.

I agree that they could've just added a longer better, more inset collar to stop the issues and kept the T. I guess I don't mind the L because I almost always have it pointed toward the back and I can use it much more comfortably sitting cross-legged.

 

[ixodes]

I've got MacBook Pro's with both the old and new. Setting aside the fraying of the cable that tended to happen on the old style, I don't think either of them are capable of living up to the hype that Apple has lavished upon them.

I'm not being critical, I really like my Mac Laptops, but Apple does indeed, tend to go a bit overboard when they describe anything "new" they claim to have invented. Hyping products is something that Apple is extremely good at.

Personally I've never had a problem with any power cable... as I'm simply careful and mindful of where they are. I'd prefer to not have a magsafe but that's just my personal preference.

 

[n8236]

Scenarios when MagSafe is useless.

1. Laptop on slippery / low friction surface
2. Being pulled to the opposite direction of the connector head

 

[grahamnp]

Frankly, I miss the days of having (at least some) ports behind the Mac.

Yea I agree, I wasn't a Mac user then but most manufacturers are placing ports on the side nowadays. I don't know if they are blindly copying Apple or not but some stuff like power and display would be quite well suited to the rear. Magnets mean you don't even have to look when you plug it in.

 

[iAppl3]

I'd love to have the new style mag safe, my T-style really sucks when using it on the couch. The wire exiting straight left out of the MacBook doesn't let me sit against the arm rest on my couch. Wish I could get the new style swapped :/

 

[Takashi]

Recently brought a early 2011 MBP to replace my old late 2008 MBP. Never gave the Magsafe any thought but when I got my new 2011 MBP I noticed the MagSafe was the newer long style rather than the blocky old one. Initially I liked it, but today I caught my foot on the cable and to my horror it dragged my mbp across the desk and I literally just caught it in time!!! It didn't disconnect at all!!!!

In fact I've tried since and I can basically move my MBP across the table by pulling the MagSafe because its go that strong a grip on it, but if I use my old style one it disconnects easily.

Bit peeved with that 🙁

The magsafe plug designed was flawed from the start. The wire that is connected to the original plug are too flimsy and can wear out. Apple redesigned the T shaped plug (original) to the L shaped plug which has a much thicker wire; however, the L shaped plug either block out ports or gets in the way of everything.

It's funny how apple thinks that laptop users will have a high tendency to trip over power cords. Well, if the computer user have little to no common sense as to not to put the power cord onto high traffic areas such accidents will not happen.

The power brick itself is not any better. The plug adaptor is awesome for someone who travels where they can just fit any adaptor to the brick and use it anywhere. The only problem is that the adaptor can come loose easily when it is being unplugged such poses a shock hazard. Most people use the wire extension which is not a big issue but the standard plug adaptor is dangerous to use if you don't know what you are doing.