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OMG my MBP power brick caught on fire

My brick has become extremely hot to the point where I can no longer pick it up after an hour + of use. Should I be worried?
 
This is a known problem which Apple has refused to acknowledge since they released the Magsafe, despite the nearly 800 one-star reviews of the adapter visible in the Apple Store online. The poorly-designed adapter has been fraying and posing a fire and electrical hazard for millions of Macbook/Pro users, yet Apple hasn't done anything to amend the problem. It's just another part of the Apple experience you won't hear about in the "I'm a Mac" commercials, I guess.
 
I bought a new 2.0 GHz MacBook from an Apple Store at the end of November. Is there a way to tell if you have the old or new Power Brick?
 
heatmiser said:
This is a known problem which Apple has refused to acknowledge since they released the Magsafe, despite the nearly 800 one-star reviews of the adapter visible in the Apple Store online. The poorly-designed adapter has been fraying and posing a fire and electrical hazard for millions of Macbook/Pro users, yet Apple hasn't done anything to amend the problem. It's just another part of the Apple experience you won't hear about in the "I'm a Mac" commercials, I guess.
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I think what is worse is that they've had 2 revisions -- presumably to address these issues -- without recalling the old ones.
 
supergrandma said:
I bought a new 2.0 GHz MacBook from an Apple Store at the end of November. Is there a way to tell if you have the old or new Power Brick?
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Old ones are bigger than the new ones. I don't have a ruler with me right now but I'd guess my old one is 3" by 4".
 
Hi,

I know this is a kind of old thread but just wanted to say thanks, MacRumors, I thought I was going crazy ... my PS melted and burned exactly like the the one at the top of this thread, I was sure I'd done something bad to it (I mean, that just doesn't happen - at least not with all the other laptops I've had for the last 15 years ). Tech support at work gave me a temporary replacement which also had some scorch marks in the same place, near the connection to the DC cord; still worked, then after a few days (er, right now, actually) stopped working all together. So good to know it's a well-known problem and not a curse on me specifically.

And no, I don't keep my power supply under a sofa cushion or in another unventilated place, and I don't yank it around or stretch it in excessive ways to put too much strain on the little thing. Meanwhile my other MBP and its power supply are just fine. I also just wanted to post because I was just astounded by the posts suggesting that this was a rumor concocted by shady stock traders. That's the kind of attitude that makes me keep one foot in windows-land. And my head and hands in linux.

And my big toes in Irix.

And pinky in Solaris.
 
skullmunky said:
Hi,

I know this is a kind of old thread but just wanted to say thanks, MacRumors, I thought I was going crazy ... my PS melted and burned exactly like the the one at the top of this thread, I was sure I'd done something bad to it (I mean, that just doesn't happen - at least not with all the other laptops I've had for the last 15 years ). Tech support at work gave me a temporary replacement which also had some scorch marks in the same place, near the connection to the DC cord; still worked, then after a few days (er, right now, actually) stopped working all together. So good to know it's a well-known problem and not a curse on me specifically.

And no, I don't keep my power supply under a sofa cushion or in another unventilated place, and I don't yank it around or stretch it in excessive ways to put too much strain on the little thing. Meanwhile my other MBP and its power supply are just fine. I also just wanted to post because I was just astounded by the posts suggesting that this was a rumor concocted by shady stock traders. That's the kind of attitude that makes me keep one foot in windows-land. And my head and hands in linux.

And my big toes in Irix.

And pinky in Solaris.
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Also he should be receiving a little more from Apple than a replacement it could have burnt the house down easily, amazes me how people can take a problem like this so lightly.
 
This happened to my Powerbook adaptor - the cable where it hits the power supply brick is thin and just wears out.

I cut mine off, cut out the bad cable, broke open the power adaptor and resoldered the cable before gaffa taping the power brick back up again. Didn't look particularly pretty, but got another year or so of use out of it before it died, and I had to buy a new one.

It's amazing that this serious fire hazard of an issue is still prevalent five years later... someone's house is going to burn down sooner or later... 🙁
 
I use a dust can to clean the mm mouse and it works great.
polycat33 said:
Ooh, heaven forbid you have to wash it 😱



Apples site says to wash it weekly to keep it clean. I don't look at it as a negative that it has to be kept clean. Mine has been working flawlessly because I clean it on a regular basis, while lots of people say it locks up and can't get it to work again. Lots of things need to be kept clean, it's not a negative quality.
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Hope everything is good. The cable looks like it's been over wound and the cable popped out and shorted.
 
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