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The wonders of magsafe Melting... with photos!

kvasir said:
I called and reported him to Apple Corporate. They asked what I wanted done and I said I would like him reprimanded, but I have never been treated like that before by any company.
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where/how could one do such a thing in the UK ? ,

(without the long story) My family and I have had some troubles with new macs recently and the situation has never been adequately resolved , despite letters to A UK HO in Cork , Eire.

appreciate any help ( pm me if you prefer )
 
MacAodh said:
Well song and dance would be nice...

But seriously, they should issue a recall if there's that many problems with it, plus they should replace them with out questions, which is not my experience nor several people's i know
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I had to struggle with a very rude Apple Canada rep before i got my melted magsafe replaced..............she more or less called me a liar............
 
IMHO, these things aren't just failing randomly, the failures are the result of wear and tear. Pulling on the cord to remove the magsafe from the socket on the laptop, for example, rather than 'snapping' the actual magsafe plug downwards, is a sure fire way to... well, make fire :D

However, also IMHO, it's a design flaw. There should really have been a recall. Visually, the changes on newer adapters are minimal. I hope there's a lot more going on under the coating to prevent this, otherwise shame on Apple. It's surely a matter of time before one of these things actually does some serious damage and Apple end up with a lawsuit on their hands.

Edit: An A/C power adapter should not require instructions on proper use and storage ;)
 
miniConvert said:
IMHO, these things aren't just failing randomly, the failures are the result of wear and tear. Pulling on the cord to remove the magsafe from the socket on the laptop, for example, rather than 'snapping' the actual magsafe plug downwards, is a sure fire way to... well, make fire :D

However, also IMHO, it's a design flaw. There should really have been a recall. Visually, the changes on newer adapters are minimal. I hope there's a lot more going on under the coating to prevent this, otherwise shame on Apple. It's surely a matter of time before one of these things actually does some serious damage and Apple end up with a lawsuit on their hands.

Edit: An A/C power adapter should not require instructions on proper use and storage ;)
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I couldn't agree more, I'd be the first to admit that I never read the instructions prior to operating my power adaptor...:D. Your all right, i probably wrap it too tight, pull it out with the wire and generally treat it as a cable with a plug as it is. I see no reason to treat my power adaptor any differently then I treated my ibook adaptor or my dell computer adaptor before that. If the wire will fault after a short period of time then its faulty, no bull.
 
MacAodh said:
I couldn't agree more, I'd be the first to admit that I never read the instructions prior to operating my power adaptor...:D. Your all right, i probably wrap it too tight, pull it out with the wire and generally treat it as a cable with a plug as it is. I see no reason to treat my power adaptor any differently then I treated my ibook adaptor or my dell computer adaptor before that. If the wire will fault after a short period of time then its faulty, no bull.
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Ack, you shouldn't be pulling those out by the wire either! Older Macs and PCs have the power connector right on the motherboard. Disconnecting the cable by pulling the wire will cause the solder on the motherboard to break.

Some PCs still have this design. But HP and others have moved the power connector to a different board and designed the whole setup to be able to withstand stress. But still! Never disconnect a cable by pulling on the cable itself. Always disconnect by the "head" of the connector.
 
Oh Yes,
This is a problem far reaching, widespread. And in my opinion one that would have been easily avoided with thoughtful design using durable materials. A simple plug on both sides of the wire for instance. THICKER wire, or lead-out material from the AC converter would/could have made all the difference in my case (which looks like the photo). My friends' $600 WalMart computer adaptor is more durable.
In my case this has become complicated. It started when the very thin gauge, unprotected lead wire shorted where it exits the "cube". Of course it had been 12 months and a few days, therefore excluding me from warranty. Another adaptor arrived at a cost of $85. US. I only ordered the MagSafe, my battery had been fully functional, and the Apple rep determined a new battery was not needed after reviewing the charge level indicator. But my computer (MacBook 13") won't recognize the battery, even after re-installing Tiger three times, and a new battery. The phone support has not been able to solve my issue. I did receive a new battery yesterday after I sent the feedback form back, alluding this issue to be so widespread as to warrant a class action suit. The problem for Apple in simply admitting a problem is likely because these power adaptors are truly a safety hazard. a liability. At least Dell did admit and rectify a similar issue a couple years ago with their adaptor overheating.
And I'm typing right now on a laptop with a new battery and adaptor which only works on AC power. Arghhhhhhhhhh.
Somehow I feel better, thanks for listening. Not
 
I've been pulling my magsafe out by the wire for 2.5 years with no problems. I suppose that the lead insertion point for both the transformer and magsafe plug tend to get bent in more extreme ways than other parts of the cable during travel. Eventually if you bend a wire in extreme ways enough, with age it will fail. These shouldn't fail like they are, you are all correct, but mangling the wire (as shown in some photos above) certainly can't be ignored either.
 
mosx said:
Ack, you shouldn't be pulling those out by the wire either! Older Macs and PCs have the power connector right on the motherboard. Disconnecting the cable by pulling the wire will cause the solder on the motherboard to break.

Some PCs still have this design. But HP and others have moved the power connector to a different board and designed the whole setup to be able to withstand stress. But still! Never disconnect a cable by pulling on the cable itself. Always disconnect by the "head" of the connector.
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This is one idiotic statement. The magsafe power cord is DESIGNED to be pulled out by the cord. That is what it is made to do. You trip over the cord and it pulls out because its magnetic. Apple has advertised this. So if pulling it out by the cord ruins the cable its defective design. The real problem is that the rubber used on the cord is very soft. I have no problems like this with ANY other power adapter ever. I just had mine replaced at apple too so I know this is a huge problem. No, the power adapters are faulty and they need to issue a recall and create a stronger corded power adapter PERIOD.
 
macenforcer said:
This is one idiotic statement. The magsafe power cord is DESIGNED to be pulled out by the cord. That is what it is made to do. You trip over the cord and it pulls out because its magnetic. Apple has advertised this. So if pulling it out by the cord ruins the cable its defective design. The real problem is that the rubber used on the cord is very soft. I have no problems like this with ANY other power adapter ever. I just had mine replaced at apple too so I know this is a huge problem. No, the power adapters are faulty and they need to issue a recall and create a stronger corded power adapter PERIOD.
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If its such an idiotic statement why has apple told us NOT to disconnect the magsafe by the cable?

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306445
 
I'm on my 5th power brick because of this. For the last 3 I even taped the ends:
 

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myuserid08 said:
If its such an idiotic statement why has apple told us NOT to disconnect the magsafe by the cable?

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306445
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Haha owned.

It's obvious from Apple's own documentation and the advertisements previously run that the MagSafe was designed to save the system from accidental pulls.

Apple clearly shows in that article that the MagSafe connector is meant to be disconnected by the head, not by the cord.
 
My problem was that the cord weakened where it exits the cube. It is hard wired to the cube, and I suggest a plug there would be a better design. With a plug at both ends of the wire we would only be replacing the wire. Not the AC converter too. Simple.
My case history-
Wire from cube shorted. The thin gauge wire wore through it's insulation from normal use. I would put forth that the weakening of the wire was caused by the adaptor operating at temperatures exceeding the safety guidelines of UL. Not from the intended consumer use.
New magsafe doesn't charge the battery. Battery not "installed" according to "my computer". Who knows why? My MacBook apparently doesn't allow permissions, even though I paid for it I can't view or alter system settings.
The new battery says installed, but won't charge, icon looks like a black "fork". Sorry if I seem upset, but this is a bugger. They said I may need a new logic board now!!!
I have installed updates and reset power management according to Apple.
Any suggestions would be welcome!
Late 2006, 2ghz Duo, 13" white macbook 10.4.11

Maybe there is a movement beginning.
http://zinkconsulting.com/dangerous-by-design/
 
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