Third(!) Macbook Pro power brick kind of exploded

[emir]

Hey;

I have a Mid 2010 15" MBP, happily using it with no problems. Original magsafe adapter with the brick decided not to work right after a few weeks from starting to heat up ridiculously at the MagSafe magnet metal side. Because it was so darn expensive I got a non-apple, counterfeit MagSafe, was ok for 7-8 months and then it died. Having learned a lesson, I got a brand new Apple Magsafe adapter despite the price around February-March 2013. A few minutes ago, I was on my Mac while it was plugged in, then I heard a pop sound with some light coming out from where the brick was, followed by a weird burnt smell. Macbook stopped charging of course. Plugged everything out immediately. Now I'm contemplating around on whether to get a 4th MagSafe for a 4+ year old laptop. (which I happily use btw and assume that I can still use for more than a year if it stays the same)

Would Apple replace it for free? Obviously it's not my fault.

If not what are my options?

Thanks.

 

[nexus4life]

Hey;

I have a Mid 2010 15" MBP, happily using it with no problems. Original magsafe adapter with the brick decided not to work right after a few weeks from starting to heat up ridiculously at the MagSafe magnet metal side. Because it was so darn expensive I got a non-apple, counterfeit MagSafe, was ok for 7-8 months and then it died. Having learned a lesson, I got a brand new Apple Magsafe adapter despite the price around February-March 2013. A few minutes ago, I was on my Mac while it was plugged in, then I heard a pop sound with some light coming out from where the brick was, followed by a weird burnt smell. Macbook stopped charging of course. Plugged everything out immediately. Now I'm contemplating around on whether to get a 4th MagSafe for a 4+ year old laptop. (which I happily use btw and assume that I can still use for more than a year if it stays the same)

Would Apple replace it for free? Obviously it's not my fault.

If not what are my options?

Thanks.

They have a 1 year warranty. You are outside that window and for one person to go through 3 chargers already in a 4 year period, that raises some questions (power outlet issues etc).

 

[simonsi]

Obviously it's not my fault.

If not what are my options?

Thanks.

Doesn't sound like Apple's either TBH - I think you need to get yourself a decent surge protector, it sounds like your power supply isn't as stable as it should be...

 

[leman]

I would say that either your power delivery or your Macbook are somehow broken. Its very unlikely that three power supplies will break like that by chance...

 

[emir]

I would say that either your power delivery or your Macbook are somehow broken. Its very unlikely that three power supplies will break like that by chance...

Interestingly enough I use my laptop really mobile so it doesn't have "a" power outlet used all the time to cause a surge or something. Nor the laptop's battery life decreased significantly in 4+ years. (coconut battery shows 51 months of age, 1065 cycles and 84% capacity, pretty decent I suppose)

Also I use my power brick really decently. I roll the cable around the hangs on the brick, leaving the end of the cable loose to avoid crushing it every time I put it in the bag.

This is a real bummer. Could it be because I bought the MagSafe while in the States, used it for half a year there then moved to Europe and been using the same MagSafe only with a plug-in converter? My first adapter was also an American one having bought the laptop from US and I used the laptop in Europe during its first 2 years. It's very unlikely but that's the first thing that's sparking up in my mind.

 

[SarcasticJoe]

To me this doesn't sound like a problem with the machine or the power brick, but a problem with what comes out of the socket. That kind of stuff is to me indicative of voltage spikes, which are usually caused by faulty wiring. If you also have lamps going out more often than usual then you really should call an electrician to check it out.

From what I've heard sloppy wiring or improper modifications are specially common in eastern europe and in the west as well after eastern european workers have built it or done modifications.

The reason why I don't think it's the power brick is that power supplies generally don't blow up unless you have a short circuit and when that happens, you usually have a loud bang and then a number of other components (the motherboard usually being one of them) also end up getting fried.

 

[5to1]

To me this doesn't sound like a problem with the machine or the power brick, but a problem with what comes out of the socket. That kind of stuff is to me indicative of voltage spikes, which are usually caused by faulty wiring. If you also have lamps going out more often than usual then you really should call an electrician to check it out.

From what I've heard sloppy wiring or improper modifications are specially common in eastern europe and in the west as well after eastern european workers have built it or done modifications.

The reason why I don't think it's the power brick is that power supplies generally don't blow up unless you have a short circuit and when that happens, you usually have a loud bang and then a number of other components (the motherboard usually being one of them) also end up getting fried.

The problems with internal wiring in Eastern Europe (and some run down parts of the rest of Europe) are due to archaic and poorly maintained properties. Some of these properties won't have been re-wired since before the war, with ad-hoc addition of internal wiring.

The Eastern Europen workers themselves ($ for $) are often better qualified (with degree's rather then just a relatively short vocational course) and have far more experience. From first hand experience its not unusual for the Eastern European doing the first fix for peanuts to be better informed and qualified then the indigenous "qualified" electrician.

In the UK, wiring generally tends to be of decent standard. The primary driver of this is the value of the properties means most are mortgaged and the lender will generally require a NICEIC (or equivalent) electricians report against any new wiring to lend against the property. So when a property eventually changes hands, the wiring is either checked to receive a certificate or property has to be re-wired.

Moreover certain work is covered by part P (a vocational qualification is required to undertake such work). Building control, part of local government will want to see any such work has indeed been signed off by a qualified electrician.

Of course people do take short cuts, driven by cost savings. But the arrival of cheap labour hasn't changed that. Previously they'd just use indigenous cheap labour. Now at least when they try to cheap out, $ for $ they are probably getting someone better. The earnings differential is so great between east and west, its not unusual to find a someone with a degree working as a waiter in the UK :/

 

[SarcasticJoe]

....

You may have low standards for electricians in the U.K, but here in Finland it's a 3 year programme with a large amount of on-the-job practice and the Russians we get working here don't really compare. Minimum wage laws mean that we can't pay them peanuts and thus the whole expense becomes a moot point.

I've personally seen Russian construction workers cook food and warm tea with 400V three-phase power straight from the cable. All while their own electricians are ether watching on or are the ones setting up these death traps.

I know apprentice schemes and other vocational training has gone down the toilet in the U.K, but don't try to make this into some kind of europe wide problem...

 

[5to1]

You may have low standards for electricians in the U.K, but here in Finland it's a 3 year programme with a large amount of on-the-job practice and the Russians we get working here don't really compare. Minimum wage laws mean that we can't pay them peanuts and thus the whole expense becomes a moot point.

I've personally seen Russian construction workers cook food and warm tea with 400V three-phase power straight from the cable. All while their own electricians are ether watching on or are the ones setting up these death traps.

I know apprentice schemes and other vocational training has gone down the toilet in the U.K, but don't try to make this into some kind of europe wide problem...

What they do while cooking for themselves has no bearing on the standard of work they leave behind for you to live with. I've seen plenty of contractors do stupid things, yet the work they've done is fine (and I used to deploy Tier 1 comms, so I'm not just talking about in the home).

I never suggested a qualified UK electrician would be sub-standard, there are plenty of excellent electricians with verifiable standards and qualifications. But unfortunately some home owners will either try to do the work themselves or hire unqualified contractors to save a buck. Thats the scenario in which I was saying $ for $ I'd rely on the Eastern European contractor being better qualified (for example you can find qualified nurses that are prepared to work as home carers for a wage our own population wouldn't sniff at). It may not be right, i'd definitely pay for a qualified electrician. But those are the kind of jobs that result in dodgy and dangerous wiring. And in my opinion Eastern Europeans are not going to do them any worse then the dodgy western contractor, if not do them better.

 

[simonsi]

so it doesn't have "a" power outlet used all the time to cause a surge or something.

Wouldn't have to be caused by you only using "a" single socket but it may only be a socket you use occasionally. Could be one of several sockets attached to the same wiring fault, could be grid power from a local transformer.

Whichever it is much more likely than anything else.

Oh, you could just be unlucky.