Toxic Smelling Apple Cable (USB-C 2-meter 100W Power)

[Droppinoppi]

Hi,

I just went through 4 Apple USB-C Charge Cables (2M) - two ordered online and, 2 exchanged from an Apple Store shelf, and ALL FOUR emit this super strong noxious toxic odor that burns the nostrils and sinuses!

Has anyone else experienced this lately?

I just got a Magic TrackPad and keyboard and the lightning cables that came with those in the box were fine!

I am attaching the serial number from the box of one of the cables in case anyone can correlate this to a place of origin / batch or date of manufacture? I am not apt at reading / decoding Apple serial numbers myself.

This is quite disconcerting for Apple quality control - I replaced the two (four) bad Apple power cables, which cost $19 each with $15 equivalent 6-foot 100W USB-C charge cables from Anker that do NOT smell and work just as fine!

For Apple to be stocking and selling products with a noxious smell is a disgrace IMO. A premium product comes with the expectation of trust and reliability - that trust has now been broken for me! I can no longer go to Apple, pay a premium and expect to receive peace of mind and a worry-free shopping experience in return anymore.

Apple has begun to officially relegate itself to the status of a no-name Chinese electronic accessories manufacturer with unknown / non-existent quality or care for standards.

This is not the first occasion - I bought a presumably brand new iPad Magic Keyboard from Amazon a few weeks back when the prior-gen Magic Keyboards for the 12.9-inch iPad were on sale for $250 on Amazon - the keyboard came in a case sealed with plastic, but when I opened it, I was appalled to find:

* Finger marks on the thin paper wrapping around the keyboard,
* White dirt specks on the keyboard, and...
* A faint scratch along one edge of the trackpad!

All of this from a BRAND NEW SEALED PRODUCT! Naturally, that got returned promptly to Amazon with a review with photos of all the above.

Does anyone else share similar experiences with Apple products of late? Or is it maybe just me drawing all the only 4 + 1 - 5 bad straws from the Apple product manufacturing lottery?

 

[caligurl]

Their cables are horrible on all the new products we've gotten lately. My iPad Pro I got last year... I had to wipe down the cable multiple times and hang it outside to offgas... same with hubby's iPad Air he just got a month or so ago.

the cables/cords that came with my new iMac are horrible! I keep wiping them down. the mouse/keyboard cable I can take out of the room... but I kinda need the other plug to use the darned thing.

apple claims to be such a green company and then they poison us with whatever they are doing to their cables!

 

[xraydoc]

apple claims to be such a green company and then they poison us with whatever they are doing to their cables!

Just because they smell bad doesn't mean they're poisonous. Apple does use recycled rubber & plastic in their cables which may have something to do with the odor some people have noticed. I will say that I personally have not experienced the stinky cables people are talking about and I think I've got a pretty decent sense of smell. Holding my nose up to the Lightning cable that came with my new brand new AppleTV 4K (opened yesterday), I can smell a "plastic-like" smell, but definitely not noxious and I've got to put it all coiled up right to my face to detect it. I wonder if it's just the cables out of a particular batch or factory.

 

[dontcallmebrave]

Glad it's not just me, just unboxed my M1 air and was hit with a mildewy stench as soon as i opened the box, I was like wtf how long was this thing in a shipping container lol

I'm going to try washing the cable down after it's done updating and see if the stickiness and smell go away before I bother Apple. If it persists I will, this machine is supposed to live in my bedroom and it's strong enough I'm not bringing it in until it doesn't stink lol

 

[caligurl]

Just because they smell bad doesn't mean they're poisonous. Apple does use recycled rubber & plastic in their cables which may have something to do with the odor some people have noticed. I will say that I personally have not experienced the stinky cables people are talking about and I think I've got a pretty decent sense of smell. Holding my nose up to the Lightning cable that came with my new brand new AppleTV 4K (opened yesterday), I can smell a "plastic-like" smell, but definitely not noxious and I've got to put it all coiled up right to my face to detect it. I wonder if it's just the cables out of a particular batch or factory.

then they used the same cables for my iPad Pro from last year and my iMac this year.....

 

[Brookzy]

The cables smell different now, and have a bit of a powdery feel, but this is actually due to them not having toxins in them anymore.

BFRs were commonly found in polymers, including printed circuit boards, cable jacketing, and other electrical components. BFRs were eliminated because some were found to be bioaccumulative or had endocrine disrupting properties. BFRs were replaced with safer, less hazardous phosphorous-based and metal hydroxide flame retardants, or eliminated altogether through the use of naturally flame retardant materials such as aluminum.​

PVC was primarily used in cable jacketing in power cords and data cables. It was eliminated due to several lifecycle concerns, including that highly toxic chlorinated dioxins can be generated during end-of-life processing. PVC was replaced with non-halogenated thermoplastic elastomers.​

Removal of BFRs and PVC were challenging since alternatives were not readily available at the time. The largest obstacle was identifying a replacement to PVC in AC power cords, where strict safety standards favored PVC and created barriers to its elimination. Apple worked with multiple material suppliers and tested dozens of different formulations until the right combination of performance and safety were achieved with lower toxicological and ecological risk than PVC. Apple then had to persuade dozens of safety agencies around the world to allow it to certify the alternative materials. Millions of PVC-free power cords are in use today with Apple products.​

https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/Toxicology_in_Material_Selection_Sept2016.pdf

 

[caligurl]

The cables smell different now, and have a bit of a powdery feel, but this is actually due to them not having toxins in them anymore.

BFRs were commonly found in polymers, including printed circuit boards, cable jacketing, and other electrical components. BFRs were eliminated because some were found to be bioaccumulative or had endocrine disrupting properties. BFRs were replaced with safer, less hazardous phosphorous-based and metal hydroxide flame retardants, or eliminated altogether through the use of naturally flame retardant materials such as aluminum.​

PVC was primarily used in cable jacketing in power cords and data cables. It was eliminated due to several lifecycle concerns, including that highly toxic chlorinated dioxins can be generated during end-of-life processing. PVC was replaced with non-halogenated thermoplastic elastomers.​

Removal of BFRs and PVC were challenging since alternatives were not readily available at the time. The largest obstacle was identifying a replacement to PVC in AC power cords, where strict safety standards favored PVC and created barriers to its elimination. Apple worked with multiple material suppliers and tested dozens of different formulations until the right combination of performance and safety were achieved with lower toxicological and ecological risk than PVC. Apple then had to persuade dozens of safety agencies around the world to allow it to certify the alternative materials. Millions of PVC-free power cords are in use today with Apple products.​

https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/Toxicology_in_Material_Selection_Sept2016.pdf

well those so called non toxins sure do give me a wicked headache!