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Unibody MBP Magsafe Fire
- Thread starter Santa Rosa
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it wouldnt be the first time this has happened.
most people pull on their magsafe plug which causes some of the cables inside to strain. pull it this way enough and the cables might rip inside causing a spark and sometimes melting of plastic.
if people didnt pull their cables we wouldnt have as many incidents but it is a flaw overseen by apple.
most people pull on their magsafe plug which causes some of the cables inside to strain. pull it this way enough and the cables might rip inside causing a spark and sometimes melting of plastic.
if people didnt pull their cables we wouldnt have as many incidents but it is a flaw overseen by apple.
Saw this on engadget. I really hope there is not another fatal flaw with this notebook (like the time bomb GPUs in the earlier MBP).
apple brick charger problems have been around for a looooooooooong time. even my friends PB charger started smoking one day. But there is a ton of threads on this already
Oh snap! That is some serious sh*t! 
I'd freak out if I wake up and see the connector fried like that.
The owner should sue Apple's a$$, big time. I know I would.
I'd freak out if I wake up and see the connector fried like that.
The owner should sue Apple's a$$, big time. I know I would.
Oh snap! That is some serious sh*t!
I'd freak out if I wake up and see the connector fried like that.
The owner should sue Apple's a$$, big time. I know I would.
The shareholders would love you! Seriously, if that happened to me, i'd just get it replaced and be happy I wasn't dead. I think the culture of suing absolutely everyone under the sun is getting out of hand.
I would have thought Apple would have had this problem put to bed by now. I wouldn't change it for the world but its a bit of a worry that my SR MBP could have an electrical fire and also has the possibility of the graphics card imploding!
The magsafe is such a smart idea but with the new unibodies going on fire it still seems that Apple are more interested in the aesthetic of the adapter when they should really maybe make it of different materials or make it a bit beefier to give it an extra factor of safety.
I suppose this sort of thing can happen with anything it's just that this particular problem has arisen quite often.
The magsafe is such a smart idea but with the new unibodies going on fire it still seems that Apple are more interested in the aesthetic of the adapter when they should really maybe make it of different materials or make it a bit beefier to give it an extra factor of safety.
I suppose this sort of thing can happen with anything it's just that this particular problem has arisen quite often.
The guy that this happened to (the guy whose MBP you see in the photo in the OP) posted a topic about this here a few hours ago saying that Apple has said they'll replace the computer. I'd sure as hell be demanding more considering it could've burnt his house down!
Umm, no! I do not think so! Cheap materials would be my guess, or poor design.
I'm not saying Apple has designed this thing poorly, but perhaps a combination of cheap-ish materials, and not rigorous enough testing/standards are more likely the culprit.
update FTA:
"Another thing, I believe it's the computer not the magsafe. This laptop has broken two other power supplies, granted not to this extent. Yesterday, I just got the laptop back from the Apple Store again because the logic board and fan assembly needed to be replaced, I think due to the same issue. I was so happy to get it home only to find 6 hours later it was on fire."
"Another thing, I believe it's the computer not the magsafe. This laptop has broken two other power supplies, granted not to this extent. Yesterday, I just got the laptop back from the Apple Store again because the logic board and fan assembly needed to be replaced, I think due to the same issue. I was so happy to get it home only to find 6 hours later it was on fire."
update FTA:
"Another thing, I believe it's the computer not the magsafe. This laptop has broken two other power supplies, granted not to this extent. Yesterday, I just got the laptop back from the Apple Store again because the logic board and fan assembly needed to be replaced, I think due to the same issue. I was so happy to get it home only to find 6 hours later it was on fire."
Suggests that the Magsafe wasn't at fault?
update FTA:
"Another thing, I believe it's the computer not the magsafe. This laptop has broken two other power supplies, granted not to this extent. Yesterday, I just got the laptop back from the Apple Store again because the logic board and fan assembly needed to be replaced, I think due to the same issue. I was so happy to get it home only to find 6 hours later it was on fire."
Perhaps it's his house's wiring?
Exactly.
I can tell you why.
It has nothing to do with the magsafe connection itself. The material that is used on the cable going from the transformer (power Brick) to the magsafe is made from a soft and supple material that feels nice and coils up easily but unfortunately it appears to have the durability of wet tissue. You can see that apple has already added extra material to the magsafe connector as a strain relief but I suspect that it is not sufficient. I am sitting on the couch using a brand new aluminum mb and looking at the power cord it is under no tension but is sagging and I can see where this could over time kink and break the insulation. When I use my Dell in the same manner the cord sticks straight out by about two inches because it is reinforced much further down the cord. It is uglier and does not look as nice but I suspect it will last longer under normal use. This is not a dig against Apple I am just looking at it from a engineering standpoint. I do not think it is a dangerous design but is far less durable then it could be. I think apple is trying to keep a certain look and will not compromise on that. In the future when my warranty is up I will probably put a shrink tube (no not the thing that happens when a guy goes swimming in cold water) on the end to help add some strain relief.
I am speaking in general about the failures of magsafes not the particular toasty one in the original post. That could very well be a break in the insulation and a defect with the mbp drawing to much power.
It has nothing to do with the magsafe connection itself. The material that is used on the cable going from the transformer (power Brick) to the magsafe is made from a soft and supple material that feels nice and coils up easily but unfortunately it appears to have the durability of wet tissue.
You can see that apple has already added extra material to the magsafe connector as a strain relief but I suspect that it is not sufficient. I am sitting on the couch using a brand new aluminum mb and looking at the power cord it is under no tension but is sagging and I can see where this could over time kink and break the insulation. When I use my Dell in the same manner the cord sticks straight out by about two inches because it is reinforced much further down the cord. It is uglier and does not look as nice but I suspect it will last longer under normal use. This is not a dig against Apple I am just looking at it from a engineering standpoint. I do not think it is a dangerous design but is far less durable then it could be. I think apple is trying to keep a certain look and will not compromise on that. In the future when my warranty is up I will probably put a shrink tube (no not the thing that happens when a guy goes swimming in cold water) on the end to help add some strain relief.I am speaking in general about the failures of magsafes not the particular toasty one in the original post. That could very well be a break in the insulation and a defect with the mbp drawing to much power.
Pulling it by the plug would damage no wiring at all, ever. Pulling it by the cord is a different story, but the force needed to disconnect the plug isn't very large anyways. It's a matter of not insulting the wires properly, if anything.
All i know is i dont see crappy dell chargers lighting in flames. They will change it after it burns down a house full of orphans or the white house or something. O and i dnt hear people saying "now be real careful of how you wrap the charger chord on that inspiron". You should just be able to wrap it up and go. And the cord pulling thing. that would be a super easy design change to make it more durable
Hi all,
I just received a unibody 17" MBP a few days ago (sweet machine!) only to be scared half to death by posts across the net about MagSafe fires & metldowns.
A little poking around at Apple's Support site:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1453
I agree, the material and overall durability of the new MagSafe powerbricks just don't feel resilient to every day use (even compared to the old brick from my PowerBook). However if improper removal of the connector is a leading cause of sparks and flame, the support article above should help out!
I just received a unibody 17" MBP a few days ago (sweet machine!) only to be scared half to death by posts across the net about MagSafe fires & metldowns.
A little poking around at Apple's Support site:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1453
I agree, the material and overall durability of the new MagSafe powerbricks just don't feel resilient to every day use (even compared to the old brick from my PowerBook). However if improper removal of the connector is a leading cause of sparks and flame, the support article above should help out!