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Video Review: The Juiceboxx Keeps Your MacBook Charger Cord From Fraying
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Right. Everybody is just doing it wrong. Except you of course. Because you're the only one who has common sense. Got it.
*eyeroll*
Just another fan boy in action.
Time to hop off your high horse and cease your holier than thou attitude and acknowledge that for the price Apple charges for these cables they're cheaply designed. They're supposed to be mobile and therefore should be made rugged but I have home stereo cables that are more durable and cost less. Even Apple Store employees admit they're crap. This has nothing to do with common sense. Your logic is as flawed as the cable.
Yay! A company has released another gadget to replace a bit of common sense (or what I'd hope is common sense)! Seriously? People need to put a box around their power bricks to not fray the cord? How about not wrapping it tightly around the MagSafe brick when you travel?
It's the same with 30-pin and Lightning cables. If you wrap it tightly, it'll cause fraying. If you treat your cords well, you can be like me who has had an iPod Nano for 6 years and the cable isn't frayed or damaged at all. My almost 2 year old iPhone still has its original Lightning cable and it looks like I just pulled it out of the box and removed any kinks in the cord. My old 2006 MacBook's power brick and MagSafe plug were in great condition when I sold it. A year later, the buyer had to replace it because he didn't take good care of it.
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Rather than pay $19.99 (and potentially tax and s&h charges), I'd just treat the cables well.
Step 1: Don't wrap 'em tight.
Step 2: Leave some slack in the cables when they are plugged in. Don't stress the cables.
Step 3: Don't bend them at extreme angles. A rounded 45 degree angle is about as far as it should bend.
Step 4: For real, don't wrap 'em tight.
It's the same with 30-pin and Lightning cables. If you wrap it tightly, it'll cause fraying. If you treat your cords well, you can be like me who has had an iPod Nano for 6 years and the cable isn't frayed or damaged at all. My almost 2 year old iPhone still has its original Lightning cable and it looks like I just pulled it out of the box and removed any kinks in the cord. My old 2006 MacBook's power brick and MagSafe plug were in great condition when I sold it. A year later, the buyer had to replace it because he didn't take good care of it.
~~~~~~~
Rather than pay $19.99 (and potentially tax and s&h charges), I'd just treat the cables well.
Step 1: Don't wrap 'em tight.
Step 2: Leave some slack in the cables when they are plugged in. Don't stress the cables.
Step 3: Don't bend them at extreme angles. A rounded 45 degree angle is about as far as it should bend.
Step 4: For real, don't wrap 'em tight.
I've been a theater tech for years. Yes, people do wrap cables wrong. To make a cord last as long as possible, don't wrap them tightly. It is bad for them both in terms of internal connections and external wear. Us 'fanboys' who just take good care of our stuff often don't have to replace power adapters or other cables. I will agree that Apple could do more in making the cables stronger, but if you treat them right, it's a non-issue.
I wouldn't make the assumption that just because one takes good care of his equipment it means it isn't subject to wear and tear. I take reasonable care of my stuff, and I've still had to buy replacements. I've owned many Apple products over the years, and the connection cables and power adapter cables are not rugged enough, especially for a product that is designed to be mobile. I strongly believe they should be more durable at their price point.
Saying it's common sense is extremely self-righteous and very narrow minded because they don't know how others might be using a product designed to be mobile. If you sit at home all the time or never fly or never take your computer out every day for telecommuting then sure there isn't much to worry about. But if some people need to derive their self-esteem by believing their product is perfect and their skills at taking care of cables is mastered, then so be it.
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Also, people use these products more than others, for longer durations, and in different situations. Some of us take our laptops to coffeehouses every day, multiple times a day, and no matter how well I take care of it, if the product is not durable, it's not going to withstand the wear and tear reasonable to the scenarios it's designed for. I shouldn't have to replace an $85 power adapter every single year. It should simply be able to withstand reasonable wear and tear. They designed these cables as though they weren't going to be moved or put in situations where people might step on them. I have stronger cables behind my TV which never move which never get stepped on and cost less. Apple is making millions off their customers replacing these cables. It's taking advantage of their most loyal customers. But the zealots are going to defend Apple no matter what they do.
By "everybody" if you mean the 1% of the users that have to keep replacing them because they fray them, yes, then "everybody" is doing it wrong.
I keep mine in my bag for many years and it's never even shown any wear. I just made sure to wrap it loosely instead of tightly, it couldn't be more common sense.
I don't quite agree on all points. Yes there was obviously design flaws in the early T-shaped Magsafe 1 plugs. However, the most easy - and lowest stress - detachment was always vertically (so up or down). By its design, the L-shaped encouraged horizontal detachment - albeit with a much stronger metal-to-plastic joint-design.
You are right though that the smaller magnets in the Magsafe2 also lower the stress and benefit the lifespan. The third attempt is always best
A heatshrink works even better! There's a heatshrink size which fits (with some patience and help) over the lightning connector. It took longer to take the pictures than the job itself
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Just don't wrap 'em at all! IMHO it doesn't makes that much difference in your backpack. But it ups the life of the cable by a couple years. At least in my experience. Mileage does vary with others.
Good for you. That doesn't mean it's true for everyone. It also doesn't mean they did anything wrong. It also doesn't mean you did anything right. You just got lucky or didn't use it as much as others. But you'd rather pat yourself on the back and think you're smarter than the rest of us. If you were half as wise as you think you are you wouldn't need me to tell you these things, it's common sense. That's okay, not everyone can have as much common sense as me. That trick works both ways, turkey. Sorry, I shouldn't say that, your self-esteem is already so low you must derive esteem from how you transport your cables.
Why is everyone assuming that wrapping or transporting them is what is fraying them? There are several causes for the fraying. The fact remains, they should not fray so easily and for so many people, if they were more durable, the way they ought to be for a cable that is so expensive and intend to be mobile. Apple is not perfect, people. They don't design everything perfectly. This is one way they fail. Get over it, zealots. Apple is like a cult to some of you people. You fan boys make Apple-related forums insufferable to those who are able to remain objective even when they are a fan.
Eight consecutive negative posts for just this thread. I hope you're doing fine in real life.
It's a design flaw in the material covering the wire. I have a 2006 PowerBook and its power cord is fine. I'm on my third cord on my 2011 MacBookPro (same as the number of logic boards I've had replaced). It's one of the reasons I buy AppleCare. I'm not hard on my equipment - my MBP hasn't a mark on it, something the "genius" commented on when I took it in for a new logic board, so he couldn't very well accuse me of abusing my hardware.
The important thing is that you need to grip the body of the plug and 'snap' it off rather than pull it straight out - horizontal/veritical isn't an issue. The L-shaped design almost forced you to do that.
Well, everybody is going on anecdotal evidence here - but there seems to be a clear divide between those of us who've seen no problems for years, even in groups of users, and those who have personally gone through cable after cable. If its a fault rather than handling, my guess is that there are good and bad batches, or its set off by some environmental factor (temperature/humidity/sunlight).
What I don't buy is the conspiracy theory - Apple are clearly having to give out a load of new adapters via AppleCare, and in most places outside the "United States of caveat emptor" they're liable for replacing genuinely faulty cables outside of AppleCare. Plus, its not good for their image (especially if there's the odd fire, too). The did re-design the original MacSafe cable which was a poor design.
Wrapping it like the guy in the video is going to fray any cable, though.
The environment our cables are exposed to is probably one that's very harsh. While not quite the cables we're talking about in this thread, I have (original) lightning cable outer shells morphed into mush with the consistency of chewing gum or Play Doh.
On the positive side, we haven't got any of our 25-or-so Magsafe2 cable letting us down yet. They must have changed the material. Magsafe1 L-cables turned yellow and dried out after a while, our Magsafe2 cables keep rather white and don't seem to be affected as much.
But as you said, mileage varies.