Macbook charger caught fire in bed!

Question

Level 1

6 points

Macbook charger caught fire in bed!

My boyfriend was using his macbook pro (less than a year old) in bed next to me while plugged into the charger and out of nowhere the cord began to sizzle with sparks, followed by small flame and smoke. He immediately unplugged the charger from the wall, and then from the computer and we were left with a burning smell and a black burn hole in the side of the cord. The computer seems to be working ok and we are both thankful that we were awake to stop the fire before it destroyed our home. We made an appointment with a mac genius for tomorrow. This has got to be something apple will replace for free, right? Has this happened to anyone else on here? There are lots of blog posts from other people who have had a similar experience.

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Jan 24, 2010 2:59 AM

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Answer 1

Bart1977

Level 2

287 points

Jan 24, 2010 3:51 AM in response to meganduffy

What a bizarre incident. But there are plenty of strange things to be found when googling for "Magsafe defect" or similar.

Be sure to make lots of pictures, in case doubt arises somehow!

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Answer 2

dobes918

Level 4

1,446 points

Jan 24, 2010 7:18 AM in response to meganduffy

My macbook charger must've done a similar thing, though I wasn't home to see it - I came home one day and found it not working, with a black spot burned through the plastic covering of the wire near where it joined the plug. Apple replaced it free, no questions.

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Answer 3

Doc M

Level 3

785 points

Jan 24, 2010 10:29 PM in response to meganduffy

MagSafe chargers get warm. Very warm.

But to get to the point where it catches fire is not a good thing.

Apple does not have to replace anything for "free." They well might--they should!--but they are under no obligation to do so, especially if you're past your warranty. I'd check on that first! In your case, less than a year, it should be replaced.

My question is: what was he doing with the MacBook in bed? Anything other than an electric blanket in something with things like flammable cotton sheets doesn't strike me as a good idea. (But that's just me.)

Best of luck in any case--

Doc

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Answer 4

JasonFear

Level 5

4,965 points

Jan 24, 2010 11:10 PM in response to meganduffy

Hi meganduffy,

I agree with Bart1977, make sure to get some photos. It'd be even better if you had photos of the area before the incident. While it probably won't be necessary for the sake of getting the charger replaced, it might be helpful to provide if asked.

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