Electric vibration while charging— normal & dangerous?

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Electric vibration while charging— normal & dangerous?

When I use my Macbook while it's charging, an electric current goes through it, and goes through me. Is this supposed to happen?

Last week (nov 17 or so), I was working on my 2019 Macbook Air, when my girlfriend touched my arm and felt an electric current going through me. I had felt a vibration in my Macbook when it was charging, and never felt it was out of the ordinary. However, it appeared that there was indeed an electric shock going through me. After some research on Google, I found that this could actually lead to fibrillation of the heart. I blamed it on the fact that my old mac battery needed to be serviced, and went and bought a new m2 Macbook Air. Today, Nov. 23, 2023, I feel the same electric current coming through my macbook while it charges. This is a brand new macbook, a brand new Apple charger. My brother, who also has a macbook air, also experienced this vibration whenever he charges. I'm concerned that this is a widespread harm not just to myself, and my brother, but also to any Macbook owner.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 13.0

Posted on Nov 23, 2023 6:18 AM

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Answer 1

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HWTech

Community+ 2026

Level 9

74,046 points

Nov 25, 2023 9:14 PM in response to concereduser17

Usually the tingling issue indicates a grounding issue with the home's electrical wiring. In many regions you can get around the problem by using a grounded AC cord (aka Power Extension Cable) instead of the default duckhead adapter. Here is the one for the US region...notice it has three prongs on the end....the round one is the ground pin. Not all regions have a grounded cable.

Power Adapter Extension Cable - Apple

Ideally you should have an electrician inspect the home's wiring to fix the issue since an improperly wired home can be dangerous to people as well as your electronic devices. If the laptop is connected to a power surge strip instead of directly to the wall receptacle, then perhaps the power surge strip is bad instead of the house wiring. If you have other external devices connected which have their own power source, then make sure they are connected to the same power surge strip or wall receptacle so they are on the same circuit. If external devices are connected to different home circuits, then they can cause problems especially when home wiring is not correct.

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Answer 2

Nov 23, 2023 6:48 AM in response to concereduser17

I have just received 23 Nov my new MacBook Pro M3 laptop .

I connected the power adapter and felt a tingling sensation when I touch the top of the lap top screen . I will call Apple tomorrow.

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Electric vibration while charging— normal & dangerous?

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