Just purchased a new Macbook Pro core i7 and this is my first mac laptop with a magsafe connector having not purchased a mac laptop since my powerbook G4. I was wondering is the connection supposed to have a little give. I.e. when the magsafe power cable is plugged in should it be a snug fit?
On my machine the port is a little bit bigger than the magsafe connector head itself so it has a little bit of room to move up and down. Just curious is this normal?
Thanks
Unlike the RCA type connection of your PowerBook G4 the Magsafe is supposed to be safe. That is it should disengage easily if the wire is pulled rather than take the MBP with it flying off the table.
I am quite in the same boat...my MagSafe connector head does not fit in snugly(I.e. it moves up and down from one end).Is this a feature or should I ask for a replacement as my MacBook Pro i7 13 inch(mid 2012) is still under warranty??? As kyl said it seems as if the connecting port(on the laptop) is bigger than the magsafe head...is this normal or am I on a lemon piece?
Any help is greatly appreciated as this is my first ever Mac experience :(
Bring it in to an Apple store or AASP.
Come to realise its normal. On all the MacBooks there's a little wiggle room on the MagSafe. As long as its charging ok then it's nothing to worry about.
You need a bit of "slop" to allow it to easily disengage. It also allows for easy connection without being perfectly aligned first.
While there is a bit of wiggle room for the metal ring to snap onto the rubberized magnet around the gold contacts, it is important that the connector body be able to connect perfectly flat with respect to the body of the Mac. That will allow the gold pins in the plug to make full contact with the gold pads in the Mac socket and allow the full 85W of power to be transferred without overheating the connection.
I have a Speck hard shell on my Mac, and I had to sand down a bit of extra plastic leftover from the molding process in order to allow the connector to lie flat when the cable is let out the back (the connector is "reversible": cable can go out the back or out the front, as needed, although out the front will interfere with the ports.
The new Retinas out this year come with a MagSafe 2 connector, that appears to be somewhat larger than the traditional.
More info (check out #7 & 8, click on triangle to open, with respect to bad contacts): http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1713
Magsafe query
