Magsafe Issue
After 16 months of minimum use, magsafe charger failed. Is this a typical problem?
MacBook Air (11-INCH, MID 2011), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)
no.
10 replies
Your MagSafe adapter might simply have dirty or stuck pins:
Troubleshooting MagSafe adapters
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1713
Maintain it properly and it will last as long as your Mac:
Using and maintaining your Apple MagSafe Adapter
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5234
Reducing cable strain on your MagSafe power adapter
Actually, yes it is a very common problem, typically after 2 or 3 years of use. It you look at the review of all Magsafe Adapters on the Apple Store, you will find that 76% give it the lowest possible rating. Apple Magsafe AC Adapters are pieces of junk. They are badly designed and poorly made. The internal wires break just behind the strain relief and charging becomes intermittent. Eventually it won't work at all. Several of the electrical engineers in my company took the cables apart and looked at it with a microscope. They said it was designed to fail. Given that Apple gets $79 for these, I doubt they will fix it and give up the revenue stream. It's not like you can go to a 3rd party for a replacement.
Dr CM wrote:
Actually, yes it is a very common problem, typically after 2 or 3 years of use.
Absolutely incorrect. Most people however abuse their charger cords and connectors, none of this however is no implication of design or quality of mfg.
Very much agree. My $3000 retina machine is seeing this fail. My 2008 Macbook Pro has never had a problem nor has a friend's 2006.
Pathetic. Time to look for a new computer manufacturer next time.
Apple's Power Adapter Replacement Program must have been set-up to address some quality/design problems associated with Magsafe:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts4127
I took a copy of this program to the Apple Store, but the Genius refused evaluate my adapter for replacement.
It doesnt address design OR quality, rather user abuse in winding their power cords.
There exists NOTHING more potent than general user ignorance when it comes to winding and using and storing their power cords and chargers.
This is an empirical fact, .....those that use their chargers right and wind them up RIGHT and store them right never have such issues.
Careful with your charger and its cable
Do not make any hard bends or folds in your charging cable, or wind it tightly, always make either circles or loose loops when winding your cord up for storage. Also do not, as many people have seen, unroll your charger block from the magsafe end by letting the charger drop and unroll itself like a yo-yo, this is both hard on the charger and its connection points at both ends.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1630
This does not happen to ipad and iphone chargers. Their chargers get coiled tighter than macbooks. I coilded mine in a circle about 3 inch in diameter and strap the wire with velcro, yet it failed.
Nor did it happen to older Macbook Pro's. I just looked at one of my older ones and the DC cable is significantly stiffer.
Sure, there are clearly ways to mitigate the design / manufacturing failure on the newer power bricks, but the power brick is a failure in many people's minds and has necessitated class action suits in the past and several support pages from Apple about how to mitigate the issue. Good design and manufacturing should be robust enough for average use. I did none of the things with my new retina display macbook that are cautioned against above but it still failed in a year and half of light use.
w bailey wrote:
Nor did it happen to older Macbook Pro's. I just looked at one of my older ones and the DC cable is significantly stiffer.
Sure, there are clearly ways to mitigate the design / manufacturing failure on the newer power bricks, but the power brick is a failure in many people's minds and has necessitated class action suits in the past and several support pages from Apple about how to mitigate the issue. Good design and manufacturing should be robust enough for average use. I did none of the things with my new retina display macbook that are cautioned against above but it still failed in a year and half of light use.
The older cable is STIFFER because the rubber or PVC coatings on wire sheaths gets stiffer as it ages naturally.
Good design and manufacturing can be easily overcome from abuse and neglect.
Youre confusing mild use with mild abuse.
As for your charger block failing within a year, thats called a limited statistical sample,...a capacitor, one of three, in the block can fail. Anything can and will fail at any time, ........nature of electronics
none of that implicates build or quality.
Magsafe Issue