To what degree do magnets effect MacBookPros?

Question

Level 1

4 points

To what degree do magnets effect MacBookPros?

I know there it is a rather popular belief that magnets have the capability of greatly damaging computer hardware but I am also aware that some of these beliefs are exagerated to a certain extent. My question is whether it is safe for me to transport my MacBookPro and the stylus for my iPad together in the same computer bag. I have Maglus stylus that has 2 rather large rather strong magnets in the side of the shaft that allow it to attach to my iPad. I am always careful to it keep well away from my MacBook but this becomes inconvenient for travel when I would perfer to have all of my computer stuff (iPad included) in one bag. Is it safe for my stylus to be near my computer? How cuatious do I need to be about this? Here is a link to the website for the stylus http://the-maglus.myshopify.com

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Mar 8, 2013 2:19 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 8, 2013 2:32 PM in response to Futurefrog

Apple warns that magnets may cause a computer to sleep unexpectedly.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2917

But, while it's being transported, I don't think you have anything to worry about with the stylus.

Matt

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Answer 2

John Galt

Level 10

158,904 points

Mar 8, 2013 2:46 PM in response to Futurefrog

I have tried and failed to cause hard disk corruption using commercially available magnets that are likely to be much stronger than that one, after removing the HD from the Mac.

If that is your concern, it is probably unwarranted.

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Answer 3

Russa

Level 4

1,343 points

Mar 8, 2013 3:09 PM in response to Futurefrog

.. if the magnate is powerful enough and close enough to your iPad or Mac your data and/or iOS/MacOS can be corrupted on disk or the volatile memory. Might not happen, but this is dependent on the strength of the magnet. Probably about as probable as experiencing an alpha particle hit on your memory as well.

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Answer 4

Jun 29, 2015 3:29 PM in response to Russa

While using my SSD macbook pro ( 2015) on my laptop case, which has a magnet in the outer pocket to keep it closed, heard what could be described as a typical spinning hard drive failure. Odd. Maybe it was the magnet interacting with the speaker or something more serious. I dare not find out. So far I haven't noticed any operational damage.

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