MagSafe LED Indicator

Question

Level 1

8 points

MagSafe LED Indicator

I'm sure Apple thought it was a good idea using a red green amber LED on their MagSafe power chords to carry out a large number of support diagnostics. I wonder whether they have ever considered building in support for colours that a smaller percentage of the population can differentiate between - the percentage of the population who are colourblind.

I only ask since tonight is the second time I have had a support call and misdiagnosed the issue. For example, in the past, as a result of a reset, I was told to expect the LED to "flash". Of course, to me, no flashing occurred. It was only when the support engineer clarified it should flash red green that I realised I just wasn't seeing the flash.

Normally I wouldn't even ask about this but since Apple do tend to think of most things this would appear to be somewhat of an oversight...

I don't know if anyone else finds this?

MacBook Air (11-inch Mid 2013), OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Apr 25, 2015 2:03 PM

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Answer 1

Apr 25, 2015 2:14 PM in response to huwdjones

There are only 2 colours in the mag safe plug thats Green and Amber (Orangish). There is no colour Red in the mag safe plug.

And yes, during a SMC rest, the mag safe plug led indicator flashes Amber to Green indicating that the SMC is reset successfully.

Hope this clarifies your doubts...

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Answer 2

huwdjones Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 25, 2015 2:21 PM in response to Grane Duke

Thanks for clarifying. I think the point is that, to some, there is just one colour and no flashing. Green and amber are quite possibly the worst two colours to try and differentiate between - I realise for those not afflicted with colour blindness this would seem strange since they appear quite distinctive to them. I just thought I'd highlight this fact on an Apple forum anyway in the hope it raises a little bit more awareness.

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Answer 3

Apr 25, 2015 2:25 PM in response to Grane Duke

You can also get additional charging/power information by clicking on the Battery icon in the Menu bar. There are also apps such as GeekTools that will display Battery/Power Diagnostic information on you Desktop.

There is also the following, but I don't believe it is officially supported by Apple.

Enable a power charging indicator sound on your MacBook

Add /System/Library/CoreServices/PowerChime.app to Login Items

To enable (in Terminal):

defaults write com.apple.PowerChime ChimeOnAllHardware -bool true

To disable (in Terminal):

defaults delete com.apple.PowerChime ChimeOnAllHardware

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Answer 4

Apr 25, 2015 2:32 PM in response to Scott Immerman

Here is a sample of the information:

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Answer 5

Apr 25, 2015 2:45 PM in response to Scott Immerman

.

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Answer 6

Apr 25, 2015 2:46 PM in response to huwdjones

I hope that your doubts on mag safe led indicator colours are clear...!!

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Answer 7

Apr 25, 2015 2:52 PM in response to huwdjones

Also, Apple is listening to you. Just visit http://www.apple.com/feedback/ and post your suggestions. Perhaps Apple could change the LED to shapes, blinking patterns or high-contrast colors. There are may people out there that are color-blind and I am sure Apple would like to include them.

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