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Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

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Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#231

Post by imh »

twerkmonsta wrote: post #91
throwaway420 wrote: post #30

Despite the visual appeal of their products, Apple normally does a very good job with prioritizing function over form except in this case with the charger wire being so fragile and thin. I know I'm not the most careful and delicate person in the world, but the failure rate here is ridiculous compared to other similar products I own. The end of the cable gets frayed every single time. Otherwise, Apple makes ridiculous…

I had an Apple charger fray and light my office on fire. Not much damage beyond burned carpet, but that was only because I was in the room and caught the fire immediately. After calling the company and escalating the issue up to a vice-president, they did nothing but replace the charger. It seriously disturbed me how unconcerned they were of a potentially deadly safety problem. It turned me off of Apple as a company…

I had a similar problem and couldn't even get them to replace the damned thing. They said it was 'normal wear and tear' or something. It was absolutely infuriating that they called a clear fire hazard normal. So then I got an off-brand charger and never looked back.

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#232

Post by JshWright »

headwayoldest wrote: post #123
Bud wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I support around 300 Macs for work. In my extensive experience, the deal here is that people are FAR too rough and careless in winding up those charger cables over and over. Apple HAS implemented strain relief here and done their best to make the points of failure less vulnerable. Here's a tip: Instead of yanking the cable at a 90-degree angle and winding as tightly as possible, let the cable come out of the charger…

I've owned Macbooks consistently for about 6 years now, I always use that little loop technique when winding the cord. I've never had a charger fray or fail on me.

As a counter anecdote, I am _very_ careful with my charger (and cords in general). The only chargers I've ever had fail are from Apple. I finally got tired of it and bought a counterfeit charger that wasn't as "clever" (i.e. didn't have a thin gauge coaxial cord with a weak rubber insulation), which has lasted far longer.

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#233

Post by realeyes »

thenewwazoo wrote: post #200
fgandiya wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sucks. May I ask why you got the MacBook? The air always liked like a better deal to me.

Not OP, but I bought one because of the HighDPI screen. Looking at the Air's low-res screen makes me feel like there's something wrong with my eyes. With that said, it's far from a perfect laptop.

Can I ask what makes it far from perfect? I'm really considering buying one but I'm afraid it might be too slow for my liking.

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#234

Post by lh7777 »

oaktowner wrote: post #226
specialist wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The low volt cable must also be replaceable. Just like the wall power cable. It'd add another connector and SKU, which may be why they attach the thin cable permanently. But so what? I buy Shure ear buds because the cable is replaceable.

Great idea. Would be far cheaper to replace that than the whole charger. (Though that's probably exactly why Apple won't do it).

This feature already exists on the USB-C MacBook charger. I'm sure it'll be years before the whole line is updated, but I don't see they wouldn't. USB-C can carry up to 100 watts -- the biggest MacBook Pro MagSafe adapter is only 85 watts.

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#235

Post by whyenot »

throwaway420 wrote: post #30

Despite the visual appeal of their products, Apple normally does a very good job with prioritizing function over form except in this case with the charger wire being so fragile and thin. I know I'm not the most careful and delicate person in the world, but the failure rate here is ridiculous compared to other similar products I own. The end of the cable gets frayed every single time. Otherwise, Apple makes ridiculous…

The charger wire in my Apple charger shorted out a few months ago, in the process melting part of the plastic housing which dripped on to my bed spread. If I hadn't been sitting nearby and noticed, it could have easily started a fire.

This is the third Apple charger brick I have owned that has failed. It's always the charger wire that frays and fails. The cost does add up -- 3*$60 + new bed spread.

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#236

Post by whyenot »

Bud wrote: post #122
throwaway420 wrote: post #30

Despite the visual appeal of their products, Apple normally does a very good job with prioritizing function over form except in this case with the charger wire being so fragile and thin. I know I'm not the most careful and delicate person in the world, but the failure rate here is ridiculous compared to other similar products I own. The end of the cable gets frayed every single time. Otherwise, Apple makes ridiculous…

I support around 300 Macs for work. In my extensive experience, the deal here is that people are FAR too rough and careless in winding up those charger cables over and over. Apple HAS implemented strain relief here and done their best to make the points of failure less vulnerable. Here's a tip: Instead of yanking the cable at a 90-degree angle and winding as tightly as possible, let the cable come out of the charger…

How about producing a charger with more robust wiring? The power brick for my Thinkpad X200 is now more than 6 years old. It has been treated very roughly, but has thicker wires, robust strain relief, and has never failed. In the same amount of time, I've gone through three Apple chargers. It's a little silly.

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#237

Post by HelloMcFly »

Bud wrote: post #122
throwaway420 wrote: post #30

Despite the visual appeal of their products, Apple normally does a very good job with prioritizing function over form except in this case with the charger wire being so fragile and thin. I know I'm not the most careful and delicate person in the world, but the failure rate here is ridiculous compared to other similar products I own. The end of the cable gets frayed every single time. Otherwise, Apple makes ridiculous…

I support around 300 Macs for work. In my extensive experience, the deal here is that people are FAR too rough and careless in winding up those charger cables over and over. Apple HAS implemented strain relief here and done their best to make the points of failure less vulnerable. Here's a tip: Instead of yanking the cable at a 90-degree angle and winding as tightly as possible, let the cable come out of the charger…

If only one brand seems to suffer from the problem, it's likely a product issue, not a user one. This is a cable, not a UI - care procedures and durability should be roughly equivalent.

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#238

Post by [deleted] »

throwaway420 wrote: post #30

Despite the visual appeal of their products, Apple normally does a very good job with prioritizing function over form except in this case with the charger wire being so fragile and thin. I know I'm not the most careful and delicate person in the world, but the failure rate here is ridiculous compared to other similar products I own. The end of the cable gets frayed every single time. Otherwise, Apple makes ridiculous…

[deleted]

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#239

Post by rasz_pl »

throwaway420 wrote: post #30

Despite the visual appeal of their products, Apple normally does a very good job with prioritizing function over form except in this case with the charger wire being so fragile and thin. I know I'm not the most careful and delicate person in the world, but the failure rate here is ridiculous compared to other similar products I own. The end of the cable gets frayed every single time. Otherwise, Apple makes ridiculous…

>Otherwise, Apple makes ridiculously durable products

No they dont. Keyboards are another example of design for fail, not to mention they are unfixable (40? rivets, glued together?).

The way they design laptop pcbs encourages common failures, like fragile thin critical connections (charging/one wire circuit) near the open edge of the case resulting in very common water damage destroying ONE trace/via and killing whole laptop. apple will charge you $750 for new logic board at this point.

Apple thermal design was abysmal until very recently, situation got better only thanks to Intel delivering cooler parts, not by Apple improving own products. Core2 macbook with Nvidia? 99% cooked to death. Vent holes are sacrilege, just like first Mac 128K had no fan.

You want to know how bad apple designs laptops? visit https://www.youtube.com/user/rossmanngroup

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#240

Post by nevereverreg »

silveira wrote: post #42

All this and the thin wire is what is going to break. I was around my 4th charger when I lost count.

I have had 4 or 5 power supplies. Never had to replace any of them. Ended up giving the Macs and original adapters away, as I upgraded to new systems.
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