Mass recall of Apple AC Wall Plug Adapters 2003-2015 due to shock hazard
apple.comThis is interesting. I bought the World Adapter Kit for our trip through Germany/France, and nearly every hotel/B&B we stopped at, I could literally feel a gentle vibration/shock coming from MBP's case whenever it was plugged in to the two-prong outlets. I don't know if that's poor grounding or something else, but it was definitely unnerving and I didn't feel comfortable using my laptop when it was plugged in.
But it seems the adapters are being recalled for a different issue.
In the UK both of the BS 1363 plugs have metal earth pins yet only the extended cable version connects to earth on the adapter. I have definitely felt a small vibration/shock from my MBP's case when using the uncabled plug with disconnected earth.
I have experience this as well and was quite concerned about it for a while, this is exactly the first thing that came to my mind as well.
Same experience here (with French plugs). Using the cable with the ground pin "solves" the problem.
Note that the US-style plugs (with two vertical blades that plug into the socket) are NOT recalled.
This failed on me recently (a couple weeks ago) and I was very surprised when it happened. It was a US 10-watt(?) adapter that came with a 3rd-gen iPad I bought a while back.
The adapter is two pieces that fit together (like Apple's macbook adapters), and the piece that inserts into the outlet broke into two pieces when I tried pulling it out one day. The way it split, half was stuck in the wall and half was still connected to the little power brick in my hand. The piece that was still in the outlet had two bits of exposed metal that were clearly just extensions of the prongs in the socket. I removed it very carefully realizing what would happen if I touched the bits of metal and threw it out.
That said, it looks like they don't list the US as affected on that page :-/.
I've never understood why it seems to be popular for US wall sockets not to have switches.
I just returned from Australia and New Zealand where every outlet has a built-in power switch. I would really like to have them in the states too.
I can't seem to find a real reason why we don't. Perhaps the usage cost of electricity is less expensive in the U.S., or it's something Americans are just less conscientious about.
There is a lot of speculative discussion in this thread http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/why-dont-us-outlets-have-bui....
Same thing happened in Norway a while back, but to a school kid that seemed to have impulsively reached for the part that was lodged in the socket. Best i could tell the kid survived.
Yes, I wonder why the US is not listed as well. Maybe it's different issues?
How about a recall of the entire adapter.
I have 4 or 5 of them, all which have disintegrated cables.
Either the famous problem where the cable/sleeve detaches at the adapter or the plug end, or on a couple of them, the entire plastic cable housing has disintegrated and sloughed off, leaving bare shield wire. This after just a year or so in every case.
Absolute disgrace, Apple.
Maybe I'm the exception here, but in a decade of using MacBooks, I've never experienced the power adapter falling apart.
I remember this a lot back in the PowerBook days, especially those clearish gray translucent adapters.
Apple has a fetish for putting weak boots on their cable ends, so if you tension them too much, the jacket of the cable will fail.
Personally, I've only had it happen to iPhone cables that get abused in the car. Still, it's a ridiculous problem to have when almost no other quality cord is so fragile.
I've only had one iPhone cable come apart on me and my power cable from my Thunderbolt Display shows some wear but I've never had a cord for any of my MBPs get loose or breakdown in any way. I've got at least two bricks/cords from 2008ish that I still use with an adapter.
I've had frayed insulation with multiple MacBook adapters and Lightning cables. I wonder if it is climate related; I live in a hotter and more humid place than Cupertino. In any case there is no excuse for the insulation being so fragile when $5 USB cables never have this problem.
Yes, me too, I'm sure the heat and humidity is a factor, but for the insulation to actually decompose in this way just from the climate is absolutely unacceptable.
I just replaced an Apple power brick from 2008, because the MagSafe plug wore out. The cable and attachment point at the brick were as good as new.
Same. I still have an adapter from a 2006 MacBook Pro which is used daily and not a hint of damage on it bar scuff marks.
The Apple ones are trash, I gave up and went with the Monoprice flat ribbon lightning cables. Last forever, flexible, cheap, and work. http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=12859
If only their international shipping rates were more reasonable, like Amazon.
I haven't experienced this, and I wonder which of these is the reason:
1) I don't wrap/unwrap the cable around the plastic clips each day.
2) When I do wrap the cables, I'm careful to (i) leave a little slack before I start winding, and (ii) grip loosely so as not to cause twisting stress
3) I remove the magsafe by pulling the outer edge upwards, rather than pulling outwards in the opposite direction to the magnetic force.
If the reason is mainly (1), then this would indicate poor design. If it's some combination of (2) and (3), then it seems like more prominent instructions would help many people.
I suspect you're correct about it being 2 and 3. I've never had a failed iPhone, iPad, or MacBook power adapter that was apple manufactured.
My wife on the other hand goes through about one phone charger every 6 months. Absolute disregard for how the cable is positioned (like if the cable is being crushed or snagged by an object).
I guess growing up with those brittle NES controller cords taught me something.
Same as. 3x MagSafe connectors in 10 years (3 laptops). All still working perfectly and in good condition despite daily use.
I do 1,2 and 3 as well. My cables routinely perish and disintegrate. I have been using mac laptops for the past 15 years.
I agree that the fragile cables on Apple chargers suck, but I've had chargers replaced at the Genius bar for that reason (free), so you could try too if it's worth your time.
Just another anecdotal datapoint: I've tried to do that both in Switzerland and Japan, and they wouldn't replace adapters I brought with broken down cable shielding.
JP here too. This was in ~2011, the staff then Really Liked Macs. Now it's the "my iPhone screen broke" bar, and they have way more staff.
The service for my Mac last time was actually pretty hideous. I can't remember what he said, but he used some amazing jargon to explain the difficult act of booting off an OS on a USB hard disk. Then tried to say that the broken hinge (the hinge part of the stand on 2014 skinny iMacs is prone to fail without warning, tipping the screen forward) and bad RAM on my iMac might not be covered under Applecare (it was).
The genius bar has never been a fun experience (our sensors indicate you used your laptop! Sorry, but Applecare doesn't cover oxygen damage), but that was super unpleasant.
I also had very mixed experience. In Switzerland I now avoid them like the plague and I go to certified service partners instead. Problem there is that there's always an issue, like screws not sitting tight and falling out after service, or some non essential component not being reconnected again, like keyboard backlight.
Lately my position on Apple is: I buy their iPhones and their iMacs. One has comparatively good service, the other rarely needs service because it isn't carried around and doesn't contain a battery. For laptops I was hoping that Windows 10 tablets would be any good, but was severely disappointed again, especially by the software side, Windows is a total mess. Right now I'm at a loss at what my next portable computer is supposed to be. Maybe Lenovos upcoming classic thinkpad line with Ubuntu?
I have been dual booting Ubuntu for awhile now on my Macbook.
Unless Apple comes out with something really special this year (early 2011 13" MBP → late 2013 13" Retina MBP was an impressive upgrade), I am considering building a Linux desktop and a pairing it with a really nice monitor. 1TB SSD is only $400 now, which seems like a really nice deal compared to even last year.
I'll keep my Macbook around for using Adobe apps, I guess. Other than that I can't think of a pressing reason to stay on OSX.
tip: call apple and tell them you have a cord that looks like it's a serious fire hazard. Each time I've said "fire hazard," they've replaced it without question.
Good hint, thank you!
This happens with Lightning cables too.
lol, Dont get me started on the magsafe and its easily breakable pins. it can also destroy the plug on the macbook itself. And there is the heat ... It ruined 2 computers I had and Apple refused to fix them for free ...
Easily breakable pins? I honestly can't imagine what I'd have to transport an adapted beside to break those pins. Any hints?
the pins on the magsafe plug side.
This is planned obsolescence, when the cables break like this the chargers normally simply stop working. And that cable doesn't carry 110VAC so it's safe to assume even if you touch it you can't really get hurt.
The title is "Apple AC Wall Plug Adapter Exchange Program"
It looks like it is only the international adapter part. Everyone complains about Apple's strain relief, but a lot of engineering went into making that as good as it is (which is less than average). It is hard to make robust stuff look sleek and well designed. Some companies err on the side of robust. Apple goes the other way.
I don't know about you, but I think the strain reliefs that just about every other cable has are "sleek and well designed" enough to stop them from failing there. Apple's strain relief, which doesn't relieve strain particularly well, reminds me of those on very old equipment (pre-1940s): nothing more than a featureless tube surrounding the cable. The reinforced design with a flexible, radius-limiting boot that's popular today evolved over many decades and works very well. Apple's design provides only a minimal amount of reinforcement and doesn't offer much radius-limiting. You can see this when you bend it - the "boot" creases and wrinkles, separating from the cable, instead of smoothly controlling and limiting its bend radius as a good strain relief should.
I prefer other companies' strain reliefs, but I get why Apple uses the one they do.
Why does it matter how much engineering went into it if the result is worse than average?
How could anyone call that 'well designed'?
Well designed in that an Industrial Designer probably put a lot of effort into it. A lot of people use that term to describe something sleek. I prefer it when art and engineering work more closely together, but that is just me.
"international" sort of depends on your point of reference, doesn't it?
> Some companies err on the side of robust. Apple goes the other way.
And that is why, given the choice, i'll go with a Thinkpad over a Macbook.
Agree. I think the HN title should update to reflect that. The current one is a bit sensational.
>Some companies err on the side of robust
And on the side of not shocking people to death.
I long ago stopped using the two-prong adapters; they're just a bad idea when you plug in at places that don't have particularly clean power. Where I used to live, my unibody Macbook would literally give me a little static shock whenever I touched it as long as it was plugged in with the adapter (or possibly it was a continuous current; running your palm along the metal felt a bit like rubbing a balloon.)
Switching to the long 3-prong "cable" connector solved that, and I've never dared go back.
And this perhaps a good reason why the whole metal case on mobile phones is a bad idea.
What you are describing is grounding problems of one for or another.
(I'm not an EE, so if anyone knows better?)
Oddly, never had the same problem with a phone USB charger. Which is the opposite of what you'd expect: the USB chargers seem to be entirely solid-state, using flyback transformers[1], while the larger power adapters have room for a real wire-wrapped ring transformer[2], which should be providing better electrical isolation. (I would never expect to be shocked by dirty power coming through an induction ring.)
[1] http://www.righto.com/2012/05/apple-iphone-charger-teardown-...
[2] http://www.righto.com/2015/11/macbook-charger-teardown-surpr...
But if it is the device itself that was faulty, rather than the input power, it's a different story; in that case you want at least some valid ground path, and complete isolation is bad (because then the device will ground through you, obviously.)
Maybe it's just that the power adapter block has a separate ground path and expects to ground it into a dedicated ground pin (and, I guess, leaves the ground pin disconnected when a two-prong adapter is connected? That seems wrong-headed), while the USB chargers, made to assume two-prong usage, mix ground with positive.
I was very excited by this because I have a MacBook Air charger that is very badly frayed at the laptop end and I don't want to spend AU$129 on replacing something that is breaking because Apple sucks at making cables. Unfortunately, I have a three prong charger that isn't being recalled, so I guess I'll just have to apply some more gaffer tape.
I would love to know how they could possibly be a shock hazard. I have a piles of these (for travel) and they are solidly build and almost only plastic.
The only way they could break, I think, is if they fell apart somehow.
There was an incident in Norway recently where a school kid was unplugging an iPad, and the prongs came loose from the charger. This left exposed metal bits protruding from the live socket, and the kid has apparently reached in to remove them. Kid survived, thankfully.
From the images i found it looked like the assembly was basically pushed into the charger. There seemed to be some notched on the metal bits that would be inside, likely supposed to latch together during assembly, but i guess they could come loose if there was enough insertions and removal.
Shock can also be via the casing of the Macbook.
I may have one of these dodgy plugs from a 2011 11" MBA that I started using as a spare so to preserve my most recent replacement. (third or fourth bent/broken cord)
When you place either hand on the MBA casing beside the trackpad you get what feels like a buzzing in your lower palm. If you are shirtless (common on these balmy summer nights) and touch your stomach against the edge you get a definite kick like you burnt yourself.
The Guardian article said there are 12 known (to Apple) incidents where people were shocked by these adapters.
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/28/apple-reca...
"may break and create a risk of electrical shock"
Sounds like the plastic casing breaks.
> designed for use in Continental Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Argentina and Brazil
Does anyone know what exactly is happening in the breakage scenario? Especially for 12 years?
Shocking!