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Comment by hmottestad | Hacker News Reader

Every macbook power supply (cable) will split and fray within two-three years (depending on use). However, here in Norway they have a 5 year (goverment mandated) warranty, so no problems just bringing it in and going back out with a brand new adapter.

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You can't use "every" and "depending on use" in the same sentence, as that could be said of anything. I have a four year old cable of said type which, except for a little dust, is looking as good as new.

Were you to say that it occurs during average usage however, I agree that it would be an issue.

I read "depending on use" as a modifier to 2-3 years not on every. That is to say the cable will break sometime between 2-3 years with heavy use being sooner rather than later.

Still think it is an unnecessary dig at Apple. My brothers MacBook charger only died at 4 years old due to him spiling a drink on it.

That's what I meant yes. Although I guess if you are really careful it would probably last longer. However the heat from the adapter (and the magsafe plug) will slowly degrade the rubber and glue.

The one I'm currently using is 6 years old. My boss had to replace his within a couple years and they showed him how to properly wrap the cable. He taught us and it's been fine.

Tautologies are so much fun.

And no one should take an "every" literally in an online comment.

Essentially it means: "almost all my friends have frayed or split cables" and "the guy at the repair shop said it was a known and frequent issue".

It's kinda like saying "every lg retina screen has retention issues".

Hey more anecdotes! I love my Air, it will be replaced with Airs until the patent on MagSafe runs out. That having been said, Apple's fray-prevention on all of their cords is nothing more than "pretty design". It certainly isn't functional or it would look like the same component on other cables... that... actually prevent the fraying in question.

Me too. I've owned several and without exception the cords turn brownish, get soft, and then ultimately fray. I've tried all sorts of ways to gently wind/pack them, all sorts of preventative tapes/heatshrink tubing, but eventually (2 years, tops) they all fail. I like the (relatively) light weight and decent design, but they simply don't last.

If that is true, that is pretty disappointing.

I will say though that even if that is the case, at least I can buy a Macbook power supply "anywhere." I can drive down to BestBuy and buy one today.

With Dell's PSUs you can essentially only buy them from Dell's online store. I mean there are some HK sellers but they don't get certified as safe by any reputable agency. So either way, you'll be laptop-less for a week or more.

Universality is within itself a massive perk. It means the power blocks are more common, easier to obtain, and sometimes cheaper. It also means that if I buy two laptops from the same manufacturer I have a backup power brick for "free."

To give you another perspective: I bought a Dell Latitude including 3 year extended warranty for less that a similar powerful Macbook that has 1 year warranty. I had a problem with the motherboard after a couple of months and a Dell technican came to my house and fixed it the next day for free. I dont have to drag it into their shop and give it away for days/weeks like in Apples case. Lenovo has similar offerings for business customers.

On Dells (and Lenovos of course) i can actually replace the battery if its broken (on their business laptops atleast, the Ultrabook Designtrend which Apple invoked doesnt allow this), on any modern Macbook i cant.

My Latitude from 2009 is now still used by my mother and she didnt have any problems with it since i gave to her, power brick is fine, while my current Macbook Air of 1 1/2 years needed a new one recently because the old one had died.

That being said the built quality of Dells Business grinders isnt really that great, but i heared the more "Apple-like" machines are better in that regard.

I've owned Mac laptops now for over a decade and have never had a problem. My 7 year old MacBook's power supply still works good as new.

Really, that's pretty amazing. Is it a mag-safe adapter?

Are there really no cracks in the cord around where it enters the adapter or where it connects to the magsafe? No brown or yellow plastic?

Yeah, it's completely fine: [0]

Up until about 6 months ago it was my main computer, used constantly and taken everywhere. It's the original PS too. Maybe the way I wind up the cords has something to do with it? Most people I see don't do it this way: [1]

[0] -- http://i.imgur.com/IxlZPWH.jpg [1] -- http://i.imgur.com/TEzfDx4.jpg

Yeah. That is really fancy. I'll have to start doing that too.

As another data point, me too.

I've owned various MBP's and Airs since they switched to Intel processors (whenever that was). I travel heavily, and port my laptops between the office and two houses when I'm not traveling. I don't recall any problems with any of my power adapters ever, other than 1 which apparently just up and quit one day. I have a couple of MagSafe adapters that are 6+ years old and going strong.

My old Macbook unibody from 2008 had this issue with the power supply. My wive has a 2010 Macbook Pro and its power supply died just like mine did.

Something I really like with this Asus laptop is a thing called strain relief in the power cord.

> Every macbook power supply (cable) will split and fray within two-three years (depending on use)

While there was at least one iteration where this seemed to be the case, it was less of an issue after the first couple of generations.

Damn you Norwegians have it good! :D

Don't think for a second they don't charge them for the privilege. Fortunately, the need for AppleCare is somewhat diminished.

There was the class action suit: https://www.adaptersettlement.com/default.aspx

There is an instructable for how to fix your cable: http://www.instructables.com/id/MacBook-Mag-Safe-Charger-Bud...

Google images for "magsafe adapter" 10/56 images are of frayed cables.

For me this has been the case for the power supplies.

First one (came with the original intel macbook pro) actually caught fire due to a short caused by a break in the wires at the base of the brick.

A power supply bought last year is starting to split near the magsafe connector.

>>here in Norway they have a 5 year (goverment mandated) warranty

By any chance, are you talking about the same warranty that I get for 1 year in USA or in India when I buy an Apple product or any product at all?

The vanilla warranty that comes in the box without purchasing any extra warranty/care/support product?

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