MacBook power cables keep breaking

Hello all,

Apologies if I am posting this to the wrong forum, but I am having some serious difficulties with the MacBook chargers. I have gone through 2 in the past year - for some reason the wires keep splitting by the AC adapter. Has anyone else had this problem? If so, were you able to have it fixed by the Apple Store, or perhaps find a way of fixing it yourself?

I'd be appreciative of any help you could provide.

DS

 

I only have my MacBook for less than a year, and so far my charger is holding up very well. I just make sure that it keeps straight, and not moving around much when I am plugging in.

My cellphone is another story, the plastic outside of the cable has crack and I just used electrical tape to cover it for now. I just ordered another one from Amazon just to be on the safe side.

Have you called Apple to see if they can fix it?

 

Well, I took a better look at the cable by stripping back the plastic near the break, and some of the copper seems to have melteed - there are scorch marks on the inside of the cable covering, as well as frayed wiring. My suspicion is that I bought a new charger with the wrong wattage, causing it to surge. My fault I guess, but I was hoping Apple could help.

I went into the Apple Store yesterday, but you have to book in advance to even speak to a shop assistant, which is ludicrous if you ask me! Still, I might try and get down there on a weekday, see if they can offer me a discount on a replacement. Its a bit ofa hail mary, but it might work.

 

Chargers of any kind are notoriously badly made - I think on purpose. I think it's easy to make cheap ones ... and I also think since everyone one needs one it's not something you'll just resist purchasing. I think they're built to fail quickly so that you have to get another one. It's been the case with every type of charger for any type of electronic device I own.

 

I think you're right @Jonah_JJ - my gut tells me that there should be a better way. I don't suppose anyone knows if there is such a thing as a wireless induction charger for a laptop? I know it is possible with smartphones now, but if there is some sort of charging plate for larger devices, I would be all over that!

Alternatively, is there a way to make a DIY magsafe cable? I would love to tinker around with electronics again and this would be an ideal project if anyone has seen anything like this.

 

It appears that all Apple cable products regardless of size break at the same exact point, because iPhone lighting cables suffer the same exact thing.

It may be because of the way you are wrapping your cables around your charger when you store it.

A DIY magsafe sounds like an interesting project yet brands like Griffn already offer you a product called BrakSafe which is basically a USB Type-c MagSafe.

The is a group called The Allied for Wireless Power, they announced like 2 years ago that they were partnering with manufacturers to bring wireless laptop charging, I've never heard anything about that since then.

 

This is one of the more frustrating issues that I have always seemed to have. When it comes to accessories you need to be absolutely certain that you are getting some good ones, because you get what you pay for, trust me. I have lost a lot of money returning things that I never should have bought, and it is a constant battle. Do your research, and then go ahead and do some more.

 

Charger breaking so easily is probably one of the biggest complaints Apple receive from their customers. It's silly how they start all these innovative technology things and they can't even work on their chargers. It made me think they made these chargers weak on purpose.

 

I know quite a few Apple users that have this same problem. They take decent care of their cords, but it is unreasonable to believe that the cord will ALWAYS be straight, no one will step on it, and that it will never receive any abuse. However, even the most protected Apple chargers I have seen still break. I will say that if you are buying a replacement, don't go with a knockoff. They are almost always prone to break even more quickly than the original. However, the original chargers are quite expensive. So, a used Apple charger may be your best bet.