back to article Apple agrees to replace dodgy MacBook power cords

Apple will replace strained MagSafe cords, even if they are out of warranty, to settle a lawsuit brought against the fruity tech titan. Apple declared as such on its site today, bringing peace to the troubled minds of punters whose MacBooks shipped with the original T-style MagSafe adapters that are infamously prone to fraying …

COMMENTS

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  1. Figgus
    Happy

    Be frayed, be very frayed

    Kudos for one of the better subtitles I've seen here.

    After seeing the iPhone antenna/bumper issue and hearing all about the related frustrations of charging some customers for it from a friend of mine who works in Apple "support", I can only smile as I imagine how irate Apple must be having to rectify their design problems without being able to soak their customers for it.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    errr...

    I think you meant 'Trash'..?

    *Whistle as I walk away*

    1. Kristian Walsh Silver badge

      'Wastebasket', actually...

      EOM

  3. manxappa
    Thumb Down

    I support many macs and over the last 5 years have spent just short of £6k on replacement Magsafe adapters.

    To qualify for any cash refund you must be a US resident.

    scumbags

    1. ratfox

      So the problem exists

      I was going to ask, because I had never witnessed it. I guess you must start your own lawsuit in your own country, then...

    2. technome
      FAIL

      Wrong...

      Details are on the UK support website too.

  4. Stephen McLeod Blythe
    Childcatcher

    Sadly I doubt it will apply over here if it is in response to litigation.

    I've had two die on me. The first time I replaced it with a new one, and when that went bust I took the whole thing apart and soldered it up myself... securing it with new wire and electrical tape.

    Looks terrible... works like a dream.

    I've made sure my fire alarm has batteries in it mind you. ;)

    1. technome
      FAIL

      Nope!

      Details are up on the UK support pages too.

  5. technome
    Happy

    They replaced mine...

    ... a couple of years ago with no quibble.

    The replacement's been fine.

    1. Tchou
      Pirate

      Technome

      You posted 3 times on this thread to support Apple... I have to trigger a

      FANBOI ALERT!

  6. James O'Brien
    FAIL

    "Apple maintains that the cord is not defective but agreed to the settlement anyway."

    Why am I not surprised?

    Apple is upto their usual "See no evil, Hear no evil" BS again....

  7. Mips
    Childcatcher

    It is not just an Apple problem

    This issue stems from the crappy standard of copper used to make wire today and the fact that the gauge of wire is too big. If you bend the wire too much it breaks and then wears through the insulation. Next thing you know you have a direct connection to God. The problem can affect any appliance made from about 1985 onwards, the risk is greatest from handhelds like hair-driers, electric irons and vacuum cleaners. All items mostly used by women and most likely to be neglected until the obvious happens. Yes, people have been killed.

    Right! I am off my soapbox now.

  8. dssf

    For this perfidy of refusing to extend the replacement to non-USA owners...

    There should be a manufacturer or a bunch of PC and other hardware manufacturers who bust any patent on the magnetic power cord.

    Waterboilers, coffeepots, and other electrical devices have had them for YEARS. It should not matter that Applie applied the technology to laptops. The fact that they may have special filters and wiring patterns and braiding also should not be patentable. Clothing irons and just about any heavy, fragile, or fire-start-capable electrical appliances have specially-braided wiring, too. The fact that a laptops requires very clean and stable signals and power is a fact of physics/electrical/electronics life, not something that Apple magically discovered through brute application of research. It's smart, yes, and maybe even fashionable, too. But, it is not something that only ONE computer maker should enjoy.

    Such a cord would once and for all nix the stupid 2-inch-orso lugs that stick out of HP laptops. I dinged and smacked mine enough times that I think my last-year's $700 Pavillion may not have much of a power connect point in another year or so. So, deep, intense infuration that EVERY HP model I've looked at for the past 3 years seems to have that stupid lenght of extension out of the case (like several other mfrs of laptops) was one of the 3 primary reasons that this year my next laptop was most decidedly NOT an HP. It became another Gateway, a company I *SWORE* I'd never return to for a laptop. Several other brands (HP, Sony, Toshiba, Dell, and a few others) were also nixed off my list for that. I found in Gateway the L-shaped plug I needed.

    Whether on a train, plane, bus or at my desk, the damned thing on the HP and other laptops can come too many times to being bumped or the wire end excessively bent. It's almost as if most of them want damage to happen to justify their ability to sell more units. However, i suppose some electrical wizard will say electrical properties demand a straight-out pin in the case (situation) of laptops.

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