Counterfeit Macbook charger teardown: convincing outside but dangerous inside

Re:Counterfeit Macbook charger teardown: convincing outside ... by joshvm on Monday March 21, 2016 @02:33AM (#11326558)

The problem is that every time my Macbook charger (I'm on my third in seven years, soon to get number 4 as this one is dying) has failed, it's not been the charger itself, it's crappy strain relief and thin cables. I'm happy to pay $65 for a new charger block, but when it's just the cable that's failed, I'm not getting value for money.

I bought a counterfeit charger once (on purpose) and gave up using it after it sparked while I was in bed. Having that protection circuitry is really useful when your whole laptop case is grounded.

I mentioned in another post, but this is why I'm excited for USB-C power delivery. Finally companies can deliver the AC mains cable, the power brick and the charging cable as separate replaceable components.

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Re:Counterfeit Macbook charger teardown: convincing outside ... by jackhack on Monday March 21, 2016 @11:27AM (#11328729)

>>it's crappy strain relief and thin cables.

Same experience here; the chargers are electronically long-lived, but cables fail for me within 2-3 years. Most recently, the rubber insulation disintegrated, and it wasn't due to strain. It just crumbled away.

I bought a replacement cable from Amazon for around $7 delivered and soldered it in place -- a 15 minute job. Only difficult part was cracking open the charger case.

Search (online retailer) for "magsafe 1|2 cable". Here's a link to the one I bought: http://www.amazon.com/ElementDigital-Lovely-Adapter-Connecto...

tl;dr If you can solder, replace the cable yourself. Heck, you could buy a solder station AND a replacement cable and still be ahead by a few dollars.

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Re:Counterfeit Macbook charger teardown: convincing outside ... by krrrh on Monday March 21, 2016 @06:23AM (#11327137)

It helps a lot to make a practice of wrapping the cable in a way that reduces stress. Apologies if you already do this, but maybe it will help someone else. Image here[1].

[1] http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/de/95/72/de9572cfef6e...

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Re:Counterfeit Macbook charger teardown: convincing outside ... by raihansaputra on Tuesday March 22, 2016 @04:28AM (#11335100)

i've been wrapping my cables in a strain-free way (similar to the way they ship it in the box) for the entire time i have used my charger and somehow the shielding near the charger still breaks. they definitely need better cables.

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Re:Counterfeit Macbook charger teardown: convincing outside ... by ChrisDutrow on Monday March 21, 2016 @02:38AM (#11326573)

I've seen the USB-C cables for sale and heard they are great, but don't know of any devices that use them yet. Do you know any devices that are using them yet?

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Re:Counterfeit Macbook charger teardown: convincing outside ... by f_allwein on Monday March 21, 2016 @04:50AM (#11326861)

The MacBook is: http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs/

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Re:Counterfeit Macbook charger teardown: convincing outside ... by joshvm on Monday March 21, 2016 @07:15AM (#11327308)

Alongside the 12" Macbook, there are a few ultrabooks that use it, notably the Google Chromebook Pixel and the Dell XPS 13.

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Re:Counterfeit Macbook charger teardown: convincing outside ... by soylentcola on Monday March 21, 2016 @10:29AM (#11328271)

Nexus 5X and 6P for starters.

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