Charger catches fire!

Im in a lecture, typing away when there's a flash from the transformer bit and the very end of the charger where it connects to the macbook is on fire!

I took the charger in to my local Apple centre and they said i would need to send it off and that id be without it for up to 4 weeks, errr pretty useless since my macbook had 1.5 hours of battery life and i use it on a daily basis for uni, work and person stuff.

They also informed me that my warranty ran out 2 days before so its unlikely it would be replaced. So £65 down and i have a new charger.

Rubbish! Only real downer on what has been a pleasurable year of ownership and i dont regret for one minute getting rid of my Vaio!

That's surprisingly dismal service by Apple if you ask me. Your laptop just about catches fire because your AC adaptor short-circuits (whose fault is that?), and you're only 2 days beyond the warranty period (I've had a car mfr replace a faulty transmission when I was 2 months out of warranty and the replacement cost was $3K), and given the cost of the adaptor, they could have just given you a new one!

I don't know about UK, but here in the US you can buy a charger at Best Buy and return it within 30 days for a full refund. That could help you for the time your charger is at Apple for repair.

a4 abt said:

I don't know about UK, but here in the US you can buy a charger at Best Buy and return it within 30 days for a full refund. That could help you for the time your charger is at Apple for repair.

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Apple is notorious for treating UK customers like they're second class.

US customers get great treatment, but I know the UK got shafted in the service department.

There has been many issues with the Mag Safe and AC Adapter. It was a known fact by Apple. They should give you a new one without an issue.

Derek McNelly said:

Apple is notorious for treating UK customers like they're second class.

US customers get great treatment, but I know the UK got shafted in the service department.

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TELL ME BOUT IT! I've had many a problem; which i have read similar if not identical stories of online, the only difference is the outcome! here in bend-me-over-britain, we have the WORST customer service people in history!

Credit to you US store assistants you actually make shopping a pleasurable experience!

I had an ibook and my cousin had a powerbook and both of our adapters also started smoking once while we were using it. We were both out of warrenty but I just thought that it was ridiculous. We went to one apple store and the guy is like "this is a binary issue". Than went to another apple store they gave us both two used power adapters. Better than nothing I guess but whats up with the whole binary thing? Apple is great when you have warranty but if your up, even by a day, they are useless. They really need to make their warranty more than 1 year.

It sounds like the consumer protection laws here in the U.S. are more pro-consumer. If Apple were to give consumers a hard time about what clearly sounds to me like a defective electrical component, and one that could catch fire, you can bet that the government would investigate and require a complete recall. And if the government didn't require it, I'm sure that the many dozens of predatory plaintiffs attorneys that infest the U.S. would be circling around Apple like sharks to force a recall.

i have a question regarding this, since i have a theory.

do you ever, or did you ever really connect the charger without inspecting it first? the way the thing is designed it seems it would be very easy to short circuit the connections with debris. i check mine every single time i connect mine, especially if i know the end has had the opportunity to come in contact with dirt/dust/etc.

I know this is a little bit morbid, but, umm, do you happen to have any pictures of the charger?

I know this is way after the fact, but I just discovered that my 12" ibook G4 battery had a recall when trying to figure out why it won't hold a charge anymore. I thought I had checked on this when it was in the news a few years ago, but when I just happened to follow a link while troubleshooting on the net, I found my battery and laptop are included in the recall. I always thought it got too hot but just monitored it really carefully when I checked for a recall the first time. It seems likely that if the battery is malfunctioning that it could cause arcs and/or excess heat at the connections of the adapter cord to the laptop and to the adapter brick. There are a lot of complaints on the net about the adapters getting hot, catching fire, but perhaps they are not defective, it's the batteries. I am surprised that Apple is not under obligation to notify customers individually of severe safety issues such as this - I just found out randomly. I would strongly suggest everyone who is not aware of this check on the Apple site under support/ibook. On the right is a link for battery exchange. There is a listing of the battery serial numbers that qualify. If you qualify you can easily order the new battery online - you don't have to send your old one in until you get the new one, and shipping is free.

Im in Canada and Ive had so many issues with my Mac. Ive called Apple at least 15 times for different issues and I've had my MacBook for about 6 months. I even have the three year waranty and i STILL get treated like crap. The service is actually making me consider buying a PC next time because of all the problems I've had with them.

shortyrulesall said:

The service is actually making me consider buying a PC next time because of all the problems I've had with them.

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Your going to have problems with a PC too.

Holy crap talk about a fire hazard

MacMyk said:

I had an ibook and my cousin had a powerbook and both of our adapters also started smoking once while we were using it. We were both out of warrenty but I just thought that it was ridiculous. We went to one apple store and the guy is like "this is a binary issue". Than went to another apple store they gave us both two used power adapters. Better than nothing I guess but whats up with the whole binary thing? Apple is great when you have warranty but if your up, even by a day, they are useless. They really need to make their warranty more than 1 year.

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Yeah, they definitely need to extend their warranty. It seems as if they make power adapters to only work for a year and after that they go bad so that they don't have to pay to replace it, we have to. That sucks bad. Apple likes to say "sorry we can't help you" or "you have to pay this and that". From my opinion that is!

Eric559 said:

Your going to have problems with a PC too.

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I've been using PCs all my life and I never have a problem with them, actually.

EORI said:

It sounds like the consumer protection laws here in the U.S. are more pro-consumer. If Apple were to give consumers a hard time about what clearly sounds to me like a defective electrical component, and one that could catch fire, you can bet that the government would investigate and require a complete recall. And if the government didn't require it, I'm sure that the many dozens of predatory plaintiffs attorneys that infest the U.S. would be circling around Apple like sharks to force a recall.

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Which definitely is a good thing!

shortyrulesall said:

Im in Canada and Ive had so many issues with my Mac. Ive called Apple at least 15 times for different issues and I've had my MacBook for about 6 months. I even have the three year waranty and i STILL get treated like crap. The service is actually making me consider buying a PC next time because of all the problems I've had with them.

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I'm not sure how close you are to the USA but if you are close you should come over just to go to our Apple stores. I actually take my things over to Canada if I have problems with any technology because they seem to know a little more.