Best replacement for MacBook Air MagSafe 2 cable (OEM or 3rd party?)

Question

My MagSafe 2 cable for my 2012 MacBook Air stopped working. Took it into Apple store where I had bought my MacBook Air, and sure enough it was the excessive cat chew marks that had degraded it*. Can some old pros give me some advice on whether or not I should bite the bullet and pay $80.00 at the Apple store for a new one, or are there 3rd party alternatives that work reasonably well? I have already been told that I might as well get a 85 watt cable in case I get a MacBook Pro in the future (That is a possibility!).

On a very related note, are the power cables repairable? I don't have much sodering knowledge, but I work in a place that does. Is it straight forward? Perhaps for the price of a beer I could solve the problem.

*Money for repairs will be coming out of the cat's allowance! I have also bought some spray that supposedly puts cats off chewing. Hopefully that will work out...

Answer 1

The Apple cables appear to be designed to safely melt without starting a fire in cases where the internal insulation breaks down in case of crushing, slicing, piercing (kittens are even worse than cats in this regard) or simply worn out due to repetitive bending in the same spot.

I've seen people decide to use cords when lightly damaged - sealing the cable with electrical tape. Since the voltage is low on the MagSafe side of the cord, this is more a heat/fire risk than a shock risk. The MagSafe board on the Mac usually protects your hardware from any sort of short - and it also is replaceable if it's fusing blows.

I have on rare occasion seen some nice third party adapters that work with MagSafe connections - but none yet on MagSafe 2. I have seen far, far more dangerous adapters than safe ones.

The worst part of counterfeit adapters is that they typically carry the same "safety" markings as a quality electronics adapter. Having a short on the transformer side of things is a very much larger fire and shock hazard. Unless you are using the adapter in an environment where a small fire could reasonably be contained without undue risk to finances or life, you might avoid using a third party adapter if you are not skilled at evaluating electronics for build quality.

I've been well served by buying Apple adapters in terms of reliability and safety, despite the higher cost. I know many that have had good luck with quality third party adapters, but wanted to explain the why and how it could be dangerous since some third party adapters are dangerous to use.

Answer 2

My 2¢: Purchase OEM.

Apple's chargers (along with everything else, it may seem) are remarkably expensive, but of anything, from what I have seen, there is a reason for it. When it comes to the life-blood of the computer, charging it with something that could potentially harm the entire system is quite a risk. It would be sad to save ~$40 only to have $1000+ worth of equipment fail for some reason.

Unrelated iPhone charger review (but maybe related):

www.phonearena.com

iFixit message post:

www.ifixit.com/what-kind-of-charger

Neither of those links are very impressive, but you may find what at least some people think about Apple's chargers interesting.

For the new charger (either OEM or third party), I wouldn't worry too much about the higher wattage, unless the price is almost exactly the same, or the higher wattage unit is more available. If you purchase a Macbook Pro, it will come with a power cable as well.

Answer 3

Apple doesn't license the MagSafe connector so any 3rd party adapters will be illegal knockoffs, which if they cause other problems with your laptop, those will not be covered by Apple. I would strongly recommend you just buy an Apple adapter.

While possible your coworkers could fix it, it won't be easy for them. It is more than just a simple power cable. It has many wires for communication between the laptop and the power adapter brick.

Answer 4

It's not worth trying to repair the damaged adapter, even if you manage to find someone skilled enough to repair a damaged cable its very likely to fail later. Buy a new one from Apple or even better locate a local authorised Apple service provider.