Frayed, Broken MacBook Pro Magsafe 60W Adapter Blues

Thinking of buying a MacBook Pro? Is it worth it? Well, it's sort of like buying a luxury car, with the exorbitant bills to fix it if something goes wrong.

And something did indeed go wrong with mine.

I bought my MacBook Pro in January 2013. My adapter cable casing broke and frayed at the end close to the square transformer. I figured this out while I was charging my Macbook Pro and I smelled something burning. The break point was not subject to unusual strain. I've only taken the Macbook on the road a handful of times.

Selling adapters that have a tendency to fray and break at a cost ranging from $69 to $99 is robbery. Apple knows that these cables break frequently (with any given "genius" witnessing five of these breakages a day), and yet when the customer returns with a cable for out of warranty service, the charge for the replacement cable makes a tidy profit for Apple.

Someone has even capitalized on the inherent tendency to fray with creating a special protective overlay!!! The "frayfix." WHY, I ask, why is that necessary? Why doesn't Apple build that kind of strength into the cable in the first place?! Where is the stress relief? It's not like I haven't already paid a 100% premium to buy this computing power in the Apple version vs. PC, that they had insufficient money to build some quality into the adapter cable.

For previous versions of this type of cable there was a successful class action lawsuit in the U.S.

The "genius" insisted that I surrender my frayed adapter for "recycling" when selling me a new adapter for $69. He said that I would have to pay the full price of $99 for the adapter plus cord if I did not surrender my frayed adapter. So this image is all I have left. As far as I know, $69 is more than a fair price for just the adapter and not even the cord connecting to the electrical outlet. You can buy clone adapter+cords on eBay or Amazon starting at $17 for the adapter PLUS the cord.

I wanted to keep my old adapter and cord to fix it and use at home. Now I can't. Apple can re-use the parts in refurbished computers, generating further profit. I, on the other hand, paid an inflated price for an adapter that certainly results in yet more profit for Apple. This reeks of profiteering on Apple's own faulty products!

And... there is only a 90 day warranty on the new cable. That sure shows confidence in your product, Apple.

Knowing the next cable is likely to fray, you can wrap a pen spring around the base of the cable.

So, keep in mind that if you buy an Apple product, you agree to pay another $100 down the road to keep using it if you plan to have it more than two years.

Update: October 29, 2017.

This week by cable broke again, despite my winding a pen spring around the base of the cable. It broke in precisely the same spot. If I hold it in a certain position, it can still charge.

After putting electrical tape on the joint, I put a bubble tea straw over the joint and used scotch tape to keep it in place.