Unibody MacBook Pro catch a fire, owner want no more trouble
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted May 20th 2009 11:41AM
posted May 20th 2009 11:41AM
As if you needed further proof that Apple is the favorite company of firebugs everywhere, unibody MacBook Pro owner Ken Brinkman has snapped some pics of his spontaneously combusting MagSafe cable. Apparently, he was fast asleep at 1:30 AM this morning when the smell of burning plastic caught his attention. Luckily, the young man is safe as of this post -- but the condition of his data has yet to be determined. Once again, we implore you: does your MagSafe cable look like this? If so, get it replaced. And while you're at it, you may want to make sure you don't have any first gen iPod nanos laying around. We hear those things can be dangerous! Trust us, you'll be far better off listening to Natty Dread on your Zune. One more pic after the break.
Not Apple's fault.
/apple fanboy
lol.
They designed to make it that way.
but... but... the Apple Haters told me Engadget was totally on Apple's pay roll.
No Paul, that's you.
I have seen people at work wrap and bend their power cords in sharp 180 angles until they start to rip and fray around the connector area just like the picture above.
Yes Apple should have made the cable thicker so this wouldn't happen but come on people take care of your stuff!
oh.. yeah.. this Microsoft's fault, because they didn't do anything and invest into it..
Apple is always the angel which never has problems caused by it... they are perfect
sarcasm....
Whose fault is it then? They designed it...
right.
the Pinto wasnt Ford's fault either.
@ Paul A. Troll
Dont worry your little heart. Engadget is still firmly committed to Apple as always.
One story sneaking through every few months doesn't balance out the daily bias that you come to know and deny exists.
When the Pre and Win7 are released they wont let you down.
The guy who shows up in EVERY Apple post to say something negative is calling me a troll? I bet you go into a rage every time Apple has a record breaking quarter, despite your constant bitching.
Look_Around_You: All of Apple's products burst into flame. Every single one of them. Because obviously less than .01% is a vast majority of all Apple products. Also, nobody else's products ever have any problems, *especially* Microsoft products.
/braindead Apple hater
You're both annoying trolls.
@Look_Around_You
If you think Engadget is SO fucking biased, fuck off, nobody is going to miss you. Don't worry!
@Paul A. Chapel
Learn that Apple isn't all the technology in the world, and this is a gadgetry blog, although you may appreciate them, they do have plenty of flaws you seem to overlook quite eagerly.
...I don't know why I bothered.
Sheesh, I was just joking around. People around here take the apple/MS discussion way to seriously. The bottom line is that Apple makes some nice computers...and so do other companies who utilize the Windows OS. A lot of the 'problems' are really just a difference of opinion, need , desire, or want. Now a laptop power connector catching on fire is a pretty big deal, but the cord was probably starting to fall apart already and the dude ignored it, but the fact is we don't know.
@Paul I am seriously considering getting a macbook for my next laptop but you were not the one to convince me. I am not (potentially) getting a macbook because of "fanboy" attitudes, I am getting one IN SPITE of the 'fanboy' mentality. I have seen you make logical (convincing) statements in the past, let's just be intellectually honest with our selves in the future. Okay? ;)
I laugh at all these guys who complain about an Apple bias, because they're the guys that make Apple posts popular.
Engadget doesn't have an Apple bias, Engadget has a click bias. If you mention Apple, the Apple Haters will come and will bring wine... I mean, whine. I'm actually grateful to people like Look_Around_You (seriously, that is a really dumb name) because they guarantee that Apple news will be posted, no matter how trivial.
So here's to the crazy Apple Haters.
The conformists.
The monopolists.
The square pegs in the square holes.
You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,
disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
But they keep Apple in the news.
Thank you.
"Look_Around_You: All of Apple's products burst into flame. Every single one of them. Because obviously less than .01% is a vast majority of all Apple products. Also, nobody else's products ever have any problems, *especially* Microsoft products."
Wow, because that's what I indeed posted THOUSANDS of times, right? That all of Apple's stuff bursts into flames, and MS products are completely problem free.
That's the mentality of Apple fanatics. Sorry if I dont subscribe to the same.
"@Look_Around_You
If you think Engadget is SO fucking biased, fuck off, nobody is going to miss you. Don't worry!"
#1 People who are too stupid to not know how to discount bias stop reading.
#2 Engadget isnt all Apple/MS/Palm/RIM. So for the bias that comes up in those stories, the rest of the site is unreadable?
Look_Around_You, just like everyone else I agree that your nickname is really bad, and Microsoft does not make laptops, they make SOFTWARE (most of the time(excluding XBOX)), and you know what software don't burst in fire. and guess what Apple's cables do, and that is the end of the story.
/absolute pure apple hater
Look_Around_You:
"Wow, because that's what I indeed posted THOUSANDS of times, right?"
Yep. In exactly the same way that I "indeed posted" "Not Apple's fault" thousands of times. Right? Are you getting it yet or are you still being thick about it?
Your strawman "Apple fanboys always say this" half-wit tirades along with your tendency to ignore all the problems PC and Windows have is the mentality of braindead Apple hating bottom feeders like yourself. Sorry if I don't subscribe to the same.
"Look_Around_You, just like everyone else I agree that your nickname is really bad, and Microsoft does not make laptops, they make SOFTWARE (most of the time(excluding XBOX)), and you know what software don't burst in fire. and guess what Apple's cables do, and that is the end of the story.
/absolute pure apple hater"
Ok, If English isn't your first language, then I apologize for not being able to make heads or tails of what you just wrote.
If English is, then wow. Just wow.
actually it is my 4th language...
@sacapuntas, who said: "I have seen you make logical (convincing) statements in the past, let's just be intellectually honest with our selves in the future. Okay?"
Well, thank you for your kind words, but I must remind people here, that I AM A FREAKING PC USER and have been for years. I have a MacBook Pro okay, and... yeah, I bought a new iMac the other day, but that's all. That's the only Apple products I have. I have three ancient PCs that I still use... okay, I don't really use them. But I'm a big fan of XP. Or I was.
Anyway, I'm not at all biased, but I know a good thing when I use it, and I have to say, after years of PCs, my Macs are the best purchases I've ever made.
"Yep. In exactly the same way that I "indeed posted" "Not Apple's fault" thousands of times. Right? Are you getting it yet or are you still being thick about it?"
Wha? Who the hell is even talking about you to begin with?
Is there like something in the water supply of some of the posters here today?
"Your strawman "Apple fanboys always say this" half-wit tirades along with your tendency to ignore all the problems PC and Windows have is the mentality of braindead Apple hating bottom feeders like yourself. Sorry if I don't subscribe to the same."
You really aren't making a lick of sense. Are you saying that you are an actually one of those nutcase Apple fanboys? And are you seriously saying with a straight face that I actually pretend that PC and Windows are problem free?
Wow, I dont know what's more bizarre, you or the guy that cant speak English.
Eh man, I'm sure it doesn't happen that often but when it does happen to an Apple product I find it damn funny.
And how do we know if this isn't another Ballmer stunt getting people to say it and setting up or maybe just another way to try and get a lawsuit. I just don't buy it unless it was purposely done.
YES!!!
MICROSOFTRULEZ!!!!
first post fan boy fights FTL.
Can't you losers just agree to disagree? Guess what? I used my Mac this morning while my wife was using our Acer (PC). OH NO, we have both! That's umpossible!
I just have to say, you are all funny. But we're not laughing with you, we're laughing at you.
Paul, haven't you noticed that everyone already hates you from the FUD you were spreading during the release if Windows 7? That your posts are being buried even when they don't say anything stupid?
Look_Around, if you hate the "Apple bias" on this site, the thing you should do is never click on an Apple post again. Because by clicking and commenting and inciting discussion, you are causing page views and driving traffic to the very thing you hate.
Zak, you are probably the longest running Apple fanboy I've ever seen on this site. I've never once seen you post anything even remotely close to negative about Apple...and come to think about it, I can't remember the last of your comments I've seen outside of an Apple article.
All of your opinions suck, and you should all be ashamed for being so stupid.
It's kind of hard to use both OSes though. I tried for a while, because I wanted to convince myself that I was completely objective, so I continued to use my XP comps for games. But then I found out that you could play Valve games on a Mac using Crossover Games by CodeWeavers. I play Team Fortress 2 pretty compulsively.
After that, there wasn't anything left to do on my PC that I couldn't do on my Mac and my Mac doesn't look like a plastic piece of junk with a loud fan and ugly Wintel stickers. So I've been completely Mac for several months now.
@curtisrutland, who said: "...your posts are being buried even when they don't say anything stupid?"
Dude, really, I could care less. You think I come here and speak the truth because I want to win a popularity contest? Oh no, I got low ranked by a few MS fanboys who I will never meet and wouldn't want to meet, even if I had the chance. I'm so crushed.
/s
And by the way, I guarantee you that low ranked posts get read more than ordinary posts, because people want to know why the guy got low ranked, so it's really stupid way to deter people from posting. In fact, I ALWAYS read the low ranked comments before anything else. High ranked comments are always pretty boring, because they tow the party line, whether it's Apple or Microsoft or Dell or Sony.
Look_Around_You: Yes, I know. Logic scares and confuses you. Let me see if I can make it clear for you using smaller words.
"Wha? Who the hell is even talking about you to begin with?"
Your first post was signed /apple fanboy, a standard straw man generalization used by people who aren't smart enough to come up with actual arguments. You regard me as an Apple fanboy, yes? Then by this point it should be pretty clear that you were talking about me. Right? Because I'm the typical Apple fanboy you're referring to?
Unless, of course, you would like to tell me that I'm not an Apple fanboy. I would love to see you say that.
"You really aren't making a lick of sense. Are you saying that you are an actually one of those nutcase Apple fanboys? And are you seriously saying with a straight face that I actually pretend that PC and Windows are problem free?"
Hahaha. You really are slow, aren't you? YOU are saying I'm one of those nutcase Apple fanboys, because that's what you have called me in the past, and how you respond to my posts. Again, please prove me wrong by saying I'm not an Apple fanboy. No really, go for it.
The PCs and Windows being problem free thing was a response to your accusation that Apple fanboys never admit to problems with Apple hardware or software. In simpler terms, I'm using your "logic" to show you how stupid your post was. You're an Apple hater, therefore you are a Microsoft apologist who believes that Windows and PCs don't have problems. Does that argument look familiar? It should, since that's the one you're using to label Apple fanboys.
The fact that I have to explain this to you is pretty telling. You're about as sharp as a flat tire. Maybe you should stick to simpler stupid comments like ME NO LIKE MAC, ME SMASH.
"It's kind of hard to use both OSes though."
Yes moving from my sofa to my PC room is an absolute bind.
Engadget loves Apple its not a secret Paul
I agree that the Engadget writers love Apple, but it's not because Apple pays them what to write, it's because they are educated. They use hundreds of gadgets every year and yet, most of them admit that they are Mac users or at least have Apple products.
And why would a discriminating tech writer use Mac products above literally hundreds of other gadgets they've reviewed? Because they're better. It's so obvious. There's no way to get around it.
uh.. pardon me but isn't it the general belief that Look_Around_You, Zak, and Paul A. Chapel are the same troll?
They've one-upped golem here witht he multiple personalities shit.
I guess the MagSafe turned out to be not so safe anymore.
Guys, STFU. This shit is getting boring. Every company errs; if this err happens to affect you, praise the Lord for the introduction of the mother-fucking-warranty.
@Look_Around_You, Paul, and Zak.
I'm going to address Zak first: After clicking through a few pages of your history and seeing that you have posted ONLY on pages that have to do with Apple, with you continuously defending everything Apple and mocking/ deriding others about their opinion against Apple (even if it is justified with evidence), I believe that I can reasonably conclude that you are indeed an Apple fanboy. And straw man arguments? You should know all about them. You pick apart people's statements and then take them out of context so that you can use them to make the original poster seem stupid.
Also, paranoia ("Your first post was signed /apple fanboy, a standard straw man generalization used by people who aren't smart enough to come up with actual arguments. You regard me as an Apple fanboy, yes? Then by this point it should be pretty clear that you were talking about me. Right? Because I'm the typical Apple fanboy you're referring to?") can be treated by a medical professional. When someone posts something on the internet, it shouldn't be taken as a personal offense. Maybe the guy was trying to make a joke. (Why so serious?, Teh interwebs are serious business, and whatnot)
I bet the problem is that logic is too hard for you. People who are logical very rarely have to resort to insults and condescension, as their logic usually speaks for itself. What you're doing is like wiggling out of a checkmate by shouting "your mom" insults. You can't.
The problem is that you simply do not get the fact that people are allowed to have OPINIONS! And guess what? You aren't allowed to tell them that their opinions are wrong! That's like someone saying "I like cheese," and you coming along and saying, "You're stupid for liking cheese and you are no longer allowed to like it any more!"
"Unless, of course, you would like to tell me that I'm not an Apple fanboy. I would love to see you say that."
Did you just admit that you WERE indeed an Apple fanboy? Excellent. Moving on.
@everyone else who is getting low ranked
Everyone speaks in absolutes. There are shades of gray to every situation. Surprise!
Acknowledge the fact that nobody is perfect. Allow for some healthy debate that doesn't turn into hurtful tirades like some of Zak and Paul's earlier postings. AND FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, WHEN YOU'VE STATED YOUR OPINION, DON'T FEEL THE NEED TO POST IT IN EVERY ARTICLE!
Oh, and Look_Around_You, take a less argumentative stand and you may get more up-votes. (That goes for the other two, but mostly you, as they have more serious issues to work out)
Thank you.
Mike10010100
engadget is biased towards apple. but hey, it attracts more apple fanbois AND apple haters to the site to complain.
if you guys don't like it, should move onto http://technet.microsoft.com/ or cnet.com - maybe they are more fair there. no one is forcing you guys to come here.
or just go to the 'apple-free' engadget edition. BUT we all know you guys wouldn't do that, because you just want to complain and cause arguements and nerd fights
Sigh.
Morons with opinions.
Holy Smokes!
That's not the FireWire port…
"Unibody MacBook Pro catch a fire, owner want no more trouble"
what kind of engrish is this?
you raff you ruse!
The best kind?
It's Olde Sarcastronic Englishe.
Maybe they were gonna break out in song, "My Macbook is a burning ring of fire, Magsafe cord fried and the flames went higher, and it burns, burns burns, the Macbook fire, the Macbook fire"
www.engrish.com
Have fun!
I think Engrifarian would be more correct, jah?
raff out roud!
No one listens to the classics anymore? He's referencing Bob Marley and the Wailer's album "Catch a Fire" which also has the song "No More Trouble" on it.
Bad times!
Not really, as we all know that People who use Apple laptops never do any real work.. all they do is share loser photoes of themselves
ahahah
I don't have a Unibody MacBook Pro, but I have the first generation MacBook Pro. After 2 years of use, my MagSafe adapter was frayed at the end from pulling on the chord to unplug it from my MacBook Pro. So I walked into an Apple Authorized Service Provider and showed them the MagSafe adapter. They handed me a new one with no questions asked and all was well.
I did learn a lesson: pull the MagSafe adapter out of the MacBook Pro by the square head rather than the cable.
I always thought those MagSafe cables looked a little flimsy, especially at the point where the cable meets the connector...
Wonder when Laptop PCs will copy this feature...
/sarcasm
It's not a fault, it's an undisclosed feature!
r3loaded is right. This is actually a feature for all them Eskimos out there in their igloos. Do some research, people!
I always MacBooks were flamin.
looks like your using the same writing style as the article.
What I don't even
that not I said
Apple should make the cable of a higher gauge and make sure it enters the plug at a right angle from the back of the Macbook.
You mean a lower gauge? Higher gauge means thinner cable....
Generally you say "larger gauge" to avoid exactly this problem.
I've dissected the MBP power supply (because my dog ate the cord).
The cord is plenty thick enough, and doesn't get warm. The brick also doesn't get that warm. Without many times the standard current going through that wire that pic on top in impossible. I'd say that even if this was a Del or a Sony.
It would take a huge defect on the part of Apple to allow this to happen. A total short circuit across the pins on the connector would probably do it, but would smoke the brick too...
Also, if you look at the photo, that black spot on the corner does not match up with the scenario described. That scorching had to be external, and I cannot see how it happened as the guy described.
My only theory on this has to do with a Bic and a publicity seeker...
I've had two of these power supply cords break on me right near the head in the same spot. I dunno how what happened to this guy occurred, but I'd say there's plenty of room to say the cord is not designed to be durable enough. Yes, that probably means it's "too thin" (to describe it in shorthand).
I have seen people at work wrap and bend their power cords in sharp 180 angles until they start to rip and fray around the connector area just like the picture above.
Yes Apple should have made the cable thicker so this wouldn't happen but come on people take care of your stuff!!!
how such evilness to blend a cable.
Yeah, it must be the user's fault that that picture of the cable above is all ripped and frayed.
There couldn't be any other culprit, like say, a high-heat source being applied directly to the cable...
mines fine :) until my room spontaneously combusts one early morning while im asleep and i melt in a fire
Oh goodness, I was reading Simple English Wikipedia (for laughs) right before reading this article. My brain is broken. This makes it not work. This is bad.
take this shit with a grain of salt.Especially since you don't know if the guy rigged this to get a high current into the cable just to get some new shit or to sue.
I would like to see someone video tape a bunch of unibody macs, plugged in, to see if they catch fire like this.
That's the scientific way.
On Gizmodo they have a full gallery of cases, enjoy yourself.
mines fine :) until my room spontaneously combusts one early morning while im asleep and i melt in a fire
It's not fine... It causes you to double post on engadget... Or is that just a new "feature"?
actually im at work right now on a "nice" toshiba tecra. who the hell makes a laptop with only 1 control key??? cuz now that control key is broken and i fail at copy and pasting thing, making stuff bold, and control+f -ing things.
pos
i wish i had my macbook
It just self-immolates!
with revolutionary magsafe connection, your laptop will never fall from the table when someone trips on your cable.
but it may burst into flames to get you into the barbecue season
Seriously, Macs are so buggy. Does anyone really use these any more?
No. Now go back to sleep and when you wake up all the evil Mac users will be gone, and life will be absolutely perfect.
i have had to replace my iphone cable 5 times out of pocket because it looks worse than the before pics of this charger yet apple wont give me a free replacement
Bravo, title author. Bravo!
in that apple ads, the guy should turn to the mac guy and ask for a machine that doesnt crash or cause him trouble, then the mac guy should go away too.
I am on my fourth magsafe for my 1st Gen Macbook. The last one that went out, ruined my battery when it "popped". I am way out of warranty, so I get no love from Apple. So basically my Macbook is no longer portable. Disappointing, but I still own three ipods and an iphone all of which I am very happy with.
Apple, if you read this, and want to help me...please contact me.
The fact that that many cables shorted out on you makes me think it's more a problem with the port in the computer than the actual cables.
Lol love the Bob references.
Hi Mac, Hi Meagan,
Be careful together!
MagUnsafe
ahahah i am funny
MagSafe on fire will now counter PlaysForSure in todays doublespeak.
Maybe the guy plugged it in the 'firewire' port?
wink wink
wow, a few dozen cases out of the 20 million mag safe adaptors made over the years. What a shitty, low-quality company. I mean, really. Apple should seriously take a look at their quality control. A failure rate of .00000000000001 is utterly unacceptable. I'm trading in my Macbook for that shitbox Giampaolo bought in that lapop hunters commercial.
Perhaps instead of trading in your macbook for another laptop, you should trade it in for a course in Basic Human Interaction.
A subject of which you clearly have no knowledge.
Maybe the "catch fire and burn you and your entire family in your sleep" failure rate is that low, but Apple's quality in general has been shoddy as of late.
If the failure can kill you, it's not acceptable - specially in a computer that aims to be friend to the tech-impaired public, have cutting-edge disgn and less problematic that their rivals
And it can be a LOT more than 20 cases. Just because a small bunch of people report a problem it doesn't mean that a lot more people don't have it.
Oh no!
The article has awoken the dynamic duo of Captain Defensive and The Irrelevant Comparison!
verythrax - seriously? Were you not aware that virtually every single thing you come in contact with over the course of an average day has a chance to kill you? You can die in your car, your toaster can kill you, subway accident, you can choke on your food, you can even have a heart attack and die on the spot.
Furthermore, failure rates of other products are generally much higher than Apple's, but Apple gets more coverage because everybody loves to see Apple fail at something. If you're going to make unreasonable demands like "it needs to have a 0% failure rate" then you should probably go back to school and learn about how things work in the real world.
No, not just a few ones. Many people who had failed adapters dont come screaming to engadget. My own magsafe failed within the first year of buying my black early 2008 macbook. I think that mag(un)safe is a piece of crappy engineering.
PC: Hi, I'm a PC
MAC: And I catch on Fire
LOL
mmmm RROD
PC: Hi I'm a PC
MAC: and I'm a mac
PC: so MAC I heard you just installed a new app
MAC: yeah it's called iCombust
I picked up my 3rd Apple laptop equipped with a magsafe power connector yesterday, so I consider myself familiar with the product.
Frayed power cables have been a fire hazard since their inception, so these should be no surprise. But, I can't figure out how people are causing the damage shown in the photos. Frayed cables are typically the product of abuse, namely removing a plug by pulling on the cord instead of the connector. I've found that my magsafe cables will actually get knocked out of their socket with a force that seems almost inconveniently low. What kind of abuse are these being subjected to?