Never do this to a MacBook's power supply. MagSafe repair. Magnetic Cable Replacement For MacBook and MacBook Pro with Removable Battery

In 2012, my good friend and active reader of the site Nikolai T. finally got married. For his wedding, we gave him a MacBook Pro with a Retina display, which is not bad even today.

Until 2018, he never thought about upgrading his laptop. Despite the fact that the body of the device is covered with scratches and even dents, it still works very well and copes with all tasks.

The only thing is that the laptop power supply cable with the 2nd generation MagSafe connector first frayed to holes, and the other day it refused to charge the computer. We're talking about repairing it..

We were offered to save on replacing the power supply

For a new power supply for the MacBook Pro Retina 2012 on the official Apple website they are asking RUB 5,790. A lot, so we decided to save money.

We jointly called a couple of local unofficial service centers with a question about repairing the power supply. I once heard that frayed cables can be easily replaced with new ones, and the laptop charger will last for another couple of years.

Indeed, many “cellars” offer a cable replacement service with a 2nd generation MagSafe connector. The issue price is up to 1 thousand rubles.

The power supply is opened, wiped pull out the lace, replace it with a Chinese analogue, the structure is sealed and fastened with ties for a couple of days so that it does not fall apart.

We decided we needed to try. At lunchtime we brought the power supply to the SC and left for a snack. An hour later they called us and said that everything was ready. They asked me to take my MacBook with me to check the power supply after repair.

We arrived, checked, everything works. They shook hands and ran away.

A repaired power supply nearly burned down the apartment

Late in the evening a message arrived from him in the format “Are you sleeping?!”, and after a negative answer the phone rang.

At the end of the day, he threw the MacBook Pro on the kitchen table, plugged it into the power supply, made sure it was charging, and went into another room to put the child to bed.

When I returned, there was no light in the kitchen, and there was a nasty smell of burnt plastic. More likely, a short circuit has occurred, so one machine gun was knocked out on the dashboard.

The smoking power supply immediately went into a trash can on the street. The laptop was not damaged, but the feeling of anxiety certainly did not leave him for another couple of days.

The moral is simple. Never repair MacBook power supplies using a makeshift method. If it breaks, buy a new one, don’t skimp on your safety.

Imagine that you put your laptop on charge and went to bed. After a short circuit, the power supply caught fire, and the flames spread from it to the carpet, table, furniture or curtains. I don’t even want to think about this.

After this story I fell in love with new power supplies again

After this story, I was once again convinced that Apple did the right thing with USB-C power supplies in the new MacBooks.

For 2015 and later MacBooks and 2016 and later MacBook Pros, you can disconnect the cable from the power supply and replace it with a new one. For example, I immediately bought myself a USB-C to USB-C lanyard from , so that it wouldn’t break.

Perhaps Apple engineers came to detachable cables It is precisely because of such basement SCs that endanger the lives of thrifty consumers.

In general, don’t repeat our mistakes and switch to the new MacBook Pro as soon as possible. They're awesome! ;)

Regular readers know that I often criticize the original Apple cables. Over the 7 years of using Apple technology, not a single wire has survived in its original form! Most often, the wire braid would slip off on its own, exposing the insides of the wire. As a result, on the site I began to recommend alternative wires from Ali. I also bought different heels for myself.

The other day I had another problem. My cable from the MacBook Pro has finally died. I rewound it with electrical tape 4 times in 6 years... This time the shielded wire at the charging point simply broke. I had to urgently understand the types of charging and look for a replacement. What did I learn? I’ll write about this below...

The most important information about the power adapter and cable for your MacBook

There is a website on the Apple website that will help you choose adapters. You can read it. I will highlight only 3 most important points. A very useful phrase that will help you understand whether a different type of adapter is right for you:

Mac notebook power adapters are available in 29W, 45W, 60W, 61W, 85W, and 87W power adapters. We recommend using an appropriately sized power adapter for each Mac notebook. Using a compatible, higher-wattage adapter will not interfere with your computer's functionality, but it will not reduce charging time or improve performance. Less than low wattage adapters do not provide sufficient power.

There are 3 types of adapters: USB-C, MagSafe 2, MagSafe 1. The services ask about L-type and T-type adapters. At the store where I ended up buying, the L-type was called the G-type. The type is determined by the shape of the connector, similar to the corresponding letter.

Where to buy a power adapter for MacBook?

The easiest option is to go to the Apple website and buy it there. Or from official resellers. The main problem is the price. All adapters cost 5790 rubles....
In my opinion, this is a lot... Let's move on to a cheaper option.

Find a store in your city that specializes in selling cables/power adapters and other accessories. I found this one on Avito. It turned out that there was a nice store in the city center that offered the adapter for 2200. In the end, I went there and they sold it to me for 1970.

But if replacing the adapter does not work, then you can buy an adapter on Aliexpress. I found only one store that does this. Their cost is 23-27 dollars, that is, around 1500 rubles. At first glance, there is only one disadvantage of non-original adapters - they heat up more than the original. There is a warning about this on the power supply.

Now attention! It’s one thing to buy Chinese cables, and another thing to buy power supplies. A week passed after purchasing the Chinese adapter, one fine evening my wife and I were watching the series “White Collar” on my laptop. And suddenly, unexpectedly, my adapter clicks strongly, something flashes inside it and the apartment plunges into darkness. It turned out that the power supply burned out and our plugs were knocked out. I got my 1970 rubles back under warranty and was almost ready to buy the original cable...

How to fix MagSafe

... But I came across instructions for disassembling the L-cable. It turns out that this is not difficult to do. The steps of the procedure look like this. I'll describe it in a little more detail.

Take pliers and a screwdriver. Using a screwdriver as a lever, remove the magnet that holds the cable to the laptop.

We pry the internal module with pliers and pull it out through the hole in the remaining tube.

We take a soldering iron for small jobs. I purchased it at a nearby store for 320 rubles. You can buy it in large construction stores for 170 rubles. Plus tin with rosin from 60 rubles.

We remember which side the internal core is attached to and which side the external core is attached to. Carefully unsolder the wire from the module. Next, we cut off a small piece of the cable so that both wires come out the same size (for me, the gap did not allow us to solder them together - I had to cut them off).

We assemble the L-block in reverse order.

We check - everything works.

As a result, my repair costs amounted to 380 rubles (and even then, there was simply no hoop) and 20 minutes of time.

Good luck everyone! And fewer low-quality wires. :)

A thin charging cable for a MacBook is sometimes a significant drawback of these computers. Made in such a way as not to spoil the elegance of the entire product, the wire in some (crooked) hands quickly frays and stops charging the laptop. The problem is far from fatal; it’s easy to fix the charger if you have an idea of ​​how it’s done.

You can fix your MacBook charger yourself.

All parts of the charger require careful handling both during use and during disassembly. Therefore, when the wire from a MacBook becomes frayed, many people simply take it for repair or buy a new one. But don’t think that you can’t cope with this problem without someone else’s help. If you've ever repaired grandma's old iron, you already have a fair idea of ​​how to repair electrical appliances. Charging is hardly different here.

Required Tools

Before disassembling the power supply, prepare the necessary tools:

• soldering iron and all accessories;
• pliers;
• wire cutters;
• pliers;
• stripping pliers;
• lighter;
• insulating tape.

This kit is quite enough to fix a broken wire.

Analysis of charging

Cable connection

Now you need to reconnect the two parts of the wire using a soldering iron.

This is the whole point of repairing charging for a MacBook when your cable is simply worn out. If you did everything correctly, the computer will charge without problems. Also pay attention to whether the newly connected part of the wire is heating up too much. The temperature may be higher than on the power supply, but not so much that the insulation melts - then it is better to actually have the charger repaired or buy a new one. Moreover, it will not cost that much if you take, for example, a used cable.

Other damage

A similar method cannot be used to fix the charger if the cable connecting to the laptop is damaged. It is thinner than the wire from the plug, and any defect in operation can seriously affect the computer battery. Therefore, this part is easier to simply replace.

IMPORTANT. The same can be said about the power supply itself. This white box has a very complex structure: Apple engineers even included various chips and microcircuits in it that are responsible for supplying electricity to the battery. It is unlikely that you will be able to repair this device, but you can make it worse!

The charger is intact, but the computer does not charge

In the end, it is not always the memory that is to blame. There are also problems in the MacBook itself. SMC systems that control the color of the indicator light may fail. In this case, power is supplied, but the device does not report this in any way.

This is easy to fix.

This action will reset the controller. After which the lights, if everything is OK with the charger, will light up.

Mechanical damage is usually revealed by external inspection. In the case of our power supply, the problem arose with the cable at the base of the magnetic connector. If the cable looks intact on the outside, it means there may be damage inside the insulation or connector.

Be careful and try not to use a faulty power supply, this can be dangerous for your laptop and your health!

Let's start replacing the cable with a new one. To do this, you will need to disassemble the power supply and replace the old cable with a new one by re-soldering it.

Step 2 - Disassembling the Power Supply

We open the brackets designed for winding the cable when transporting the unit. We insert the pliers as shown in the illustration and open them with a little force until the halves of the housing begin to separate from each other. We repeat the procedure on the other side.

Step 3 - Preparing the cable for desoldering

Step 4 - Preparing the cable for desoldering

Step 5 - Cable Cutting

Step 6 - Soldering the Cable

Step 7 - Assembling the Power Supply

For convenience, we used a Spudger tool to apply glue to one of the halves of the block.

Mechanical damage is usually revealed by external inspection. In the case of our power supply, the problem arose with the cable at the base of the magnetic connector. If the cable looks intact on the outside, it means there may be damage inside the insulation or connector.

Be careful and try not to use a faulty power supply, this can be dangerous for your laptop and your health!

Let's start replacing the cable with a new one. To do this, you will need to disassemble the power supply and replace the old cable with a new one by re-soldering.

Step 2 - Disassembling the Power Supply

We open the brackets designed for winding the cable when transporting the unit. We insert the pliers as shown in the illustration and open them with a little force until the halves of the housing begin to separate from each other. We repeat the procedure on the other side. Next, open the case completely.

Step 3 - Preparing the cable for desoldering

Step 4 - Preparing the cable for desoldering

Step 5 - Cable Cutting

Step 6 - Soldering the Cable

Black wire - to blue
White wire - to brown

Step 7 - Using Heat Shrink

Remember to place the tube on the wire before soldering.

Step 8 - Shrinking the Conduit

Step 9 - Preparing the block for assembly