4 ms·

Every charger had the cable completely break apart at the connection to the brick, because stress relief ruined the pretty minimalist design. I had one

Every charger had the cable completely break apart at the connection to the brick, because stress relief ruined the pretty minimalist design. I had one of these. Mine didn't break. A lot of them broke, to be sure - but that's because the users don't understand that a multiwire cable isn't a shoelace and shouldn't have knots and zero-radius bends inflicted on it.

rectang 7y ago
I've always been careful with my magsafe chargers, and I'm a former recording studio engineer so I'm not a newbie about cables and strain relief. However, using my laptop on my lap provided too much exercise. The insulation on every magsafe I've ever owned has failed eventually. These things were spec'd to go on table tops and then never move. It's a crying shame because otherwise magsafe was a really elegant design.
catalogia 7y ago
You don't have to be careful with laptop charging cables from any other manufacturer. This is not a problem intrinsic to multiwire cables. It's a problem limited to cables from this particular manufacturer. You could strangle an elephant with a charging cable from Dell or Lenovo and the cable would be none the worse for wear.
riffraff 7y ago
the problem is not just when you wrap it, is that if you move the cable in any way (say, move your laptop around, trip on the cable, etc), it will bend in that spot. If you tie up your cable in the loop-up-then-down-then-sidewise it will improve things, but then you will put it in your bag and it will bend at that spot anyway as soon as some pressure is applied on the up-loop. This is why every manufacturer uses strain relief, including apple now. Saying "users are using the product the wrong way!" is the epitome of form over function.
asdff 7y ago
I'm convinced the heating of the brick is a contributing factor to the cable 'sliding out' near the brick. I treat my charging cables like they are made of spiderwebs and I'm on my third magsafe.
- catalogia 7y ago
  I try to keep the brick laying flat on my tile floor for this reason. The tile surface is a reasonably effective and convenient heat sink; moreso than a carpet floor or wood table anyway. I wish they'd just make these things properly.

rectang 7y ago

I've always been careful with my magsafe chargers, and I'm a former recording studio engineer so I'm not a newbie about cables and strain relief. However, using my laptop on my lap provided too much exercise. The insulation on every magsafe I've ever owned has failed eventually. These things were spec'd to go on table tops and then never move. It's a crying shame because otherwise magsafe was a really elegant design.

catalogia 7y ago

You don't have to be careful with laptop charging cables from any other manufacturer. This is not a problem intrinsic to multiwire cables. It's a problem limited to cables from this particular manufacturer. You could strangle an elephant with a charging cable from Dell or Lenovo and the cable would be none the worse for wear.

riffraff 7y ago

the problem is not just when you wrap it, is that if you move the cable in any way (say, move your laptop around, trip on the cable, etc), it will bend in that spot. If you tie up your cable in the loop-up-then-down-then-sidewise it will improve things, but then you will put it in your bag and it will bend at that spot anyway as soon as some pressure is applied on the up-loop. This is why every manufacturer uses strain relief, including apple now. Saying "users are using the product the wrong way!" is the epitome of form over function.

asdff 7y ago

I'm convinced the heating of the brick is a contributing factor to the cable 'sliding out' near the brick. I treat my charging cables like they are made of spiderwebs and I'm on my third magsafe.

catalogia 7y ago
I try to keep the brick laying flat on my tile floor for this reason. The tile surface is a reasonably effective and convenient heat sink; moreso than a carpet floor or wood table anyway. I wish they'd just make these things properly.