The cases I received that caused by power adapter & battery are increasing at alarming rate, I would like to alert all Mac users in this forum about this matter. Do not fall for this cheap products, even if it's given warranty and so called OEM or Apple.

Very Important:
There are no such things as OEM product from Apple. It's either Apple or not. Not Apple means it's 3rd party or compatible model only. As Apple DO NOT resell bare parts to consumers in retail.

Here's a few cases I would shared with you:

Case#1:
OEM Battery for MacBook white
Owner original battery dead. So he went and bought a cheap OEM Battery. Upon using a few days. The MacBook refuse to detect and charge any battery at all even the owner has then bought a used original battery. Meaning the MacBook is currently only working with charger only. And the repair required replacing the whole logicboard, the on board charging component has gone faulty due to over current from the battery.

Case#2:
OEM 85W Charger for MacBook Pro
Owner bought this charger first few usage it's fine. After just a day or two usage on his MBP 2.4Ghz (Alu), the trackpad stop working when using the adapter. Also notice static/current shock all over the aluminium casing. Then he tried the same adapter on a MacBook white. No shock (cause of plastic body), but USB mouse won't work properly. He did not test further and already asked for refund.

Case#3:
OEM Battery for MacBook Pro
As usual original battery died after extensive usage in few years. Owner then bought OEM battery. Things works fine for few weeks. Then one day the his MacBook Pro refuse to boot up. After diagnose it was the battery causing over current and burned the logicboard. Repair cost him over RM2k.

There are a few more cases, but not handled by me so I will not put them here.



I'm not intend to harm anyone business here. But I would like to warn all Mac user to be smart and alert on these issue. Sure you save few hundred on buying these products, but in the end you might have to pay more when the damage is done on your unit.

Some explanation on why these product is cheaper/causing issues.

Chargers:
They look alot like the original. But upon inspecting carefully, you should notice the wordings on the adapter is not as sharp as the original. Also one type of the OEM charger have plastic grounding knob.

How does the adapter ground itself with a plastic knob?

You do know grounding is meant to protect you and your device from surge. So meaning there wont be any fuse jump should there be any overcurrent/ short circuit happen on the adapter.

Another thing to check after personally test some 3rd party/ OEM charger/ Replacement charger/ Or some so call First Class Replacement. First thing you will notice is, they felt marginally lighter than the Apple original adapter.

Why Apple charger cost so much?
#1 The design. Apple paid their engineer, designer, marketing ppl to invent and market the product. They even pay to patent the design. Then lastly package it nicely in a box for you.

For "OEM" they just copy. Maybe uses cheaper component (I can't testify). No packaging (just plastic wrap).

#2 Apple also give you the long cable and short adapter.

OEM give you 2 pin plug that need a converter. Some doesn't come with any connector.

#3 See all the icon and logo on the adapter? They meant the adapter are being tested to met such standard. And in Malaysia, SIRIM review the item and allowed it to be imported. All that cost $.

But for those OEM one, no one can testify. Those logo and terms are merely "copy".

Battery:
It's either the battery are being refilled/refurb, meaning the the exhausted battery cell are removed and replaced. It's unknown what type of cell they uses. But according to Apple they design the cell and manufactured by their appointed factory.

OEM type, these are the dangerous one. They look alike, but internally lack of the controller chip and microprocessor that help to maintain the battery health. So anything goes wrong Mac OS won't able to get the info from the battery. When things goes wrong it's already too late.

Why Apple battery cost so much?
More or less like the charger. But these battery include more technology than the charger. It has built-in chips that check the health of battery. Keep info as of model, date of manufacture, manufacturer, serial number, charge cycle, charge remaining, amperage and etc. It also support Apple battery update should Apple decide to release an update.

I do not know does those OEM batt have similar functions. Also original battery from Apple come with 12months warranty (thanks xaw5126 for clarifying).

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Update:
Info on static shock (electrostatic), minor electric shock, static/current noise over headphone/speaker/mic/recording on MacBook Pros/ Unibody MacBooks

If you having mild electric shock when using a power adapter on your Unibody MacBook, most likely you have grounding issue. Check if you are using the short 3-pin head. If yes, change it to the long cable that came with your mac.

Here's reason why using the short pin head cause shocks:



Many have reported using the long cable solve the issue. If you still have shocks after changing the plug, consult your technician.

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If you have bought any 3rd party/ OEM charger or battery, do share your experience.

This post has been edited by wei: Jul 18 2011, 11:51 AM

good post Wei

i have to agree with you. while i'm not against buying counterfeit product, anything regarding power (battery, charger) is something you don't want to skimp for. same goes to phone battery and chargers.

yes, the Apple retail battery has a 1 year battery. Customer should keep the receipts for best results.

limpe buy from online stores for all this hardware better....

erm tell that to the folks over at the iPhone forum.

semua mau guna wall charger, car charger and even usb cable, cap ayam

when you tell them, such an occurrence may happen, they ask you to go...


picture extracted from kopitiam

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Nov 4 2009, 04:48 PM

Thats why I stay away from that section. Lucky the admin split that section out.

well, that's fine.

both wei n I have met people like this. we're just putting the word out, so that more people will be informed.

I guess he and I are both not happy, cos people are selling replica / imitation products, and saying its OEM. then people getting ripped off and damaging their iPhone / iPod.

no such thing as OEM Apple ...

I welcome 3rd party product if they are build with quality. But if it's not, then we are risking thousands ringgit of investment.

It's very sad to see Mac users ended up with faulty or semi-faulty Mac that could have lasted them many more years. Just because of these self-claimed items.

Perhaps buyers should have asked/survey before they are about to purchase items from that section...

Good thread Wei, thanks and very informative.

actually, i do fly a fair bit and everytime i contemplate using my then MB and MBP on the plane via this

however, i'm also paranoid that the current from the plane's socket might be too overwhelming or under for the mac.

so in the end, i just leave it inside my bag.

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Nov 4 2009, 05:14 PM

i have experience with "exploding USB charger" as well... i have a third party USB charger for my iPod last time... but i didnt use it most of the time so i borrowed to my fren who use iphone and forgot to bring his charger... and after using sometimes... things happened... the charger exploded, luckily his iPhone was unharmed..

and btw.. the third party USB charger also does not has a ground pin, probably that why "things happened"

now i using charger that came with my iPhone to charge, n i never suggest anyone to bought any "ayam brand" USB charger... i would even suggest them to buy Apple nice 3-pin USB charger, which is way cooler and safe to use...

This post has been edited by elico: Nov 4 2009, 05:56 PM

Guys, try to focus in mac charger n battery only. iPod and iPhone have thier own section.

yup yup... 5 years now, I've never dared to use any other chargers... been offered replacement / refurbished battery & cheaper 3rd party battery...

mainly I'm worried about burning out the charging pins... looks like many blur people prefer to be penny wise, pound foolish.

Just for info, I just got my battery changed, after 2 years! My MB White CD's battery was a little deformed (bulging), and I immediately called AppleCare, after talking for less than 10 minutes (with someone with a heavy slang, later found out the call was directed to Apple Europe), they agreed to replace mine and gave me a case number. Got my new battery few days later.

For info, my AppleCare expired last month! Apple ROCKS!

power adapter is just RM299
i see no reason go for OEM

battery well, cost quite a bit
still this thing has to be original

but, how about product from Sonnet?

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Added on November 4, 2009, 10:48 pmjust found out sonnet dont have replacement battery for mac

This post has been edited by cRazYee: Nov 4 2009, 10:48 PM

I didn't notice Apple issue the pattern for Magsafe, MacBook, MacBook Pro Polymer battery design to any 3rd party.

that's because they dont ;p

the so called OEM charger cost how much

Nokia2003 : let them learn their lesson since advice is given

Added info on static shock with unibody macbooks.