I changed 4 times my macbook and im tired of changing and accepted the one with direct three pin with static.. only i found this forum...

lucky is not only me.. the seller never inform me about this problem..

but i did bring my macbook to garden and test with other display macbook.. the display will not have statics or shock.. only mine will have.. i tried with their charger on mine and back to the display.. the staff also said why mine have static/shock...

Ah crap, just bought the MBP 13" and I have the electric shock issue, found this thread and used the long cable, it's fixed now.
How can a company like Apple can possible mess up like this?

They include the grounding on the extension but not on the short one? gosh. 

your power point could be the cause as well,

how long usually a mac battery would last? 1000 charge cycle?

brought the quirky cord wrap definately worth it

http://www.quirky.com/products/15-PowerCurl-Mac-Cord-Manager

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.

no, i can confirm already, the plug head, oh god i dont know how to describe..
the plug head doesnt have the grounding metal to attach to the grounding metal outside.

while the longer, thicker's plug head has the metal to connect to the grounding metal.
i use that one, instant problem solved.

Wanna know why? Cuz some country simply don't need grounding. US, Japan and etc
Socket switch is a big thing to them

It's uk, malaysia running 230v that need it.

The adapter is designed to be universal

I can tell u in uk. I never have static problem

yea i understand but as a product that will sell globally why dont design an adapter that's suitable for each county's plug? i.e malaysia should have the grounding metal included because i believe almost all commonwealth countries are using the 3-pin plug design.

and, i've never been to US before and I wonder how their grounding system works, coz everything is just 2-pin there 

I can tell you, in uk, there is no need of proper metal
Contact grounding pin

It's all down to the country electrical system.
Not apple fault

Japan and state are using 110-120v
This is the main reason. But I not sure the main detail either

Then where does the grounding current goes? Since there's only 2-pin, one is live and the other is neutral.