# Aftermarket MacBook Pro Charger



## andreww (Nov 20, 2002)

After buying my new MacBook Pro a few weeks back, I quickly discovered that I would need to purchase a second charger as I hate packing up the power supply every day when I come to work. Also, knowing how fragile Apple tends to make the cables on these things, I like to just leave them in one spot and save wear and tear. After a quick trip to the Apple store I found that a new 65W magsafe charger was going to run me $100 + taxes, so I decided to see what was available on ebay. I quickly decided on this one, simply because it shipped from a US address.

AC Power Cable Adapter Fr APPLE MacBook Pro MagSafe - eBay (item 250524822145 end time Feb-01-10 19:22:43 PST)

Total cost was $15.50 + $7.00 shipping, so about $25 Canadian all in. It arrived yesterday, so I thought I'd give you guys my impressions. On first glance it looks exactly like the Apple charger except that it is missing the Apple on the side of the case. The cord that plugs in to your MBP is slightly thicker and stiffer than the original, but not overly so. When plugged in the charge indicator light immediately glowed green, then switched to orange as it should. I monitored the first charge and all went normally. When fully charged the light indicator switched to green again. The only difference in operation is that when I unplug the magsafe from my MBP, the indicator light on the plug continues to glow for a period of about 2 minutes. Curiously enough, even when unplugged from the wall, the light will continue to glow as well.

The charger does not ship with an extension cable, so I had to use the original Apple supplied cable with it. Although the wall plug attachment slides off in the same way, and the connection for the cable is identical, when I attached the extension cable I discovered that the aftermarket charger case is about 2 or 3mm wider than the original. They are still compatible, but visually you can see the mismatch of parts. Also, the Apple part has a yellowish tint to it compared to a more arctic white colour on the fake. Again, all minor issues. The only thing that is bothersome is that the winding clips that fold out from the case are a little sloppy and don't stay closed as tightly as the original unit. As I won't be using them, its not a real issue for me.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with it, especially when you consider the price. I've always used aftermarket chargers, simply because the Apple ones have never been that durable, so It was no big deal for me to step outside the confines of the Apple store. If you have multiple locations where you use your MBP, I highly recommend picking one or more of these up.

Cheers,

A


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

Thanks andreww - I may have to pick up one or two of those myself. Anyone hear of any incompatibility problems with the voltage? Wouldn't want to damage my baby...


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## andreww (Nov 20, 2002)

Its 65W just like the original, so I don't see an issue. I have it here at the office now, and its been plugged in for about 5 hours. No heat in the unit or the MBP. After all, these are basically AC adaptors, and probably every one of them that you have ever used has likely come out of some sweat shop in China, and its not like there is any huge amount of voltage going in to the computer.


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

Big If -- does this thing have a legitimate CSA / UL approval? 99:100 it does not.


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## Paddy (Jul 13, 2004)

While the price certainly is attractive, it's only got a 30-day warranty...

I've bought replacement adapters from BattDepot.ca - Green Series Battery - Specialize in selling aftermarket batteries for laptop and notebook computers, camcorder, digital cameras, PDA and Apple iPods and been very happy with them, at about half of what Apple Canada charges.


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## andreww (Nov 20, 2002)

CanadaRAM said:


> Big If -- does this thing have a legitimate CSA / UL approval? 99:100 it does not.


Not sure about that, but it does have CE and FCC logos on it.


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## xcanuc (Nov 30, 2009)

Thanks for posting this. I have been thinking about buying one for a while now and the best deal I saw was the one on Kijiji for $60. I just want to use it for school so if it gets wrecked or lost I won't start crying.

I bought my MBP in late 09. It is a 17" 2.8 with 4gb and 500gb. Which one would I need?

Option #1
# Input : AC 100-240V, 50/60Hz 
# Output : DC 16.5V, 3.65A
# Total power rated 60Watt
# Connection: 5 PIN CONNECTOR

Option #2
Output Current :	4.6A
Output Voltage :	18V
Input Type :	AC110-240V / 50-60Hz
Power :	85W

Thanks in advance.
Steve


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

andreww said:


> Not sure about that, but it does have CE and FCC logos on it.


Not relevant, the Chinese are very adept at forging these stickers. Had a couple on an extension cord that had reversed polarity female connection.


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## GlassOnion (Mar 22, 2004)

If you could see the two wires inside the cable that connect to the computer you'd notice that they have a very smaller gage compared to the original Apple AC adapter. So I think the internal electrical and electronics components must be pretty cheap if they can sell it for $15. I purchased two of these "Made in China" adapters on ebay for my ibooks G4 and the two were DOA. I had a refund from the seller and he told me that I did'nt have to ship them back so I cut the cables to repair two broken Apple adapters (needed only the cables and tips). The Apple cable contains a big central wire, the second wire is a shield running around the central wire probably for ground purpose. The China cable has only two thiny cables, no shield (where is the ground ?) and when you cut the cable you can notice the cheap plastic quality. Honestly I would not connect this to my $2000 Macbook Pro.


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## IllusionX (Mar 10, 2009)

haha, my friend had bought one before... i told him to NOT use it. The light would remain on all the time, like there was no reason to. And it seemed both, green and amber light would be on at the same time when charging.


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## andreww (Nov 20, 2002)

These things have been out for eons, and it looks like they've sold a ton of em. I've yet to find one complaint of an instance where the charger has done an damage to the computer or anything else. The red and green lights work fine, but in the long run mean nothing. If you recall, the powerbook macally chargers didn't even have lights on them. Its a friggin AC adapter guys, and there likely isn't one thats NOT made in China. So all you negative people can stick with your $120 AC adapters from Apple, The rest of you can listen to someone who has one and knows that it works just fine.


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## roperd (Mar 1, 2009)

Thanks, but the seller is no longer on ebay.


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