I’m a big fan of the Apple Magsafe (1 & 2) technology where the charging cable is magnetically attached to the laptop. Any accidental trips over the AC adapter and charging cable, doesn’t pull the entire laptop off the table.
Why did you (Apple) discontinue the Magsafe technology? What a shame!
Although I like the Magsafe technology, I am not a fan of the ac adapter build. The charging cable is usually the first to be damaged, as what I’ve found out on the web. It also happened to my AC adapter cable.
I wasn’t ready to shell out $108 for a brand-new AC adapter, so the alternatives were:
- Get a ‘OEM’ Apple AC adapter (Easiest but cost $50)
- Replace the charging cable (Elbow grease + cost $15)
I decided to go with the replacement of the charging cable. It practically cost nothing apart from the time I spent and the replacement charging cable, since I’ve got the tools in place.
So here goes:
Time spent: 1 hour
Equipment needed:
- Pliers (to open the AC adapter)
- Replacement charging cable (Get it from Taobao)
- Soldering iron (Mine’s 60W)
- Solder flux
- Soldering wick or solder sucker (to remove excess solder)
- White electrical tape or super glue (this is for resealing the AC adapter)
Some caveats:
- Leave the AC adapter unplugged for a few days. This is to discharge the electrical energy in the adapter or you might get a shock while disassembling it. In my case, I left it alone for nearly a month as I was waiting for the replacement cable to get shipped in from China.
- You should have some understanding on how to use a soldering iron, solder sucker.
Part 1 – You are reading this
Part 2 – Work steps to open the ac adapter
Part 3 – Re-soldering the terminals
Part 4 – Apple aesthetics