So how long do you expect Apple’s insulation on their current product wiring to last before it cracks and shorts out?
I’ve seen this problem going back to the “flying saucer” power supplies and subsequently. The net has a lot of home repair advice to offer. But, egad, even my Powerbook 100 series laptops had better power cables insulation that didn’t crack and fall off the wires.
I had moaned and groaned about the same situation on this forum years ago. I always treated my Apple cables with the utmost respect, never yanking or folding them. The consensus was that the off brand cables were generally as bad as Apple’s, often worse. The only exception was very good advice from some TidBITS Talkers about Anker’s Powerline cables. In my opinion, they are longer lasting. It was a very good recommendation, and I’ve become a big fan of Powerline cables, as well as their ultra fast chargers.
But I feel obligated to say that we’ve been using our AirPort Extreme since 2-3 months after they were first released. Our SE 30, ancient iPods, Cheese Grater, Power Mac 9300, ancient MacBook Pros, and iPhone 4Ses are all operable. So are our ancient keyboards. I think that’s a very good testimonial for Apple hardware, especially since our MacBook Pros did take a lot of hard knocks when we needed to drag them around on public transportation. IMHO, the cables’ survival rate isn’t any worse than other knockoff brands, except for Anker.
Long-term Apple hardware support is pretty good. iOS 15 will support the six-year-old iPhone 6s, albeit with some features missing. But yeah, their cables are usually terrible.
Good thing we now have industry-standard USB-C and chargers that come with a simple USB-C port instead of a firmly attached cable. If there’s an issue with the cable, just throw it out and get a new one. $9 fix.
I just noticed that a relatively new (old stock) MagSafe 1 cable of mine is starting to fray near the MagSafe connector. I’ve used @Shamino’s “Sugru” recommendation in the past with good success, even though it’s not the most visually appealing solution.
While searching for Sugru, I came across a company that makes MagSafe cable repair kits that use custom heatshrink pieces that slide over the MagSafe connector without needing to cut the cable or do any soldering. The manufacturer does seem to confuse the L-connectors and the T-connectors in their marketing materials as MagSafe 1 vs 2, but it’s clear enough from the pictures what you are getting. It seems a little more visually appealing than the Sugru method, so I think I am going to give them a try.
BTW, my disintegrating cable is in the same condition as the cable shown in the first few seconds of their demonstration video:
PS. I’d love to switch to a USB-C cable to MagSafe connector solution, but I haven’t found one that is a great physical fit yet. The several I have tried have all been either too bulky or too loose.
Yep. When my audio engineer daughter caught sight of her mom’s fraying power cable (which I had already started talking about replacing), she grabbed some heat-shrink and a hair dryer. Et voila! Works perfectly.
Adhesive shouldn’t actually be necessary. I think it’s just to help hold the shrink-wrap in place while heat is applied.
Presumably because the T-shaped MagSafe connector is much wider than the cable, so any tubing large enough to fit over the head might flop around during the heating process. Note how, in the video, they are using tubing that is slightly too small and are stretching it to get over the connector - if the tubing was wide enough to just slip over, it probably wouldn’t shrink enough to seal around the cable.
My first thought was…great idea! I can just drive down the street and pick up some heatshrink tubing at Radio Shack. Hmmmm…using a horse and buggy to get there, too. Right down anachronism alley!
But I think I may be doing some business with WireCare.
I just used plain heatshrink today on a USB-C>USB-C cable and a USB-C >Thunderbolt cable, For the former I stretched it up a bit with needle nose pliers inserted and opened. Seems to have worked OK, and is tight enough that I cannot imagine it slipping without the adhesive patch used by the company above. Obviously, if you need to do this on a MagSafe cable, put the heatshrink over the smaller end (much easier with USB-C than A) and then slide it up to the MagSafe end.
