Apple Magsafe chargers

[Dave2002]

One of our chargers has now given up - I'll need to sort out cables or replacements.

In the meantime, can a MacBook Air be charged up from a Magsafe 2 charger, or can it only work with a Magsafe 1 charger?

New chargers from Apple are now a ridiculous price - almost £80! (£79).

I can wait if there are risks of damage, but if it would work I'd give it a shot.

[french frank]

I'm using the same Magsafe charger on my brand new (High Sierra) MacbookAir that I had with my (secondhand, so old, Mavericks) MacBook Pro. No problem (but I've no idea which version Magsafe I had in the first place).

One of our chargers has now given up - I'll need to sort out cables or replacements.

In the meantime, can a MacBook Air be charged up from a Magsafe 2 charger, or can it only work with a Magsafe 1 charger?

New chargers from Apple are now a ridiculous price - almost £80! (£79).

I can wait if there are risks of damage, but if it would work I'd give it a shot.

[Dave2002]

Looks as though it's more complicated than I thought. The early models had a kind of cylindrical end and are compatible with early MacBook Air models. I think there may also have been a size change somewhere along the way, before the newer MagSafe 2 connectors were introduced, so not compatible with all Air models.

I'll report back when I've sorted this out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[MrGongGong]

There are two different sized magnetic ends
The air has the later (thinner) one
You can get the "F Shaped" end in both versions so it's not as simple as the "cylindrical" type being old and the other one new

BUT both are shite and overheat and fall apart after a while


This seems to be holding up ok though https://www.macupgrades.co.uk/store/...roducts_id=753

You can get a replacement lead and crack the case open and fix (plenty of instructions online) which does also work.

[Dave2002]

You can get a replacement lead and crack the case open and fix (plenty of instructions online) which does also work.

There are indeed videos which show how to spit open the case, but why bother? If the original cable is pretty much damaged at the computer end, why not simply cut through the cable, and join straight on to the replacement leads? Hopefully the cables will be identified by colour coding, so that the correct polarity will be achieved.

This might not be such a neat solution, but could be easier, and the joints could be protected by suitable covering or a small box.

[MrGongGong]

There are indeed videos which show how to spit open the case, but why bother? If the original cable is pretty much damaged at the computer end, why not simply cut through the cable, and join straight on to the replacement leads? Hopefully the cables will be identified by colour coding, so that the correct polarity will be achieved.

This might not be such a neat solution, but could be easier, and the joints could be protected by suitable covering or a small box.

The reason to replace the lead is that they often break/melt at the charger end.
It's only a 2 core cable so pretty simple if it breaks at the other end
(let me know if you want to know the colour code as I think I have one in bits somehwere)

[Dave2002]

The old one seems only to have a very thin cable - screen plus central core. Virtually falling off at the computer end. I guess running it over with a vacuum cleaner didn't help, though that was quite a while back, and it's been taped up since then.

I have got a replacement cable - but kept for spare - to do the DIY job you have mentioned before.

This https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-A...kAAOSwUH5aVMbm seems to do the trick - though it's early days yet. The green and orange lights come on OK.