Select MacBook and iPad Chargers Are Being Recalled Due to Possible Electric Shock

Select MacBook and iPad Chargers Are Being Recalled Due to Possible Electric Shock
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Indicating that they were at risk for breaking and potentially causing an electric shock, Apple went ahead and recalled certain varieties of its AC power adapter — for Macs and iPads — in various markets outside the U.S.

The affected units are the two-pronged wall adapters exclusive to Apple’s Mac line, in addition to the 10-watt adapters shipped with iPads between 2003 and 2015 in the following countries: Argentina, Brazil, Europe, New Zealand, and South Korea.

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The recall is not, however, pertinent to the same AC power adapters shipped with the company’s U. S., Canada, China, Japan, and U.K. devices. Neither does the recall affect any of Apple’s smaller, USB power adapters, however the company did mention that adapters included as part of its $29 “World Traveler” kit also apply to the recall.

In the company’s official press release, Apple described the adapters as showing signs of either “four or five characters, or no characters, on the inside slot,” which is where the units attach to Apple’s “Power Brick” — the primary energy source.

Although the company was mum when it came to specifying what the reported incidents have so far entailed, it did mention that there have been roughly 12 of them, spanning the course of the last 12 years or so.

Product recalls aren’t particularly common for the Cupertino-company, however, if and when they do arise, they usually tend to attract a lot more attention because of the fact that Apple is involved. A few of the company’s most recent recalls include one in August — when the Silicon Valley tech-giant indicated that it would replace some of the faulty camera modules on certain iPhone 6 Plus handsets. And one in June of last year — when the company recalled its Beats Pill XL speaker, ahead of the official Beats acquisition, due to fire hazard.

Additionally, back in 2008, Apple introduced a new Power Adapter Exchange Program for the iPhone 3G, primarily due to similar risks as we’re seeing today: prongs could “break off and remain in a power outlet, creating a risk of electric shock.” Likewise, in 2012, Apple launched a European equivalent of a similar replacement program for power adapters sold with the iPhone 3GS, 4, and 4s across the pond.

This rather unfortunate news comes just one week after Apple’s primary rival in the tech space, Microsoft, recalled some of it’s Surface Pro power cords in light of a “small number of customers” having reported that they were overheating. In 2014, PC maker Hewlett Packard had to issue a recall, as well, affecting six million AC power cords for laptops that were determined to be a fire hazard. For HP, that incident followed a smaller recall in 2013, after some of the company’s Google Chromebook 11 cords overheated and melted.

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 So how is your power adapter holding up?
Have you experienced any of these issues on your end?

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