Apple to provide refunds for faulty power adaptors; PowerBook and iBook computers
There have been some owners of Powerbook and iBook computers that claimed they had faulty power adaptors that were prone to spark. Several of the Mac users had reported these issues through the Apple support website and various other Mac related forums.
A class-action lawsuit was filed in 2006 regarding the faulty adaptors. The plaintiffs alleged that Apple had misrepresented problems with the power adaptors. The plaintiffs said that the adapter “dangerously frays, sparks and prematurely fails to work”
If you had one of these faulty adaptors Apple has agreed to pay cash refunds $25 – $79 to up to as many as 2.3 million Macintosh computer users to resolve this issue. You will be able to receive a refund if you purchased the adaptor from Apple or another company that sold these adaptors. In court documents at San Jose U.S. District Court, Judge James has granted preliminary approval of the agreement on March 24.
This isn’t the first time Apple had issues with their power adaptors. In 2001 Apple recalled nearly 570,000 adaptors that had been sold with PowerBooks when they received reports that they were overheating. Apple told Powerbook users to stop using the adaptors and offered free replacements.
According to a survey conducted by Consumer Report Apple ranked dead last for the number of defects that cropped up in their computers between 2003 and 2007. According to the same survey Apple Mac desktop computers had fewer defects than other computer companies.
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May 12th, 2008
I’ve had this issue with my iBook 500 mhz, I was told to fix the issue it cost $300 for a new Mainboard. I found it better to get the MacBook Pro because of the Magsafe adapter it’s a lot better.
May 12th, 2008
I’ve been compensated for three already. One almost caught fire to the floor near my bed. They tried to deny my refund/replacements, but when I mentioned the machines were hooked up to APC surge protectors, they had no other recourse.
Glad everyone else will be compensated.
May 14th, 2008
Carlton,
It’s amazing how much those items can cost. I never had an iBook although I’ve been thinking about picking one up from Ebay so I can tinker with it. I like the magsafe adaptor also. I bought my 17″ MacBook Pro in October 2006 since that time the adaptor has gotten even smaller. I never thought it was huge to begin with.
gnushell,
That’s great that you were compensated. I had a swollen battery with my MacBook Pro. I remember reading about this issue on the Apple forum. I called Apple support first person I spoke to told me I used my computer too much so it could not be replaced. Isn’t the MacBook Pro supposed to be a replacement for the desktop?
I figured I had someone who wasn’t knowledgeable in that area. I called back the next day, spoke with another rep. My replacement batter was shipped the same day. I got it the next day. The batteries were made by Sony. If I remember correctly Dell also faced a similar issue with their batteries. Sony made batteries for some of the Dell computers.