09-11-2007, 11:40 PM
Posted as a PSA:
Yesterday, my 1.67 15" PowerBook would not wake from a low-battery induced sleep. Apple phone support thought it was the LB since the light on the front was out. I took batt out, reset PMU. Let it sit for 20 minutes, no dice. Took to AS. Genius plugged in her 65w adapter and she fired my PB right up from deep sleep.
She took a look at my genuine Apple 65w adapter and began to furrow her brow. "Why is this power cord so thin? And why is this so hard to plug into your computer? And that power ring looks weird. And the charge time says over 5 hours to a full charge. Are you sure this is an Apple adapter?"
Turns out my "brand new" 65w Apple adapter, just purchased last month from MacSolutions for $53.53 shipped, was only giving out 50w and thus could not charge the batt enough to wake it up...on top of that, it was not "new" at all, but a 2002 model...Genius showed me the serial where the duckhead plugs in; sure enough, it was a 2002 model. (Interestingly, it was stamped with "65w" so I can't explain the 50w issue.) The MS web page does not say new, but I called before ordering to confirm it was "brand new" and was told it was.
Didn't come with a long plug-in cord, either. Just the duck head plug. My guess is the vendor got stuck with a lot of defective adapters, perhaps knowingly, perhaps not. I did make sure they now know for certain that their entire lot may be defective. Since it was an internet special at $39 plus $15 ship, it makes me wonder if perhaps this was already a known fact; how else do you end up in 2007 with a bunch of 2002 adapters? Regardless, it should have said, "2002 model."
The story does have a happy ending, though. I called yesterday, told them of the issues, and got an RMA; they said they could only refund the $39 product price, not the $15 shipping charge or the return shipping.
I called them again just now and requested that they pay for the return shipping. Okay, they said. And they insisted I would only be refunded the $39, but I insisted [politely] that I be refunded my original shipping fees as well since the product was not as advertised and was in fact a 2002 model. They acquiesced and told me I would be refunded the entire order price. I suppose if they hadn't, I would've had to dispute the charge on my Amex and probably would have won.
So it was a good ending, they DID make it right. Just a warning: if you buy a 65w Apple adapter from anyone other than Apple, make sure it's a truly NEW adapter. I wonder if this one was maybe a Chinese knockoff.
Yesterday, my 1.67 15" PowerBook would not wake from a low-battery induced sleep. Apple phone support thought it was the LB since the light on the front was out. I took batt out, reset PMU. Let it sit for 20 minutes, no dice. Took to AS. Genius plugged in her 65w adapter and she fired my PB right up from deep sleep.
She took a look at my genuine Apple 65w adapter and began to furrow her brow. "Why is this power cord so thin? And why is this so hard to plug into your computer? And that power ring looks weird. And the charge time says over 5 hours to a full charge. Are you sure this is an Apple adapter?"
Turns out my "brand new" 65w Apple adapter, just purchased last month from MacSolutions for $53.53 shipped, was only giving out 50w and thus could not charge the batt enough to wake it up...on top of that, it was not "new" at all, but a 2002 model...Genius showed me the serial where the duckhead plugs in; sure enough, it was a 2002 model. (Interestingly, it was stamped with "65w" so I can't explain the 50w issue.) The MS web page does not say new, but I called before ordering to confirm it was "brand new" and was told it was.
Didn't come with a long plug-in cord, either. Just the duck head plug. My guess is the vendor got stuck with a lot of defective adapters, perhaps knowingly, perhaps not. I did make sure they now know for certain that their entire lot may be defective. Since it was an internet special at $39 plus $15 ship, it makes me wonder if perhaps this was already a known fact; how else do you end up in 2007 with a bunch of 2002 adapters? Regardless, it should have said, "2002 model."
The story does have a happy ending, though. I called yesterday, told them of the issues, and got an RMA; they said they could only refund the $39 product price, not the $15 shipping charge or the return shipping.
I called them again just now and requested that they pay for the return shipping. Okay, they said. And they insisted I would only be refunded the $39, but I insisted [politely] that I be refunded my original shipping fees as well since the product was not as advertised and was in fact a 2002 model. They acquiesced and told me I would be refunded the entire order price. I suppose if they hadn't, I would've had to dispute the charge on my Amex and probably would have won.
So it was a good ending, they DID make it right. Just a warning: if you buy a 65w Apple adapter from anyone other than Apple, make sure it's a truly NEW adapter. I wonder if this one was maybe a Chinese knockoff.
