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dgtvc

macrumors newbie
Jan 21, 2021
3
2
Mine died after 24h, using GC AK50 for a while, with charging through hub.
So my question is: Is there any hub that will will not fry my macbook? Assuming that even apple hub can do it?
 

Ethosik

Contributor
Oct 21, 2009
8,142
7,120
This comparison is apples to oranges.

In the case of the Switch, the third party chargers bricked the devices in almost all cases.

Some USB C dongles discussed here have been in use for YEARS before without any issue. For instance, I have 3 different USB C drop in desks at my house. Want to work in a new spot, sure! Unplug one USB C cable and plug into another desk. Power, screen, mouse, keyboard, and Ethernet. One cable. It’s beautiful. Everyone in my house has intel MacBooks. we have all been using these spots for years. Only my new M1 MacBook Pro experiamced this bricking problem.

The only variable that changed in this equation is the M1. And everyone else is still using their intel Macs with these hubs.

not to say cheap dongles can’t cause problems, but this does not appear to be a dongle problem.

in other cases, like the iPad and iPhone, Apple has dealt with uncertified adapters gracefully by popping up a message that tells the user their device is not charging because the charger is unsupported. imagine if you plugged in you iPhone to an Amazon basics lightening charger and it bricked... Don’t Samsung phones charge off USB C now too? There aren’t widespread problems of their phones bricking while charging either and I doubt all Samsung users use the supplied cable...

Again, this is not on the consumer to figure out. Standards are created for a reason and it’s quite obvious Apple botched something in this early batch of new machines...
And people have reported no issues with third party docks too. Same here. My point is, Switch is USB C and Macs are USB C. So there seems to be issues with USB C and power. NEVER trust third party for powering systems. Regardless if it’s Switch or Macs.

Consumers don’t charge their laptop with $5 adapters. They get something from the Apple store that’s officially supported.
 

highvoltage1215

macrumors newbie
Jan 7, 2021
7
10
My point is, Switch is USB C and Macs are USB C. So there seems to be issues with USB C and power. NEVER trust third party for powering systems. Regardless if it’s Switch or Macs.

Consumers don’t charge their laptop with $5 adapters. They get something from the Apple store that’s officially supported.
I get your point, I just don't agree with it. The problems are different. Imagine I bought a Switch years ago and used it with a third party USB C charger for years. Then I buy the newest Switch and pop it on the same charger, it bricks. Whose at fault here? Pretty obvious that Nintendo would be at fault here. However, you're saying that Switches died on third party chargers from the jump. That's a whole different situation than what's being reported in this thread.

If you can't ever trust a third party to deliver power to your laptop, something has gone wrong. Especially if the charger has been in use for YEARS. The hub that killed my M1 was a $120 USB C hub and has been in use for a while with other USB C devices, Mac, PC and Linux.
 
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Grenadier_45

macrumors newbie
Jan 20, 2021
13
13
Ireland
Mine died after 24h, using GC AK50 for a while, with charging through hub.
So my question is: Is there any hub that will will not fry my macbook? Assuming that even apple hub can do it?
I'm not sure we know enough. The testing conducted for the Switch the I linked to earlier suggested that it was mainly one 3rd party dock that was responsible, but many (most?) others were getting tarred with the same brush.

The fact is that Apple must've shipped over a million of these M1 Macbooks at this stage, and nowhere near enough (yet!) are bricking for it to be possible to nail it to Apple's implementation of the M1. The PD standard seems to be quite complex, with a large variety power levels and voltages supported, so it's possible that a dock which works with one client doesn't play nicely with another.

We could do with someone, like in the Switch dock investigation video I posted above, taking a bunch of these docks, and testing them for compliance at the power levels the M1 asks for. And while they're about it, checking that the M1 is following the spec properly and asking for the right power levels.

In the meantime, I think when my machine arrives, I'll be powering it exclusively from the supplied charger till this is eventually bottomed out.
 

highvoltage1215

macrumors newbie
Jan 7, 2021
7
10
The fact is that Apple must've shipped over a million of these M1 Macbooks at this stage, and nowhere near enough (yet!) are bricking for it to be possible to nail it to Apple's implementation of the M1. The PD standard seems to be quite complex, with a large variety power levels and voltages supported, so it's possible that a dock which works with one client doesn't play nicely with another.
This is my point though, the hubs in question have been "playing nice" with all other USB C devices. Heck, I even used these hubs to charge my iPad Pro. The implementation of USB C PD didn't change in the hubs. There's only one spot it changed in my equation....
 
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highvoltage1215

macrumors newbie
Jan 7, 2021
7
10
So I guess even if this is an implementation mis-match, Apple, the device manufacturer, obviously didn't do enough testing to validate that their implementation was able to function in the real world.

Really hoping it's just a bad batch of devices because in all other ways, this laptop is FIRE!!
 

dgtvc

macrumors newbie
Jan 21, 2021
3
2
I'm not sure we know enough. The testing conducted for the Switch the I linked to earlier suggested that it was mainly one 3rd party dock that was responsible, but many (most?) others were getting tarred with the same brush.

The fact is that Apple must've shipped over a million of these M1 Macbooks at this stage, and nowhere near enough (yet!) are bricking for it to be possible to nail it to Apple's implementation of the M1. The PD standard seems to be quite complex, with a large variety power levels and voltages supported, so it's possible that a dock which works with one client doesn't play nicely with another.

We could do with someone, like in the Switch dock investigation video I posted above, taking a bunch of these docks, and testing them for compliance at the power levels the M1 asks for. And while they're about it, checking that the M1 is following the spec properly and asking for the right power levels.

In the meantime, I think when my machine arrives, I'll be powering it exclusively from the supplied charger till this is eventually bottomed out.
I agree with that, but i think that i was some post when even not using hub with charging through PD, ended up with bricked macbook. So i'm awared that it can brake mine once again when i will only get it back.
 

Grenadier_45

macrumors newbie
Jan 20, 2021
13
13
Ireland
Really hoping it's just a bad batch of devices because in all other ways, this laptop is FIRE!!
This a hundred times over! Maybe we should be asking people for a rough indication of serial number and maintain a register here (if that's allowed under the AUP), since this seems to be the most active Apple site on the web right now.

If it turned out it was the first couple of batches that came out with a missing zener diode or something to protect against overvoltage, then we might all relax a bit!
 
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Grenadier_45

macrumors newbie
Jan 20, 2021
13
13
Ireland
I agree with that, but i think that i was some post when even not using hub with charging through PD, ended up with bricked macbook. So i'm awared that it can brake mine once again when i will only get it back.
From the digging I did on the Nintendo dock problem, it looked like the chip responsible sometimes took the abuse for a while before then failing. We again don't know quite enough - but we could do with hearing from anyone that had that happen and ask whether they'd ever used a dock, which might cause latent damage which then fails a while after.
 

Ethosik

Contributor
Oct 21, 2009
8,142
7,120
I get your point, I just don't agree with it. The problems are different. Imagine I bought a Switch years ago and used it with a third party USB C charger for years. Then I buy the newest Switch and pop it on the same charger, it bricks. Whose at fault here? Pretty obvious that Nintendo would be at fault here. However, you're saying that Switches died on third party chargers from the jump. That's a whole different situation than what's being reported in this thread.

If you can't ever trust a third party to deliver power to your laptop, something has gone wrong. Especially if the charger has been in use for YEARS. The hub that killed my M1 was a $120 USB C hub and has been in use for a while with other USB C devices, Mac, PC and Linux.
No they are not. Third party chargers are a problem here. It’s all issues with the messy USB C spec. How is it different? Both systems charge via USB C. Which should adhere to charging standards. Yet there are cases where it is bricking. There are cases where there are no bricking. So again, seems like the USB C charging spec is a mess. Therefore, it is best to only rely on official supported charges.

Also using third party chargers have been bad news from the beginning of laptops. I have had several Lenovos brick due to using unofficial chargers.
 
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dgtvc

macrumors newbie
Jan 21, 2021
3
2
This a hundred times over! Maybe we should be asking people for a rough indication of serial number and maintain a register here (if that's allowed under the AUP), since this seems to be the most active Apple site on the web right now.

If it turned out it was the first couple of batches that came out with a missing zener diode or something to protect against overvoltage, then we might all relax a bit!
Or you can just check when your MB was made here: Click me!
Serial number could be too much info like you said. Mine was made on 30.11-06.12 of 2020
 

Cludch

macrumors newbie
Jan 20, 2020
5
1
Hey, so I have watched this thread for a while and wanted to give me experience.
I had (probably) the exact issue with my 2020 MBP 4 times. After the 2nd time, Apple no longer wanted to respect consumer laws (German or European) so I ended up selling it on eBay for way less. The support representatives where not helpful at all, kept hanging up or didn't hear about consumer laws, even though they are quoted on their site.

The issue seems to be with the T2 chip, which should be the same with the M1 models.
To test my assumption, one could try to get the M1 into DFU mode with a second T2 MacBook and try to restore BridgeOS using the Apple Configurator 2. The MacBook should show up and the restore should start. However, some have reported that this rescued the MacBook. However, in many cases, the MacBook's logic board is simply fried and needs to be exchanged.

So the most interesting part in my opinion, is that this issue has not started showing up with M1, just raises more often with M1.

Here is some further reading, explanation and tutorials: https://mrmacintosh.com/how-to-restore-bridgeos-on-a-t2-mac-how-to-put-a-mac-into-dfu-mode/
 

HatMine

macrumors member
May 31, 2016
88
104
C:/
Hey, so I have watched this thread for a while and wanted to give me experience.
I had (probably) the exact issue with my 2020 MBP 4 times. After the 2nd time, Apple no longer wanted to respect consumer laws (German or European) so I ended up selling it on eBay for way less. The support representatives where not helpful at all, kept hanging up or didn't hear about consumer laws, even though they are quoted on their site.

The issue seems to be with the T2 chip, which should be the same with the M1 models.
To test my assumption, one could try to get the M1 into DFU mode with a second T2 MacBook and try to restore BridgeOS using the Apple Configurator 2. The MacBook should show up and the restore should start. However, some have reported that this rescued the MacBook. However, in many cases, the MacBook's logic board is simply fried and needs to be exchanged.

So the most interesting part in my opinion, is that this issue has not started showing up with M1, just raises more often with M1.

Here is some further reading, explanation and tutorials: https://mrmacintosh.com/how-to-restore-bridgeos-on-a-t2-mac-how-to-put-a-mac-into-dfu-mode/
Since M1 Macs do not have any T2 chip, that is not the problem.

Source: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208862 (They are not listed as having the T2 chip on Apple's site, and when you go to System Information on an M1 Mac, there is no mention of the T2 chip.)
 

helveta

macrumors regular
Mar 31, 2012
164
18
I’ve had my MBA less than 3 weeks. Today I was using it plugged into my LG monitor with the usb-c cable that came with the monitor when both screens flickered and died. Power key won’t turn it on or off. Called apple support and they had me try to start it with 3 different key combinations and none worked. I have an appointment at the nearest (1.5 hr drive) apple store on Saturday. Until it’s fixed I can’t work.
 
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Grenadier_45

macrumors newbie
Jan 20, 2021
13
13
Ireland
That's rather troubling. Presumably that LG monitor charges it too? I don't suppose you feel like putting your serial number into the site that dgtvc shared above to see when your MBA was made? I'm assuming it's an M1-based MBA?
 

jdb8167

macrumors 601
Nov 17, 2008
4,859
4,599
At this point in time, I would not leave a hub connected to the M1, especially while charging.
I think that is an overreaction. There appears to be a relatively rare manufacturing defect on some M1 MacBook Airs that cause it to fail fairly quickly after a PD hub is connected. It certainly isn't all MBAs.

Edit: I personally would want to know that it is defective sooner rather than later. I've had a Caldigit SOHO USB-C dock now for almost a month and use it every day with Power Delivery. It has been fine.
 

Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
35,653
52,441
In a van down by the river
I think that is an overreaction. There appears to be a relatively rare manufacturing defect on some M1 MacBook Airs that cause it to fail fairly quickly after a PD hub is connected. It certainly isn't all MBAs.
I didn't suggest it was all MBA.

There have been a lot of people here reporting the same kind of problem. My point was, if one doesn't want to risk having their M1 go down, and be without any machine to work (or play) etc. try and mitigate the risk by not leaving a hub connected to the M1. That advice may or may not work but, there are some here who probably shouldn't risk it.
 

rsucre

macrumors member
Feb 1, 2007
38
7
I never buy AppleCare, but I’m considering that given the situation, it may be wise getting it this time. Before the 60 days allowed for getting it pass.
I’m interested in getting opinions.
 

Quackers

macrumors 68000
Sep 18, 2013
1,938
708
Manchester, UK
I never buy AppleCare, but I’m considering that given the situation, it may be wise getting it this time. Before the 60 days allowed for getting it pass.
I’m interested in getting opinions.
As has been said in another thread I buy Applecare+ for anything that moves about on a regular basis.
It seems that it might be more appropriate than ever with an M1 on its way :)
 

theSeb

macrumors 604
Aug 10, 2010
7,466
1,893
none
This a hundred times over! Maybe we should be asking people for a rough indication of serial number and maintain a register here (if that's allowed under the AUP), since this seems to be the most active Apple site on the web right now.

If it turned out it was the first couple of batches that came out with a missing zener diode or something to protect against overvoltage, then we might all relax a bit!
Do not share your serial numbers online
 
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theSeb

macrumors 604
Aug 10, 2010
7,466
1,893
none
No they are not. Third party chargers are a problem here. It’s all issues with the messy USB C spec. How is it different? Both systems charge via USB C. Which should adhere to charging standards. Yet there are cases where it is bricking. There are cases where there are no bricking. So again, seems like the USB C charging spec is a mess. Therefore, it is best to only rely on official supported charges.

Also using third party chargers have been bad news from the beginning of laptops. I have had several Lenovos brick due to using unofficial chargers.
USB-C PD spec was a mess and I had hoped something has changed in the last 4 years. Judging by this thread it could still be a mess. I am reminded of this story from 2016.

 
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