Why doesn't my Macbook stay charged on an airplane using the Apple Magsafe power adapter?

September 2, 2010 10:49 AM

Why doesn't my Macbook stay charged on an airplane using the Apple Magsafe power adapter?

I have a 13" aluminum Macbook (not Pro) and an Apple Magsafe power adapter. When I use it on a plane, the light on the magnet end of the plug turns on, indicating that I am getting power, but my Macbook battery seems to discharge and eventually die as fast as normal.

I understand that airplane power isn't enough to charge the laptop, but my battery is depleted while plugged in... and it eventually dies.

I've tried removing the battery and plugging it in - the computer won't work at all.

Any idea what's going on?

posted by kdern to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

Sounds like the airplane power isn't providing enough power to run the laptop, so it's having to deplete the battery.
posted by BZArcher at 10:53 AM on September 2, 2010

Does this happen every time? Because I've happily charged my black Macbook in-flight for years now.
posted by djgh at 11:07 AM on September 2, 2010

I had this problem on a flight to Hawaii last winter, with a 17 inch MacBook Pro. That was my only flight with power, so I didn't have any way to test it again. Very frustrating after buying the adapter for that specific flight.
posted by shinynewnick at 11:35 AM on September 2, 2010

I had this problem on a flight last year, though not with the special adapter. Would only hold charge for 2-3 seconds at a time, and the inseat power would randomly cycle on and off.

I don't bother now. 22 hour flight? I'll have my laptop for 3.
posted by wingless_angel at 1:32 PM on September 2, 2010

I'd bet the AC from the plane, which has to come from an alternator or dynamotor of some kind rather than the strictly controlled dynamo that produces the AC you get on the ground, is too irregular and spiky and causes your (smart) charger to refuse to rectify it and send it to your computer.
posted by jamjam at 2:08 PM on September 2, 2010

Seat guru addresses this at the bottom of this article. 15 volts with 75 watts max is not going to be enough to power that Mac as well as charge the battery at the same time. I suggest a power-sipping Atom-based netbook with a small screen for extended use on a flight or trying to removing your battery, as seatguru recommends.
posted by damn dirty ape at 2:43 PM on September 2, 2010

damn dirty ape, he tried removing the battery and it wouldn't even start up. hal_c_on, it's a 13" macbook, whose included adapter is 60w.

My questions:
• I can't tell from your phrasing whether you are using the Magsafe Airline Adapter or the standard 2/3-prong adapter on a plane that has such outlets (e.g. Virgin).
• What airline? What kind of plane? (You can look up the plane on seatguru if you don't remember) I've never had a problem staying charged on American [if the outlet was working], neither with the Apple airline adapter nor a Kensington auto adapter (which even lets me slowly charge).

If it was American, note that AA disabled all domestic power ports yesterday for an undetermined period of time so I guess I may have a problem next time...
posted by xueexueg at 5:27 PM on September 2, 2010

Response by poster: I have the Magsafe power adapter with the DC power plug. I mostly fly American, and am flying STL-LHR-FCO in 2 weeks, then MXP-JFK-STL 10 days later. Sure would love to figure this out...
posted by kdern at 8:37 PM on September 2, 2010