If you have one of Apple's new thin and lightweight Macbook laptops, be sure to check the charging cable.
Apple says that "a limited number" of the charging cables that came with its new Macbook laptop "may fail due to a design issue."
"As a result, your MacBook may not charge or only charge intermittently when it’s connected to a power adapter with an affected cable," Apple says on a webpage it set up to address the issue.
The affected cables were shipped with Macbooks bought through June of last year, according to the company.
We first saw word of the faulty cables on the Apple news site 9to5 Mac.
Apple is offering to replace affected cables at no cost, and has a guide to help you find out if you may have one.
Finding out whether or not you have an affected cable is no easy feat, though. My girlfriend has a new Macbook and it took me a few minutes (and a very bright light!) to find the text — it's printed very faintly — on the cable. (Fortunately, her cable is fine.)
Here's where it is on her cable:
A close up shot that shows just how faint the text is:
Apple introduced the USB-C charging cable on its Macbook last year, and so far, it's the only Apple product that uses it. But unlike other laptops Apple has released, which use proprietary charging cables, the USB-C is a standard cable that is used by many companies. Google's Chromebook Pixel uses it, as do some Android smartphones like the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, and the OnePlus2.
Be careful of buying third party USB-C cables, however — The Verge's Dieter Bohn recently wrote about how faulty cables can ruin devices.
