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Heads up on those new 'universal' power adapters for laptops
Had a customer bring in a fried Dell XPS 13 last week. They'd bought one of those cheap universal adapters with the interchangeable tips from a big box store. The box said it was compatible, and it fit the port, so they thought they were good. The problem was the voltage regulation was garbage. It was putting out a dirty 19.5v signal with crazy ripple, and after about a month it cooked the charging circuit on the motherboard. The repair ended up costing them $220, more than the laptop was worth. I had to tell them it was a total loss. The choice was between a $30 adapter and a $90 genuine Dell power supply. They went cheap, and it cost them the whole machine. Has anyone else seen a spike in this kind of damage lately, or found a reliable third-party brand that doesn't trash the board?
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nancythomas1mo ago
What exactly does "crazy ripple" look like on a meter?
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cole9941mo ago
Yeah, I've been there. Looks like a total mess on the screen.
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