Apple released firmware 3.2.0 for its MagSafe 3 charging cable. It installs itself, and Apple hasn't published any release notes.

Apple has released a new firmware update for its USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable, the one that charges the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. The update is version 3.2.0 and is dated 29th September 2026, and it replaces version 3.1.12 from 14th February 2023. Apple has not published release notes, so what it fixes or changes is unknown.

Firmware is the small program that runs inside a device and tells its hardware how to behave. A cable having any is unusual, so the update raises an obvious question: what does a cable do that needs software? Apple hasn’t said. We can say that fast-charging USB-C cables normally carry a small chip that tells the laptop and the charger what power the cable can safely handle. A MagSafe 3 cable plugs into a USB-C power adapter at one end and magnetically snaps into the laptop at the other, and Apple says it pairs with a compatible USB-C power adapter for fast charging. That describes what such a chip does in general. Apple hasn’t said that the update touches it.

The update arrives without you doing anything. It installs automatically, over time, when the cable is connected to a Mac and a power adapter. There is no way to apply it by hand, and macOS’s System Information tool doesn’t show the cable’s firmware version, so you can’t confirm whether yours has updated. If you use the cable regularly with both ends connected, you should end up on 3.2.0 without noticing.

The cable is Apple’s 2 metre USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable, sold at USD 49 or about KES 6,400 on Apple’s US store. The firmware applies to the Macs with a MagSafe 3 port: the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro from 2021 and the MacBook Air from 2022 onwards.

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This isn’t the first time Apple has done this. The last cable update was in February 2023, and it also came without notes. Apple also released firmware for its 140W USB-C power adapter in September, again with no notes, and the same install-over-time arrangement.

So there’s nothing for you to do, and nothing you can do. We’d like Apple to say at least what kind of fix this is. Until it does, keep using the cable as normal. Yesterday we covered another change Apple made to the Mac with little fanfare, Full Disk Access.