MacBook Air 13" Early 2014 Logic Board Replacement

The screw sizes refer to the length of the shaft, not the diameter of the head or socket. P5 is the standard pentalobe size for all these screws, regardless of length.

I agree that the notation is a little confusing. I think it's because, with standard sized hardware like for your house, you have shaft diameter (say 1/8" or 3mm) and shaft length (say 3" or 7.5cm). So we're programmed to think of small numbers like that as diameter. But in this case, they're length.

Pulling the fan cable out was terrifying but you actually just pull on the cable itself. No way to get any leverage at the connector to dislodge it. Did come out easily but like I said, scared me!

Draai de schroefjes voorzichtig los en leg ze op een stabiele plek neer en let erop dat de schroefje een verschillende lengte hebben.

I thought I could replace my 256 Gb SSD with 512? regards

Do you have good Test Point Voltages? It appears there are silver colored Test points on the I/O Board. I am working on a water spill and trying to troubleshoot if both the I/O board and the Logic need replaced.

It's probably not necessary but may be a little safer to completely discharge the old battery before replacing it.

tell a model that was not inferior to the speed of the one in the laptop.

Thank you

Do i need to order tools separately to replace the battery i just ordered?

im looking for a Logic Board for a

Apple - MacBook Air® - 13.3" Display - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 128GB Flash Storage (Latest Model) - Silver Model: MQD32LL/A

Any help is appreciated.

P5 pentalobe screwdrivers are too big! The correct size for these screws are p4 pentalobe. P5 pentalobe was just able, with difficulty, to turn some of the screws. If the screws were at all tight, my p5 was unable to get them out, and started to strip the screws. A p4 screwdriver fit better and removed the screws with ease. (I was using high quality Wiha brand screwdrivers.)

Very simple installation. The screwdriver heads were exactly what we’re needed, one head for the outside case screws, the other for the screws holding the battery in place. The computer started right up. Now to see how the battery holds up, but I have a good feeling about this!

My P5 and the T5 worked perfectly with my early 2015 Air 13”! And it is super fast! Thank you iFixit!

There is a nub on the inside of the case which is attached to the battery. When you try to pull it open, it appears to be attached to the plastic casing of the battery, which sometimes splits. I gently unhooked the nub from the battery before removing the case fully. This seems to happen if the battery has suffered some drop damage (plastic parts broken around screws and parts of plastic frame split). Just an FYI in case your lower case doesn't pull away easily.

When closing this back up make sure that the antenna cable is tucked away neatly

I did not find it necessary to loosed the retainer flap, unplug the ribbon cable from it's socket, or remove the fan. After removing the fan screws in Step 9, the fan was loose enough that it can be slightly moved to the side. I felt that loosening the retaining flap and removing the fan adds unnecessary potential to damage something. To the contrary, if you bump the fan while it's plugged in, you might damage the ribbon cable.

I found it easier to do step 11 before this one.

During reassembly don’t forget the ribbon cable.

It is a lot easier to insert the flat ribbon in its socket before placing the fan back in place. BUT DO NOT YET FLIP BACK the retaining flap, until you have seated and screwed the fan. This way in case you pull on the fan by mistake, the flat ribbon is free to come out, otherwise you may tear it.

I did not find it necessary to remove the fan or unplug the ribbon cable from it's socket. After removing the fan screws, the fan was loose enough that it can be slightly moved to the side. I felt that loosening the retaining flap and removing the fan adds unnecessary potential to damage something. To the contrary, if you bump the fan while it's plugged in, you might damage the ribbon cable.

Steps 12 through 16 are not really necessary; you can easily de-route the necessary cables without removing the I/O board. Likewise with reassembly.

When following these steps in the reverse order to reassemble the machine, I found it much easier to insert the ribbon cable before inserting the I/O board into it's place and installing the screw (Step 14). This adds potential for any sudden movement to damage the ribbon cable, so gentle care must be exercised.

Tried doing both ways when reassembling but the ribbon cable is so crimped that it won’t feed through the socket anymore. Not sure how to get it through else replace cable or run without a microphone.

When following these steps in the reverse order to reassemble the machine, I found it much easier to insert the ribbon cable before inserting the I/O board into it's place and installing the screw (Step 14). This adds potential for any sudden movement to damage the ribbon cable, so gentle care must be exercised.

I also noticed that the ribbon cable has a “tab” of extra ribbon above it that was hard to see in the pictures.

One of my terminals is broken. What solutions do you recommend me

You’re actually pushing the connector from side to side toward the front of the case (or towards the track pad). It’s not a vertical motion at all.

I’d also mention to be careful taking these off and putting them back on. I also accidentally pulled a terminal off it’a cable.

You’ve missed a whole section here on removing the fan. It’s still present in Step 19 pics, but gone by Step 23. It’s not that it’s difficult to work out how to do it. But, when reassembling and following the steps in reverse, it’s handy to know when to use which screws!

Ah! –my bad. The steps for removing Fan etc. are there –up round Step 13. It’s just your photos that are slightly out of sync, as it’s back in place again by Step 19. So, while working in reverse, it looks like it’s not been covered.

When re-assembling the motherboard, attach all 6 screws but do not completely tighten yet.

First make sure the rubber gasket is sitting properly, that the 7th screw hole (from Step 18) is properly aligned, and the Airport wire is sitting properly and also not caught under the heat sink.

Once everything is well aligned, start tightening the screws while watching out for the alignment. I found it useful to keep an eye on screw-hole from Step 18 as a reference.

Going in this order, there is a 7th screw securing the logic board to the frame; the heatsink is secured to the logic board with 4 screws, and secured to the frame with 1 more screw. Either take the heatsink off first, or remove that last screw underneath two small black wires, next to the left (as viewed when using the computer; if the computer is flipped over with the cover off and the monitor hinge end of the computer farthest from you, it is in the far right corner) set of three big torx screws that hold the hinge in place. The exact location of this screw is pictured in step 35's second picture; the screw goes through the loop visible below the rubber fan insulator. Scoot those 2 li'l wires out of the way and remove that screw, then the logic board comes right out. If this isn't clear, please let me know and I'll try to describe it better, or add a photo. If I'm posting this to the wrong instruction page, let me know; I was pretty sure I correctly identified my rig, but if not, sorry for the N00bage.

I got an extra screw hiding under the rubber gasket holding the end of the heatsink to the chassis. Ended up bending the heatsink a little cause I wasn't looking for it.

This is the same screws as step 17.

In both the online and the PDF version, Steps 17-18 and Steps 29-30 are identical. At which stage should you actually remove the display screws?

Good catch! We did some sleuthing and it looks like a couple guides did indeed have an extra section of steps! All better now =)

T8 screwdriver/head not listed as a tool. Please add to the tool list. Stuck at Step 27 and need to go buy one.

This step is not needed

It’s not clear what you mean by “This step is not needed.” If you want to remove the logic board from the upper case in order to put it onto your replacement upper case, you will have to remove this screw.

You don’t really *have* to remove the speaker, especially if your replacement upper case assembly already includes the speakers.

I found the same. If you already have speakers in your new upper case, you can leave them. When you put the logic board back in, it will be a tight fit. I had to start with the corner near the right hinge (the Thunderbolt port corner) and work it in to place.

This step is REALLY helpful. I skimmed over it when disassembling and then struggled a bit trying to get the rubber gasket aligned just right.

The middle photo shows what I mean, it's exactly what I needed.