MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Early 2011 AirPort/Bluetooth Board Replacement

Does void the warranty?

No, it does not void the warranty. More specifically: http://eshop.macsales.com/Search/display...

I'm thinking you'd probably be OK losing the DVD drive without a problem. Just make sure the optical drive cable is secured or you might hear it rattling in there from time-to-time.

Hey guys,

this website is amazing. I read it to guide me on fixing my mac book pro, but on the video, the girl gives a wrong information.. She says that is not possible replace just the keyboard... But I managed to replace only my keyboard. It is boring because I have to remove approximately 70 screws but it is possible. Thanks a lot! You guys helped me save about US$300 thats because in Brazil some technicians would charge me with that amount!

I posted some pictures on your facebook page..

Tip: Use one of those weekday pill holders to have a cheep way to store screws you remove and each day of the week can be for different sizes or parts. It has been handy to have (much less expensive than the magnetic mat.

Great tutorial. I found that using a Phillips #0 in lieu of the #00 worked much better.

I tried the PH #00 for the 10 screws that hold the bottom case and it's too big, instead PH #000 works perfectly. Are you sure this screws are #00?

The likely problem with your wifi is not the card but the antenna leads that go into the plastic clutch

. Ifixit don't have a guide to change this as it it includes the isight camera so the screen has to be disassembled which is fairly hard

I got round it by using the camera cable from the old set and cutting off the new one

Hello MacWorld,

Just want to say that this site is a great resource for repairing or upgrading your Mac. I had a bad SATA cable in my MacBook Pro and after ordering a new one from the "IFIXIT" site I received the cable within two days, replaced it and was up and running again in no time. Thanks IFIXIT for you help!

wer 10/5/15

I have found that my MacBook Pro 13 Late 2011 has five shouldered screws and not four. I am not sure exactly where it goes but I have put it in the top left corner of the picture as it is the odd one out.

on my device the #00 screwdriver was a bit too small. a #0 was the perfect one

I found with mine that the shouldered and un-shouldered screws were reversed (the three un-shouldered screws going where the orange colour indicates). Also, I found that the front four screws went in at an angle.

I used 3 eggcups to hold the screws ;>) They are very fiddly and easy to drop on floor so keep the MacBook away from the edge of the surface you are using to avoid accidentally dropping a screw off the edge of a table, etc.

A screw does not come out, how can I get it out? Many thanks in advance for your help

Since you’ll be removing many screws it’s best to plan ahead. I found it especially helpful to have a small plastic tray with about a dozen separate compartments to hold screws. As I removed screws I kept them in one compartment for each item removed. For example: The lower case removal involves the removal of ten screws. I kept them all in the first tray compartment and set the lid aside. Also, I put a post-it note identifying this compartment as “Lower case” and noted that the top right-most screws were the long ones. I continued with this methodology as a removed the next item, and the next, etc. Disassembly notes included for each compartment. This helped SIGNIFICANTLY as I was able to reassemble the Macbook easily by simply going from one compartment to the next (in reverse order). This guide is rated “Difficult” which it really isn’t when you plan ahead in this way. It saves time in the long run.

when putting the macbook pro back together, the middle screw on the right side (if the computer is upside down and you have the hinge furthest away from you) requires a bracket that was not included with my new upper case. i had to remove it from my old case and transfer it over - if you don’t do this, that screw will have nothing to attach to.

this was one of the many additional parts i needed to transfer from my old case to the new one that aren’t mentioned in this guide…i’m adding comments on each step to try to help others…i wish i had thought to take pictures.

The screws used on all Retina models, as well as about everything Apple has made since the iPhone 4, uses “PENTALOBULAR” not Phillips screws. These look like a TORX driver, but it has 5 concave sides. I believe the size you want is a P4 or T4. (1.2mm).

Two screw types:

______________________________

Shouldered Unshouldered

xxxxxxx……….xxxxxxx

..xxxxx……..….…….x…….

…..x……..…...……….x…….

…..x…………....……..x…….

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If you are following this guide to upgrade to a better drive and want to keep your system and data intact I highly recommend first following the guide to Clone an Existing Drive using the recommended free SuperDuper!. That process was a breeze and gives you confidence that the new drive will come up looking exactly the way it did when you started.

If the black vent window that is attached to the back cover becomes loose what kind of glue should be used to attach it again, thermal paste or super glue?

Thanks for your help.

Merhaba, trackpad değişimi ve ayarlaması için tornavidaya ihtiyacım var, bu konuda yardımcı olabilir misiniz acaba? Ne tür bir tornavidaya ihtiyacım var ve nereden bulabilirim acaba?

Rather than be careful of the corners of the connector i would say don't use the spudger anywhere near the corners. While the corner looks like the obvious place to begin to pry it up from, it will break. Levering from the sides as the instructions suggest works well.

wonder why apple does not recommend it?!

I would recommend it, one careless short and the whole board is dead......

Don't know what the deal is with the battery, but this IS a necessary step to keep from frying the logic Board if you accidentally touch something and short it out. I did this step every time during my troubleshooting and The battery was ALWAYS recognized by the system the next time I turned the MBP on. So be safe and don't fry your logic board in the process...

Prying the battery connector off does not take much force. I did exactly what the guide suggested (walked it off back and forth) with the spudger without any problems. Just be very gentle, much like with anything inside laptops, they are very fragile and need to be worked with carefully. A+ instructions, battery replacement was a success.

Installed/upgraded 4gb RAM to the system maximum 16gb and installed a 500 gb SSD today....DID NOT disconnect the battery cable....no issues at all when I powered back up. Then did a clean install of OSX Yosemite....next I used a time machine backup to put all my stuff back on the new HD. From start to finish it took about 4 hours. Macbook boots up right at 16 seconds now.

Easiest to use two spudgers, one on each short end, I found.

I took off th Airport /Bluetooth connectors but the number J3 connector is broken and so where can i buy J3 connecter for the Airport/bluetooth board

Its a lot easier and safer (corner wise) to pry it using the flat side of the black spudger directly in front of the connector (don't go/use the corners) very easily you will be able to pry it further by inserting the spudger into a better and thicker plastic section of the connector

DON'T remove the Battery Cable, you risk the battery NOT being recognised when you start the Mac up again, or breaking it!! More to the point, APPLE DOES NOT RECOMMEND THIS, so don't do it! I Installed 2x 8GB ( 16Gb total) of Crucial Mac RAM at 1333Mhz for my Late 2011 MacBook Pro, and it works beautifully, fully recognised and working well. I followed these instructions, but as Apple didnt recommend disconnecting the battery, I skipped this step, and as well as taking less time, nothing was damaged or broken, and everything works perfectly!!! Just make sure that you DISCHARGE ALL STATIC ELECTRICITY FROM YOUR HANDS, by touching a metal surface in the Mac. Apple recommends the edge of the Optical Disk Drive ( Big silver thing ) before touching any parts. Also, Take care removing the RAM out of its packet, DO NOT touch the Gold connectors, and hold the RAM by the edges. Finally, be PATIENT, GENTLE and it should all go perfectly. I managed it first time, with no technical ability, so follow my advice. Good luck!

Followed the tuto Step by step. Disconnected the battery (quite easily).

No problem when I lit the Mac on again. Battery's here, date's right.

Definitely do this step. It's an easy disconnect anyway and also easy to reconnect later.

I removed the battery cable for the repair. When I plugged in the MagSafe adapter after the repair, the Mac turned on automatically without pressing the power button and I was a bit worried, but after a restart everything worked fine again. I did have to reset date and time in Preferences. The battery was recognized OK.

Okey, I skipped this battery disconnection part. Did not do anything like this before in my life, changing the cable was super easy!

The official Apple guide to replacing the RAM says nothing about disconnecting the battery but it does recommend touching metal inside to discharge static. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201165

I always do this when working on MacBooks (over ten years) and it never caused an issue. Don’t worry about this step as removal of the battery connector is simple. This particular connector is pretty much goof-proof as it won’t break. I’m fairly aggressive and just pop it off whenever I’m working on the Macbook Pro.

Hello!

Do I really need to use a spudger tool? Can’t I just use like two plectrums for guitar? xD

What are the changes of it broke when i bend it?, after i disconect it does not work anymore

The guide worked perfectly, as it has in the past (our family has three Mid-2012 Macbook Pros that have been separately upgraded with RAM and SSD).

The PH00 screwdriver fit perfectly.

One note on getting the screws to seat easily and thread perfectly...always turn them gently a couple turns to the left (CCW or Anti-Clockwise) until you hear a small click. That's where the threads will grab. Works with any screw, but when threads are fine, this will help ensure that the screw is at the correct angle and will grab and seat perfectly.

Great guides. Thanks!

Got RAM in but only one slot is working and now I can't remove! The RAM won't pop up like before and tabs don't seem to do anything. Please advise.

Followed the advice and right as I was installing the replacement fan , the socket broke right off the motherboard.

One other note: The screw heads fit flush with the curvature of the case -- which means that they aren't exactly horizontal. In other words, they aren't perpendicular to the table that the computer is resting on. Don't try to force them straight in vertically, because you'll risk cross-threading them. (nearly ruined one screw hole myself!)

does the battery connection need to be removed? I only ask as other videos etc have not shown this step.

N.B! Thank you very much all you here on iFixit! Some IMPORTANT notes. Be very careful BEFORE prying the connectors up and down. They are very fragile and the picture could actually be seen as showing a bending loading in their weakest direction, AROUND its slender axis. The connector is slender and inserted on the logic board, so the gentle "walking" up and down should be done ALONG their slender direction and WITHOUT touching the adjacent connectors. If bending is done around its axis the soldering comes apart and the cable is done and gone. Just happened. These flat cables are one of the weakest design spots in my experience. They are a major time, money and geist consuming reason for malfunction like Wi-Fi connection problems, HDD, SSD not found internally but externally from USB issues et al being found on different forums. Thanks again and again.

I ripped the camera cable where can I buy a new one

Be very careful at step 6!

I had the same problem with the model "Late 2011" and I doubt to step 6 because the camera cabel connector was plugged very tight in the board-socket. So I cannot believe it is so easy to unplug the connector.

I bought a new camera cable on eBay.

Be extremely careful on step 6 with late 2011 model unibody macbooks! The cable is connected very tightly to the board and has a great chance of ripping if you just pull the cable.

I ripped the camrea cable socket on the logic board.

Walk the cable out with a spudger!!! The Retina 2012 guide has this and this was so easy using the tool.

Take a few phone close-ups of this corner of your system prior to disassembly. Extra photos really help during reassembly.

I didn’t use any extra adhesive here during reassembly. The camera cable fits snuggly between the subwoofer module and the DVD drive. Apple’s adhesive here is really just overkill.

When I was repairing the hinge of my laptop two of the antenna cable connectors came off the ends of the antenna wires. Can someone confirm what these are called and the size so I can source replacements? I believe they may be called ’Micro RF Coax Connector’ but I am not sure what size I need. For the record the wifi is actually still working but may be a bit slower than normal. Thanks for your help.

What are these? Like in order? I broke the middle one and am trying to find a replacement. The mac actually functions quite normally, currently using it to type this ahaha, anyways, only difference I've noticed is that the speaker sounds a bit weird/off. Internet is fine, display is fine, everything is fine at the moment besides the speaker. And in case you're wondering how exactly broken it is, its not connected to begin with since it ripped ahahaa...

I found re-attaching these antennae connectors the trickiest bit by far as they appear very delicate and seating them correctly was fiddly. In the end lighting them from the side with a small torch helped to check their position before gently pushing them down. The first one made a clicking sound as it connected, the other two went on silently. MBP wifi working perfectly now. I’m fairly sure that was at least £100 of labour had I taken it in for repair so thanks ifixit for saving me money and for the warm glow of accomplishment!

The two screws marked in orange are not present in my early 2011 macbook pro

Should be worth noting that the black tape/wire grommet on the right red screw is flimsy. When overtightened, it can tear.

I accidentally pried the soldered connector off the board (the j3 bt connector) as I have seen this connector is only two/ three channel. Is it an option to try to solder back the connection? Thanks for all of your help Ifixit!!

I did the same thing as skogliruben2. the J3 bt connect popped right off with the antenna cable when I tried to pry it off. I'd also like to know if I can try soldering it on. I really can't even disconnect the little connecter from the cable socket now. What does this antenna do? Thanks for your help!

Awesome guide! I just replaced the AirPort/Bluetooth board in my 6 year old mid-2012 MacBook Pro 13-inch and extended it’s life.

I also replaced the battery, fan, and installed a SSD so this MacBook Pro will hopefully serve me well for another 6 years ;-) Thanks for the awesome guide.