MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2012 Optical Drive 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…….

______________________________

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.

"Carefully pull the camera cable out of its socket on the logic board."

I followed these instructions to the letter, heeding the warning to pull vertically.

The camera cable broke at the connector.

The connector was pretty tight in the socket. Had to use a tiny screw-driver to free it. There was no way simply pulling would have worked.

A quick google of "macbook pro camera cable broken" shows that this has happened to many other people, and been reported to ifixit. But no mention in the instructions. Disappointing.

The MBP no longer boots. The cable is soldered to the LCD, which must be replaced. $500?

Someone, PLEASE fix the instructions. It looks like many people have been hit by this.

Actually it says to pull parallel away from the board, so horizontally. It never said vertically and actually warns against pulling verticaly.

I'd to disassemble my MBP two times because my SSD did not work properly in optibay. While doing it a second time, I omitted steps 6 and 8. It is really not necessary, but step 6 is really scary.

I've replaced 4 dvd's with hdd's already, in different macbooks, so wasn't too fussed about #5. However; this time I broke the camera connector cable :(

The connector is stil in it's socket, and I can't get it out no matter what I try. My guess is that some of the glue that connects the socket to the logic board, got into the socket as well. Prying with a small screwdriver, pulling with a pair of tweezers... nothing works. And this mbp belongs to a friend who uses his camera a lot for skyping...

I hope we're still friends after I tell him.

The thing is; I think it might be possible to do the whole operation with that cable still in its sockets; if you pull the rest of the cable free of the fingers, you can probably fold it out of the way when you lift the dvd out.

This is Sooo Unnecessary!! don't do it!

I actually found it necessary to do this step. If not done you can rip chord, if you read the wording carefully and do as it says it should not break.

After having initially skipped this step, I finally followed it. I couldn't find a way to move the airport / bluetooth assembly away otherwise, and in the end it's a pain to put the small screws back in. Didn't have any trouble unplugging the camera cable, but it is indeed scary because it looks pretty fragile.

I only skipped step 8, as it didn't seem necessary.

I also broke my camera cable!!! And I just realized that removing that lovely cable was not necessary for the following steps!!! Thank you!

I dont know how to fix this problem and I asked it in this question: How can I fix broken camera cable

Please, help...

I omitted this step successfully

I skipped this step, but did step 8.

There was no way I was doing this step -- just remember that the cable is still plugged in, and work VERY CAREFULLY.

totally unnecessary. You can remove optical drive easily without disconecting that cable

Technic Mender, he is talking about Step 11. It says upward. Most untouched MBP's have a piece of sticky foam over the right subwoofer connection to the logic board, so you can't see how it is really supposed to come out but that step says pull upward. Ripped my right subwoofer connection straight from the logic board. Thanks iFixit, Step 11 has an unnecessary line that costs me money. You pull it laterally, not up.

I successfully skipped this step when removing the hard drive enclosure (I had already the dual drive running, but I needed to replace the drive in the optical enclosure. I also skipped steps 7, 8, and 11.

I have a blog post on my experience of performing the upgrade with a simple diagram showing how to skip step 6, 7, 8 and 11. (http://www.ocyedwin.com/?p=190)

I skipped this step complete . There is space enough in order to manipulate stuff without unplugging theses cables.

I tried to pull the cable, but it did not come off even with moderate force. So it stayed as it was, and I had no problems taking out the drive and putting in the new one.

Probably its best to skip this step.

I can't remove this so I skip it. I also skip 7,8,11 with no problem, just do it slow and carefully remove any parts.

I did this successfully, but I don't remember which way the contacts came out. Does the side with more gold face up or down?

I also managed to skip steps 6, 7, 8, and 11. It is possible to get the superdrive out without disconnecting the camera, antenna, and subwoofer. However, obviously you have to be very, very careful.

Just done the job. *6 to 11 are strictly unnecessary*. You'd better be careful (a little bit, that's not hard at all) than taking the risk of all those tricky steps...

And you will gain a lot of time ;-)

Just did the replacement of Optidrive with my original HDD (which I had earlier replaced with a Samsung EVO 500 GB drive - using ifixit's method). I omitted steps 6,7,8 and 11. The upper left side screw of the OptiDrive is deeply placed - a magnetic screwdriver with a long thin shaft would be essential to remove and especially, to replace it.

This step is unnecessary, as is step 8. You can get the SuperDrive out and put the caddy in without pulling the cable out.

The disk utility sytem recognises my new HD however when I try to do the recovery setup I receive an error message.

I successfully skipped this step when removing the hard drive enclosure (I had already the dual drive running, but I needed to replace the drive in the optical enclosure. I also skipped steps 6, 8, and 11.

I omitted this step too. It's not necessary.

I successfully skipped this step when removing the hard drive enclosure (I had already the dual drive running, but I needed to replace the drive in the optical enclosure. I also skipped steps 6, 7, and 11.

Based on the advice above, I tried to skip this step. Unfortunately, the way the wire wraps around the plastic caused it to break underneath when I lifted the optical drive out, and now I have another broken part.

Yu can easily skip the step, just make sure you take care when removing/put away the AirPort/BT assembly in the next step, be gentle.

Is all of these screws can be removed by phillips #00 screwdriver? I can't remove left 10.3 screw and bottom 3.1 screw. Another screws can be removed easily… My macbook pro is 13-inch, Late 2011. What can be wrong?

I think you should remark when re-assembling the machine, you should pay attention to the metal clip in Step 9, the upper left screw position, it's easy to miss when assembling, because there are so many wires, and it may be very easy forgetting putting the metal clip back in place.

No idea how I'm supposed to put back the "grounding rings". Anybody?

As far as the grounding ring goes, it slips back over the screw hole, be patient and gentle. You may have to finagle the airport board under it first and then lay the board flat and reattach the subwoofer. I will see if I can add a pic in the near future. But that the best way to describe it.

Another comment on step nine I have is about the subwoofer. In my case the screw hole that is for the "One 5 mm Phillips screw" (its currently circled in yellow) was broken [Mind you I have never dropped this computer so it came that way from apple. So be carful, it may be fragile and need some repair. Apple really needs to have better quality control on parts like this .(also they won't care that it was that way, they didn't like that I opened the computer, so even though its their fault, I should never have known and therefore they shouldn't be held responsible in their mind.) This may not void warranty as an over all upgrade, but any parts 'broken' or in my case 'found broken' during the fix are not covered any longer. So just be aware of this possible defect. Happy fixing.

No need to unscrew the 2 orange-marked 3,1mm screws - they just keep the two black plastic pieces together. In the contrary, unscrewing these makes the job more wobbly.

I removed all the screws in this step with the PH0

i managed to strip two of the 3 #00 Phillips screws on this step, so im going to try and explain how i removed them.

i got a ratchet that is about 5" long, and a 1/4" socket that fit the bits in the 54 bit driver kit

there are all of the parts that you need in that kit to connect it to the ratchet

with this tool of torque i dropped down a size and use the #000 Phillips bit

i pressed good and hard, and watched the head. if it didnt turn i pressed harder

one screw was the worst and the #000 didnt work on it, just stripped it further

so i threw the j000 on the end and gave it a go

the shaper point on the j000 seemed to do the job

i was on the verge of JB Welding bits to them and trying that

but i didnt need to

I did not removed the orange screws. I also successfully skipped steps 6, 7, 8, and 11. when removing the hard drive enclosure (I had already the dual drive running, but I needed to replace the drive in the optical enclosure.

This is the most difficult step while resembling. Take special care of the 2 10.3 Phillips screws tabs positions in order to resemble as original.

You don't have to remove orange screws but remove them make you easily move the AirPort/Bluetooth assembly.

If you remove the orange screws (I did), note that the top one is under the ribbon. When screwing it back in, you have to carefully bend the ribbon back to get the screw underneath. Do not impinge on the ribbon when screwing it back in.

After completing this step during reassembly, it may help to loosen the screw just right of the rightmost red 10.3 mm screw. Then, make sure the metal plate attached to that screw fits inside the small cut-away in the outer body. I tends to run just over it, causing problems later when screwing the lower case back onto the computer.

The left part in the picture (the AirPort/Bluetooth assembly) is held down under a plastic tab that sticks out a tiny amount. Thus, it needs to be pulled very slightly towards the camera module in order to be able to lift out.

This step was also unnecessary. You can do the whole operation while leaving the subwoofer cable in place.

I successfully skipped this step when removing the hard drive enclosure (I had already the dual drive running, but I needed to replace the drive in the optical enclosure. I also skipped steps 6, 7, and 8.

I skipped the step about disconnecting the speaker cable. No problem.

Skipped, no problem

My wires all slipped out during removal. This should be fun to fix. Be careful.

I broke the speaker cable from the board

can I fix that ??????

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.

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'm having the exact same issue here. Left two screws are in there really tight. I got the top one out with the rubber band trick, but no dice with the bottom one.

Same Problem one of the screws wont come out. I think it is stripped . What should I do now ?

I stripped mine as well. Anyone know where I can buy these screws for cheap?

As complained, the left bottom one was also annoying me, stripped out. If it is moderately stripped, then the rubber band would be the best answer as guided by andrewsimpsonx. The screw is tiny and shallow, so all you need is just one very hard pressing the screw, pinching the rubber band.

By the way, I was doing this to lighten my laptop, but note that it is not that affecting :(.

Because I skipped steps 6, 7, 8, and 11 when removing the hard drive enclosure (I had already the dual drive running, but I needed to replace the drive in the optical enclosure) I found it specially difficult to put the top right screw back in place. It kept falling below the enclosure. I needed to remove the enclosure two times, before I was able to put it back.

Basically i had to remove the optical drive by leaving the two left screw's there and snapping the whole thing, it was not the best solution but it worked, the two screws would't come out :)

iFixit has a guide on How to Remove a Stripped Screw: 如何卸下滑丝的螺丝。

I had the upper left screw stuck and a bit stripped. What worked for me was removing the optical bay as much as I could (possible since 2/3 screws were out) and wiggle it around the last screw. The last screw came off really easily after.

In my MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012)

MBP 15.4/2.3/2X2GB/500/SD/GLSY

Part Number: MD103LL/A

the 3 screws in this step are hex screws

I was about to pull and break the optical drive because the two screws were very tight. On a last effort, I pressed down really hard the screwdriver and used pliers to twist it. It worked.

Can’t secure the hard drive holder to those two left screw placements. I was able to get them out without any problem - but the dual hard drive holder piece doesn’t have the right dimensions for me to re-secure the part to the upper part of the case. Basically, the head of the screw is “too wide”, and cannot be forced past the side of the drive enclosure. Will be sending pictures to iFixit, as this needs to be fixed. Right now, I’ve got an empty hard drive enclosure (since the SSDs are out of stock, and I had a stuck CD in the optical drive that was really causing a lot of slow-downs and grinding noises) just sort of sitting in there. Figured it was a bad idea to leave a huge gaping space.

what capacity of hard disk we can use once we remove Optical Drive 500GB, 1TB or 2TB