MacBook Air 11" Mid 2012 Display Assembly Replacement

Written By: Andrew Optimus Goldheart

Comments: 38

MacBook Air 11" Mid 2012 Display Assembly Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

40 minutes - 2 hours

Introduction

Use this guide to replace a cracked or broken display.

Tools

Parts

MacBook Air 11" (Mid 2012) Display Assembly

Step 1

Shut down and close your computer. Lay it on a soft surface top-side down.
Remove the following ten screws:
Two 8 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws
Eight 2.5 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws
The special screwdriver needed to remove the 5-point Pentalobe screws can be found here.

When you say:

Remove the following ten screws:

Two 8 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws

Eight 2.5 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws

Do the 8mm & 2.5mm dimensions refer to the LENGTH of those screws, or the size of the pentalobe? That is, are there other sizes of pentalobe drivers like there are for hex, phillips and torx? When only one dimension is provided, it is usually the socket/driver size, not the screw length, maybe since the length cannot be seen when the screw is installed.

Can I suggest that you clarify your instructions so folks are confident they are only in need of _one_ pentalobe driver?

Nerdily yours,

Larry (whose iPhone 4S can now get through a day without 6 recharges thanks to ifixit.com ;-)

larryleveen - 16/05/15

The 8mm and 2.5mm are the length of the screws. One pentalobe P5 screwdriver suffices for all the screws (P5 is implicitly the size of the pentalobe screw heads).

Michael Welham - 11/06/15

I sourced all the parts from ifixit, plus a magnetic project mat which I found to be very useful for organising the teardown and reassembly.

Allen - 04/08/15

The magnetic mat is

GERARD SZAREK - 30/06/18

Keep the 2.5mm tiny screws away from the MagSafe connector as they will be attracted and sucked in to the magnet.

Frank O'Carroll - 04/11/18

A tip an old bench tech taught me that has saved me many times: I put clear “Scotch” tape over the case screws as they became “free”. The tape kept them in place while I lifted the lid off, cleaned it etc.

Michael Mee - 18/11/19

Thank you for a really smart tip! I will be using that countless more times!

Lilljedahl - 24/11/20

I’m confused about internet recovery and installing MacOS. Is all of this done before placing in the new ssd card or after. I don’t have any files that I would like to safe/transfer, is all of this necessary, if I don’t do it before placing new ssd, will I still be able to instal/upgrade macOS afterwards.

It’s an old Mac and now it won’t start or charge, I know I will have to replace battery and put new battery first and turn on Mac before doing the ssd stuff. Since it won’t effing start.

I’m really clueless about backing up old ssd, since I don’t need any files, besides MacOS(software) ,and is that related to the ssd?

AMG - 17/05/20

The answer to your question: You need to insert your SSD into the computer before internet recovery. If you start the recovery before inserting SSD, it won’t affect the setup, you won’t damage anything. But your SSD will not be detected (as there isn’t one inserted.)

Also, a little tip: If you bought a used SSD, go into Disk Utility and format the drive with the highest security level to permanently remove all of the previous files.

Also a FYI: Internet Recovery will load up Mac OS X 10.9.5 Mavericks, so I would recommend making a recovery drive from a Big Sur (or desired version) through another Mac, and a USB. You can visit this support doc: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

Hope this helps! -Dan

danielwen - 10/02/21

I got a macbook air with a damaged and swollen battery. I could remove all screws, except one 2,5 mm screw. I’m afraid it got damaged while attempting to remove it, I have no grip with the P5 pentalobe screwdriver. How can I proceed?

Robert Hermans - 29/03/21

Hi Robert!

Try some techniques found in this stripped screw removal guide. Good luck!

Arthur Shi - 30/03/21

Hello I have a macbook air they are say they do not have parts for my laptop macbook air 11 inches 2013 mid need to replace battery which one to buy

vensilver -

Hello! This is the part you want—maybe we’re not able to ship it to you if you’re out of the United States. The battery in your MacBook Air should be the same for all 11” between mid-2011 to early-2015.

Arthur Shi - 18/08/21

The smaller screws went in more easily when I put back all the screws along the hinge edge first.

Rachel Slatkin -

Step 2

Wedge your fingers between the display and the lower case and pull upward to pop the lower case off the Air.

Step 3

In this step you will disconnect the battery to help avoid shorting out any components during service.
Use the flat end of a spudger to pry both short sides of the battery connector upward to disconnect it from its socket on the logic board.
Bend the battery cable slightly away from the logic board so the connector will not accidentally contact its socket.

My macbook air's configuration (Mid-2011 core i5) has a different battery connector. It slides into a receptacle on the logic board. If your battery connector does not look like the one pictured, use the pointy end of a spudger to depress the small indentation in the middle of the battery connector cable terminal, and pull aft to release the clasp mechanism.

Ethan Cross - 28/04/17

Maybe your battery connector doesn't match the picture because these instructions are for the mid-2012 model and yours is mid-2011.

colleenthompson - 13/08/20

Step 4

Remove the single 2.9 mm T5 Torx screw securing the SSD to the logic board.

Step 5

Use a spudger to help lift the free end of the SSD just enough to grab it with your other hand.
Do not lift the end of the SSD excessively.
Pull the drive straight out of its socket and remove it from the logic board.
When reinstalling the SSD, be sure it is properly seated before reinstalling its retaining screw.

When you've completed all these steps to replace your SSD, don't despair if the MacBook Air shows a flashing folder with a question mark when you first power up the MacBook Air.

- Power off the machine, then keep the option key (= Alt key) pressed down, power on the machine again, and keep the option key pressed down until a prompt appears.

- If you've set a firmware password, then type it in at the prompt

- You should now be prompted for a hard drive to boot from. Select "EFI Boot"

- The MacBook Air should now boot to a window showing "OS X Utilities"

- Click on the  at the top left, then select "Startup Disk..."

- Select your SDD/Hard drive, and restart.

Michael Welham - 11/06/15

When replacing the SSD, be careful about the connector orientation. Replacement boards look almost the same if they are upside-down. Note that the connector is not reversible - there is a notch that will only line up if the board is right-side up. If it doesn't seem to line up, flip the board over.

shamino - 03/09/17

can i ask some links for some ssd’s that are compatible with that macbook model ?

giannismistil - 24/06/18

Hi I completed steps above, but the MacBook Air 2012 doesn’t seem to read the drive, on reboot I get a flashing folder, and upon clicking Control R on reboot it goes to internet recovery mode and then can’t find the drive on disk utility. Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks, Devin

Devin Patrick Hughes - 24/09/20

if you’re using an M2 adaptor, be mindful to check the compatibility with the other end. In my specific case my adaptor was only compatible with M2 Sata and not with M2 NVMe.

Andres Urena - 29/12/20

This was a confusing upgrade. Sintech M.2 NGFF SSD fo 2010-2011 MacBook Air was used, yet it’s got a graphic in the sales content that claims it works with ‘M’ key only (NVMe, AHCI), so NOT SATA. Yet in the answered questions on Amazon the sales tech claims you MUST use SATA drive. I bought 2 NVMe SSD’s and found that the first USB adapter board was unstable with both. So, bought another adapter board that supported SATA and NVMe (RIITOP M.2 SSD to USB 3.1 adapter that claimed to be compatible with ‘M’ and ‘B+M’ SATA SSD’s) and a SATA SSD (Silicon Power A55 M.2 SATA III). The NVMe drives couldn’t be seen by the MacBook Air, but the SATA drive worked (Restore didn’t work, but SuperDuper! does fine). Physical install is as shown.

Robert Sutherland -

Step 6

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the I/O board cable up from its socket on the I/O board.

Step 7

Peel the I/O board cable up from the adhesive securing it to the fan.

I did not peel the I/O board connector, it is not needed to be peeled away securing it to the fan.

Leonard Francis - 06/09/20

Step 8

Use the flat end of a spudger to lift the I/O board connector up and out of its socket on the logic board
Be sure to lift straight up on the connector as you disconnect it from its socket. The socket is very deep on the logic board and prying it from side to side may damage the logic board
Remove the I/O board cable.

Step 9

Use the tip of a spudger to carefully flip up the retaining flap on the fan cable ZIF socket.
Be sure you are prying up on the hinged retaining flap, not the socket itself.

Das ging leider nicht wie beschrieben: an der Mutter links unten war eine Platine befestigt, die über den beschriebenen Sicherungsbügel ragt, so dass der nicht erreichbar war. Ohne zu wissen, ob diese Platine einfach abgeschraubt werden kann, habe ich das lieber gelassen.

Lise Lotte - 19/06/20

Step 10

Remove the following three screws securing the fan to the upper case:
Two 5.2 mm T5 Torx screws
One 3.6 mm T5 Torx screw

Step 11

Lift the fan out of the upper case and carefully pull the fan ribbon cable out of its socket as you remove it from the Air.

The replacement fan's ribbon cable is a few mm longer than the original. I t will loop upwards a bit after mounting. The rubber lip on top of the old fan needs to be transferred to the new fan.

Martin Heinrich - 07/09/15

Step 12

Remove the following five screws securing the battery to the upper case:
Two 5.2 mm T5 Torx screws
One 6 mm T5 Torx screw
Two 2.6 mm T5 Torx screws

Step 13

Do not touch or squeeze the six lithium polymer cells when handling the battery.
Lift the battery from its edge nearest the logic board and remove it from the upper case.

Step 14

Use the flat end of a spudger to free the adhesive loop securing the I/O board power cable to the upper case.
Disconnect the I/O board by pulling the power cable away from its socket on the logic board.
Pull the cable parallel to the face of the logic board toward the front edge of the Air.

Step 15

Use the tip of a spudger to flip up the retaining flap on the keyboard backlight ribbon cable ZIF socket.
Be sure you are prying up on the hinged retaining flap, not the socket itself.
Pull the keyboard backlight ribbon cable out of its socket.

Step 16

Use the tip of a spudger or your fingernail to flip up the retaining flap on the trackpad ribbon cable ZIF socket.
Be sure you are prying up on the hinged retaining flap, not the socket itself.
Pull the trackpad ribbon cable straight out of its socket toward the front edge of the Air.

Step 17

Use the tip of a spudger to de-route the right speaker cable from the slot cut into the logic board.

Step 18

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the right speaker cable connector up and out of its socket on the logic board.
Pry up from beneath the cables.

Step 19

Gently push the tip of a spudger under the black plastic flap stuck to the display data cable lock to make the lock pop upward and away from the socket.
Remove the small rubber gasket from the corner of the upper case near the display data cable.

Step 20

While holding the lock away from the socket, gently pull the display data cable out of its socket.
Do not pull upward on the display data cable as you disconnect it, as its socket may break off the logic board.

Step 21

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry both antenna cable connectors up and off their sockets on the AirPort/Bluetooth card.

I'm having difficulty getting the antenna connectors to snap back on. Any suggestions?

Rusty Walters -

Step 22

Gently de-route the antenna cables from the slot cut into the logic board.

Step 23

Remove the three 3.6 mm T5 Torx screws securing the logic board to the upper case.

Step 24

Gently lift the logic board assembly out of the upper case, minding the fragile heat sink and any cables that may get caught.

Step 25

Remove the small rubber gasket from the corner of the upper case nearest the I/O board.

Step 26

Use the tip of a spudger to carefully flip up the retaining flap on the microphone cable ZIF socket.
Be sure you are prying up on the retaining flap, not the socket itself.
Pull the microphone ribbon cable straight out of its socket.

Step 27

De-route the left speaker cable from the notch cut into the I/O board.
Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the left speaker cable connector up and out of its socket on the I/O board.
Pry up from beneath the wires.

Step 28

Pull the camera cable parallel to the face of the I/O board toward the rear edge of the Air to disconnect it from its socket.
Do not lift upward on this cable as you disconnect it, as its socket may break off the logic board.

Step 29

Remove the single 3.6 mm T5 Torx screw securing the I/O board to the upper case.

Step 30

Carefully lift the I/O board from its edge nearest the logic board and remove it from the upper case.

Step 31

Peel up the six cable loops securing the antenna cables to the upper case.
Gently pull the cable loops slightly out of the channel cut into the upper case one at a time.
Use your spudger to open up the plastic loops as you de-route the antenna cables through them.
Repeat this for all of the retaining loops.

The plastic loops stay with the bottom and the wires go with the top (screen).

Dennis Fennell - 13/10/16

If replacing the upper case and needing to transfer the loops to the new upper case, it is difficult to slip the loops through the slits in the new upper case. A reliable way to do this is to use a length of fishing line to pull the loops through the slits.

publicbanek - 22/02/19

How do you use fishing line? I can’t get loops back through

matt9236 - 12/05/20

I used two sewing needles to get the loops back through. It is time consuming, but you can get the head of each loop through the slit with your fingers, then push on the back side of the loop with a sewing needle, hold it in place, then use a second sewing needle to push it through a little more. Once it is through a bit more, hold it on the back side with a needle, then on the front side use the sewing need to help position the loop so you can grab it with a tweezer and pull it through.

Jeff Haferman - 01/09/20

Step 32

Remove the inner 4.9 mm T8 Torx screw securing each display hinge to the upper case (two screws total).

These screws are extremely tight, but they'll go!

Michael Sweetser - 23/07/15

My kit didn’t come with this bit….

CaRina Deneseus - 06/05/20

Step 33

Open the display until it is perpendicular to the upper case and place it on a table as shown.
While holding the Air steady, remove the remaining 4.9 mm T8 Torx screw from the lower display bracket.

Step 34

Before removing the last display screw, be sure to hold the display and upper case steady with your other hand. Failure to do so may allow the components to fall onto the table, causing potentially expensive damage.
Remove the last 4.9 mm T8 Torx screw securing the display to the upper case.

Step 35

Push the upper case slightly toward the display assembly, then rotate it away from the front of the display assembly.
Once the two display hinges have cleared the upper case, remove the display and set it aside.

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Andrew Optimus Goldheart

Member since: 17/10/09

502341 Reputation

6 comments

Amazing guide, finished in under 3 hours for less than $300!

sillemleatea - 24/05/14

Step 21, be careful when de-routing the wifi cables. Ensure they are Well away from the logic board when you remove it. The connectors appear to be little more than pushed onto the aerial wires and they can become EASILY separated from the cables if not fully pulled AWAY.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Pete B - 09/06/14

Yep! I was warned but managed to pull one off anyway!Why are they so impossible to put back on? I bought a replacement cable and swapped them over. Getting that bezel off was a little stressful.

But thanks A Goldberg for the guide. Invaluable.

Andy Hannen - 03/02/17

Hello Andrew, congratulations for the amazing guide! Wonderful job!

I need help trying to understand what's happening with a similar model which turns on only when he wants :)

I disassembled all of it and found nothing wrong, although it still shows the same behaviour. When it turns on (rarely), it works pretty fine, but randomly reboots sometimes. I suspect that there's something wrong with the switch key inside the display part, with some faulty electrical contact. I was trying to remove the black plastic bar below the "MacBook Air" label, but it seems to break if I force it.

My questions are: How can I remove this black bar without breaking it? Is it possible instead to remove first one of the display hinges to remove the black bar by sliding it to the side? Is there any way at all to make sure that the problem is not with the switch key inside it? Unfortunatelly I don't have a spare display to test it :(

I know it can be difficult to solve, but I appreciate any help if you have!

Thanks in advance!

Marcio Tavares - 15/02/15

So, I found this mac in an e-waste pile, and the display is broken. Handling 10.7 drivers, and I want to get the screen back... Although Macs are all about pretty (and I like pretty, too), if I'm not looking for pretty, and I can just put the screen on top of the broken one, can't I just unplug the data cable for the LCD, plug the new one back in and then do everything I need to do? Two screens isn't *half* as bad as one. I'm just asking to sum it up, remove data cable to screen one, attach it to another working screen, and bam? No? Yes? Plz, I really want to know. Alternatively, someone please write a guide on how to remotely make a monitor mirror a screen? That would be great! And thanks to the people that understood my subtle joke.

Revolver265 - 03/05/16

Fantastic directions. Thank you.

We seem to have had a slightly different model of screen that we got as a replacement on Ebay. We had to modify the instructions to route the antenna connections to the airport board (which also had to be removed to get to one of the motherboard screws). We also had a different length Camera cable, so left that disabled (no more camera spying by the NSA is the bonus on that one)….

Paul Friberg - 22/02/20