MacBook Air 11" Mid 2012 Heat Sink Replacement

Written By: Andrew Optimus Goldheart
  • Comments: 30
MacBook Air 11" Mid 2012 Heat Sink Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

13

Time Required

40 minutes - 1 hour

Introduction

Use this guide to replace a damaged heat sink or to reapply thermal paste.

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    • 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 -

    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 -

    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 -

    The magnetic mat is

    GERARD SZAREK -

    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 -

    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 -

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

    Lilljedahl -

    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 -

    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 -

    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 -

    Hi Robert!

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

    Arthur Shi -

    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 -

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

    Rachel Slatkin -

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

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    • 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 -

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

    colleenthompson -

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

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    • 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 -

    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 -

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

    giannismistil -

    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 -

    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 -

    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 -

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

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    • 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 -

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    • 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.

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    • 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 -

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    • 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

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    • 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 -

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    • Remove the four 2.5 mm T5 Torx screws securing the heat sink to the logic board.

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    • If the heat sink seems to be stuck to the logic board after removing all four screws, use a spudger to carefully separate the heat sink from the faces of the CPU and GPU.

    • Remove the heat sink from the logic board.

    • When reinstalling the heat sink, be sure to apply a new layer of thermal paste. If you have never applied thermal paste before, we have a guide that makes it easy.

Conclusion

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

Author

Andrew Optimus Goldheart

Member since: 17/10/09

502341 Reputation

5 comments

I did this last night to my macbook air 11" mid 2012. I had been running at 100 to 105°C, and had up to 10 minute delays coming back from a sleep, while the CPU hit 100% with high temps. When I got into the macbook, it was pretty easy... though the parts are small. Getting to the heatsink was easier than I have found on most desktop ATX case machines. The thermal paste on the CPU was dried and cake-like. I gently removed the paste with the spudger, and it came off easily. I cleaned it up with Arctic paste remover and cleaner, and then reassembled with arctic silver 5. I used the long, rice grain - like bead of grease approach, rather than the recommended smearing technique. Right now, I have a number apps open, and am running at 60°C (vs. the mid 90°C range), and it comes back from sleep immediatly. I don't see the dreaded kernal_task, and i have loaded up the machine and it only hits about 85°. I think in general, I am running about 30°C cooler, and the machine is performing like new again.

Keith Elliston -

I just finished replacing the thermal paste on my CPU . I put a 1 mm-wide vertical line on a clean CPU and put the cleaned copper plate back. I think I’ll buy a new battery set too. I’m glad I made that maintenance on my MacBook Air because it was hot and the fan was draining the battery. (The Mac is still working… :P )

Philippe Morin -

Successful re-application of Heat Sink Paste on 110 month old Macbook Air 2012 in October 2021… this Machine has been a champ.

For those playing along at home you don’t really need to remove the Fan Ribbon.. you can just move the fan off the the side… and so no need to pop the SSD.

Excellent guide as usual… took 30 mins tops.

dagmarfraser -

I’m curious as to which idle and/or load temps would be considered ‘normal’!? Mine are in the ballpark of Mr. Elliston (first comment here). TIA

frank.pepplinkhuizen -

Mine is a mid 2012, and was idling at 170 F and running any app caused it to hit 200+ F. After following this guide to replace thermal compound and clean out the fan I’m now idling at about 130 F and running apps I hit about 160 F (iTunes playing and a PowerPoint running). It took me about 20 mins.

Russell Aberer -