MacBook Air 13" Early 2020 Left Speaker Replacement

Written By: Carsten Frauenheim
  • Comments: 13
MacBook Air 13" Early 2020 Left Speaker Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

8

Time Required

15 - 45 minutes

Introduction

Use this guide to remove or replace the left speaker in an Early 2020 MacBook Air.

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    • Before starting this procedure, you should disable your Mac's Auto Boot feature. Auto Boot powers on your Mac when you open the lid, and may be accidentally triggered during disassembly. Use this guide to disable Auto Boot.

    • If your MacBook is running Big Sur v11.1 or later, disabling Auto Boot may not work. You can proceed normally, but make sure to disconnect the battery as soon as you're inside.

    • Completely power off and unplug your MacBook Air before you start. Close the display and flip the entire laptop upside-down.

    • Use a P5 driver to remove the following screws:

    • Two 7.9 mm screws

    • Two 7.1 mm screws

    • Six 2.6 mm screws

    • Throughout this repair, keep track of each screw and make sure it goes back exactly where it came from to avoid damaging your MacBook.

    P5 is also a PL4 (so confusing) - i like the wiha 26764 thanks to @mayer for this post. P5 pentalobe and 1.2 pentalobe screwdriver

    greg -

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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.

    • Remove the lower case.

    • To reinstall the lower case:

    • Set it in place and press firmly to engage the two hidden clips underneath. You should feel and hear them snap into place.

    When reassembling, the “snaps” are in the middle of the laptop (from top to bottom), and just to the left and right of center. I assumed it was near the hinge so it took a bit for me to hear the snaps.

    Laurie McCall -

    Laurie, the two clips are outlined in the third photo of step two. Hope this helps—happy fixing!

    Carsten Frauenheim -

    What tool kit should I use for this?

    Lucas Lee -

    the second picture is m1 air right？

    the antenna cable position does not match later picture

    Paul -

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    • Peel back the tape covering the battery connector enough to reveal the connector underneath.

    This image is incorrect correct for the A2179 EMC 3302 model, also doesn’t match the next image in this guide

    Steven Friar -

    There is other guide for the model you reffer to, I was using that one until i realize it was different, this is the one you are looking for: MacBook Air 13" Retina Late 2020

    Marco Rojas -

    I initially thought the image was incorrect, but I was just looking for the connector in the wrong place. This picture IS correct for the A2179 EMC 3302. Note that the connector is on the left side of the heat sink (the black thing with parallel ridges in the picture and on the computer), and the connector wires gather together towards the left the side of the computer, not the back. Note that "left side" assumes the Air is upside-down, with the hinge on the side farthest away from you (I'm not doing the "right speaker is on the left side because it's upside-down" thing that iFixit does in step 5).

    Bryan Gillson -

    How do you find out if you have a Retina Late or Retina Early model?

    Inji E -

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    • Use a spudger to slide the battery connector parallel to the logic board and out of its socket on the logic board.

    It’s stuck can’t get it out

    Jeansceem Jeansceem -

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    • The left speaker will be on your righthand side when working on the MacBook, as it's laying upside down.

    • Slide the pointed end of a spudger underneath the left speaker cable and pry straight up to disconnect it from the logic board.

    • With the connector disconnected, slide the flat end of a spudger under the cable to separate the adhesive securing the cable to the logic board.

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    • Use a T3 Torx driver to remove the 4.2 mm screw securing the left speaker to the case.

    El tornillo es un Torx T3

    Israel Adame -

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    • Use a pair of tweezers to peel back the black pull tab on the speaker's stretch-release adhesive until you can grip it with your fingers.

    • Grab the adhesive strip's pull tab and slowly pull the adhesive strip out from underneath the speaker.

    • Keep the angle of the adhesive strip as parallel to the laptop as you can. Try to avoid dragging it across the inside of the case.

    • Pull the adhesive strip until it's freed from under the speaker.

    • If the adhesive strip breaks, use a heated iOpener, a heat gun, or a hair dryer to help remove the adhesive:

    • Apply heat to the speaker to soften the adhesive underneath.

    • Carefully slide a spudger or opening pick underneath the speaker to separate the adhesive.

    TIP: Don't keep pulling from the tab like they show in the picture. The adhesive WILL break, and you'll need to do some serious spudging to get the speakers to disengage from the adhesive.

    Instead, start pulling with the tab but stop pulling as soon as it stretches about an inch (2.5cm). Then, grab the white adhesive part close to the speaker and SLOWLY stretch about another inch (so now you have 1 inch stretched from the speaker and another inch dangling past the spot you're holding. Adjust your grip again, back to the speaker side (so you now have 2" dangling) and SLOWLY pull again. Keep doing this, going only an inch before grabbing close to the speaker again. Like the instructions say, go horizontally (parallel to your table) as much as you can.

    Eventually the adhesive will break, but this should get as much off as possible so it's easier to pry off the speaker the rest of the way.

    Bryan Gillson -

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    • Remove the left speaker.

    • During reassembly, to ensure the speaker performs as expected, install a strip of replacement adhesive on its underside before placing it back into the case.

    I didn't order the Tesa tape. Instead I used 3M Command Strips I had left over from some outdoor hanging hooks. I cut them down to the right size (for the speakers and the batteries) and left a little tab hanging out in case I need to do this process again. For those that aren't familiar, Command Strips also "stretch removable" like the original adhesive in the MacBook. They're designed for hanging things without leaving a mark on the walls (no, I have no relation to 3M - but more people probably have these in a junk drawer somewhere than have double-sided tape).

    Yes, the Command Strips are a little thicker than the original adhesive but the back still went on the MacBook just fine.

    Bryan Gillson -

Conclusion

Compare your new replacement part to the original part—you may need to transfer remaining components or remove adhesive backings from the new part before installing.

To reassemble your device, follow the above steps in reverse order.

Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.

Repair didn’t go as planned? Check out our Answers community for troubleshooting help.

Author

Carsten Frauenheim

Member since: 10/03/20

110978 Reputation

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