MacBook Air 13" Mid 2011 Heat Sink Replacement

Written By: Andrew Bookholt
  • Comments: 100
MacBook Air 13" Mid 2011 Heat Sink Replacement

Difficulty

Difficult

Steps

21

Time Required

30 minutes - 1 hour

Introduction

Use this guide to replace the thermal paste or the heat sink.

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    • Before proceeding, power down your MacBook. Close the display and lay it on a soft surface, top-side down.

    • Use a P5 Pentalobe driver to remove ten screws securing the lower case, of the following lengths:

    • Two 9 mm screws

    • Eight 2.6 mm screws

    Pulling the fan cable out was terrifying but you actually just pull on the cable itself. No way to get any leverage at the connector to dislodge it. Did come out easily but like I said, scared me!

    allison -

    Draai de schroefjes voorzichtig los en leg ze op een stabiele plek neer en let erop dat de schroefje een verschillende lengte hebben.

    bwgvanderveer -

    I thought I could replace my 256 Gb SSD with 512? regards

    ola m -

    Do you have good Test Point Voltages? It appears there are silver colored Test points on the I/O Board. I am working on a water spill and trying to troubleshoot if both the I/O board and the Logic need replaced.

    andrew -

    It's probably not necessary but may be a little safer to completely discharge the old battery before replacing it.

    Larry Smith -

    tell a model that was not inferior to the speed of the one in the laptop.

    Thank you

    ilyabuhov -

    Do i need to order tools separately to replace the battery i just ordered?

    anne uhlir -

    im looking for a Logic Board for a

    Apple - MacBook Air® - 13.3" Display - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 128GB Flash Storage (Latest Model) - Silver Model: MQD32LL/A

    Any help is appreciated.

    Jamie Comstock -

    P5 pentalobe screwdrivers are too big! The correct size for these screws are p4 pentalobe. P5 pentalobe was just able, with difficulty, to turn some of the screws. If the screws were at all tight, my p5 was unable to get them out, and started to strip the screws. A p4 screwdriver fit better and removed the screws with ease. (I was using high quality Wiha brand screwdrivers.)

    William Skinner -

    I had same experience (with MacBook Air 13-inch Mid-2012) … had to get P4, which worked swimmingly

    eric -

    Very simple installation. The screwdriver heads were exactly what we’re needed, one head for the outside case screws, the other for the screws holding the battery in place. The computer started right up. Now to see how the battery holds up, but I have a good feeling about this!

    Dennis Eaton -

    My P5 and the T5 worked perfectly with my early 2015 Air 13”! And it is super fast! Thank you iFixit!

    Pennny Beach -

    The supplied kit and instructions worked perfectly!

    Nikolay Andreev -

    Comments that the P5 pentalobe are too large are absolutely spot-on. There is no way the P5 pentalobe bit I have will work with the MacBook Air without destroying the screws. Hard target search for P4 pentalobe bit in progress…..

    joemoog -

    Bonjour j’aimerais changer mon SSD de 128 Go pour en mettre un de 512 Go. Je ne sais pas ce qu’il faut prendre car il faut qu’il soit compatible avec le macbook air A1466. J’aurais vu un Samsung Evo 970 500 Go mais si je ne me trompe pas, il faut un adaptateur.

    Merci pour votre aide.

    chicco33 -

    oui, vous aurez besoin d’un adaptateur, pour completez le changement.

    Dan -

    The tool kit should include tweezers for re-inserting the battery connector.

    Andre Clement -

    P5 pentalobe worked perfectly for me. Instructions were spot-on. Antenna connections were a bit fiddly to refit but got them in ok.

    michaelquinnell -

    Maybe the problem some are experiencing is that the designations are confusing (blame Apple rather than iFixit). the P2 is also known as PL1. The P5 is also known as PL4. The P6 is also known as PL5. So it is possible to mistake the P6 (PL5) for the P5 (PL4), meaning it (P6-PL5) will be too big, while the P5 (PL4) will be just right. Sort of a 3 Bears explanation, but it is very confusing.

    Thomas Lewis -

    To add to this. In searching for the P5 screwdriver to buy in UK, as far as I can tell, it is also known as

    Pentalobe 1.2(mm)

    also

    P4 = 0.8

    P6 = 1.5

    Just unscrewed the back case of MacBook Air 13” mid 2011, with no problems using Pentalobe 1.2

    nijafe -

    I have not replaced a display on the A1369 but have done many A1466 which is a newer 13” model. They seem really similar and its not clear why one needs to remove the logic board to remove the display. The antenna cables on the A1466 dont have to rest under the logic board but can be tucked in the hinge crevice. Cant this same thing be done with the A1369?

    Sean Love -

    Did mine today - but new battery wasnt charging. Went back in and noticed the battery connector cable was not quite 100% “seated. It was sticking out by less than a millimetre! - you need to give it quite a firm push in to get it seated properly. Otherwise - all ok .

    John Brennand -

    Just installed on a MacBookAir6,2 (13-inch, Early 2014).

    Was very easy.

    New iFixit battery looks great so far:

    Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 4922 -> 7333

    Jonathan Cross -

    can you tell me which size of screwdrivers you’ve used to crack it up, please? I have the same model and size,

    hawk_lpc -

    Screw P5 Pentalobe 1.2

    Mario Verlent -

    Install went flawlessly. Only challange was reattaching blue tooth antennas. Those sockets are so tiny.

    Joel Sebastian -

    Installation was a little challenging at first because the instructions on this site did not perfectly match my model (late 2013 to early 2015).

    Found this video on YouTube which described the procedure perfectly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lue6lVWh...

    Also the Ifixit kit I received was well put together with everything I needed and more. The calibration went perfectly and I am very pleased. Will buy again!!

    Donald Niamath -

    Gently pulled out connector of old battery, then pressed and held the power switch for 1 minute. Unscrewed and removed the old battery. Pressed and held power switch for 1 minute again. I know from previous work that this helps drain charge from spontaneous recharging as the dielectric recovers. Gently “fine tuned” leads from new battery to connector till connector stuck out at right angle to the edge of battery. Held the battery by the edges and let the connector slide into the socket. Set the battery down and put the screws in all the way. Then checked that the connector was completely seated before tightening the screws. The laptop come on immediately and showed 98% charge and registered normal (checked in “About this Mac”. Very happy to this point. Now for calibration.

    Amir Zaidi -

    Thank you very much for the guilde. My MBA2011 had reborn !

    Billy Wong -

    Allow for electrostatics, otherwise you may cook components on the logicboard /motherboard (like I did with one of these!)

    See great advice: Electrostatic Discharge

    Fletcher Cole -

    … und wenn du eines von diesen wirklich kleinen Schräubchen vermisst: bevor du den Boden aufkehrst oder mit einem starken Magneten absuchst, schau mal am seitlichen (magnetischen) Ladekabelanschluss nach … ?

    ... and if you miss one of these really small screws: before you sweep the floor or search it with a strong magnet, take a look at the (magnetic) charging cable connection on the side … ?

    Blatt -

    Fot All People ha ing trouble finding their SSD

    DONT PRESS CMD +R + POWER

    instead press

    OPTION+CMD+R +POWER

    I just installed Monterrey with WD black sn 770 SSD in m'y macbook air 2015

    Albert -

    IFixit just had me submit "my story" re. fixing my MacBook Air 2013.

    This repair was NOT difficult. The battery is enclosed in a plastic frame. It is NOT glued in like the newer models of Apple laptops. And unlike older laptops, the battery is not totally enclosed in a plastic housing. So once you remove the screws holding the batterie's frame, you can remove the battery.

    Follow the instructions. Read the comments. Also read the comments re. installing a new battery.

    Good luck. - Eric J.

    ECJohansen -

    On the back of the laptop, notice that each screw is angled a little bit inward, aiming toward the middle of the laptop. Keep your screwdriver lined up with the screw (angled a bit outward as seen at 01:23 in the video: https://youtu.be/tToAwO6f-SY&t=83). This will help you get a good bite on the screw to get it out and avoid stripping the head of the screw.


    Use the same angle when putting each screw back in. If the screw is in line with its hole it should not feel like you are fighting to screw it in. If it does, check your angle and back up a little; you should feel the screw fall into line.

    Rich Garella -

    IFixit just had me submit "my story" re. fixing my MacBook Air 2013.

    This repair was NOT difficult. The battery is enclosed in a plastic frame.

    shrhh -

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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 and set it aside.

    There is a nub on the inside of the case which is attached to the battery. When you try to pull it open, it appears to be attached to the plastic casing of the battery, which sometimes splits. I gently unhooked the nub from the battery before removing the case fully. This seems to happen if the battery has suffered some drop damage (plastic parts broken around screws and parts of plastic frame split). Just an FYI in case your lower case doesn't pull away easily.

    Jeannie Crowley -

    To add - the slim 1cm tab “nub” is on the centre of the back cover & fits into a hole in the battery frame. I ran my fingers around the whole of the cover to eventually here it click out.

    nijafe -

    When closing this back up make sure that the antenna cable is tucked away neatly

    Gabriel -

    So this is a legit back cover for MacBook Air?

    ASHANTI SMITH -

    What about disconnecting the battery?

    Luke -

    I bought the part and tools from iFixit and followed the directions. The mechanical part went smoothly - maybe 10 minutes to disassemble/replace/reassemble.

    Getting Catalina (the current MacOS) to install was not working until I used Cmd-Opt-R (as noted in the OWC paper sheet that came in the box) which brought up the proper installer - I believe from a pre-prepared bootable SD card but it’s hard to say. From there the install succeeded taking ~1.5 hours.

    Beware that (a) the install requires a working internet connection for verification and updates, and (b) the system must have been running at least macOs 10.13 (High Sierra) before the install in order to have an EFI BIOS that recognizes the SSD.

    Lance Berc -

    As noted by others, be a bit careful removing the lower case. There is an oblong black plastic locator very near the center of the lower case. Unless you gently pry the bottom cover pretty much straight up, you will break the ends off of the locater.

    BobY -

    Thanks for the detailed photos. When repairing equipment, I don’t really like to disassemble plastic parts, they can be damaged, but your screenshots help a lot. For my studies, I am writing an essay comparing the reliability of laptops from various manufacturers and the complexity of their repair, maybe it will be useful for someone to check the essay for plagiarism here essay checker, when comparing different manufacturers, I understood why people love Apple so much. The minimum number of failures. Of course, repairing it in an official service is not cheap, but with the help of such detailed instructions, you can do it yourself and save a lot.

    Nexus -

    The screwdriver bit to use on these case screws is not named, but I found that my "CR-V 1.2" did the job nicely.

    The driver for the screws inside the case are named, as "T5".

    Jim Henderson -

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    • As a precaution against accidental discharge or shock, disconnect the battery connector from the logic board.

    • Grab the clear plastic pull tab attached to the battery connector and pull it toward the front edge of the Air to disconnect the battery from the logic board.

    • Be sure to pull the connector horizontally toward the battery, and not straight up from the Air, or you may damage the socket on the logic board.

    The clear plastic tab is missing on mine. Whoever worked on my laptop before me seems to have ripped it off. Now what?

    mjmorawski -

    My plastic tab pulled off the connector. I worked the connection apart using two spurgers, slowly backing it out side to side.

    Ric Thistlethwaite -

    I don’t see my socket on logic board, how can I fix it

    QUYNH PHAM -

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    • Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the I/O board cable connector upward out of its socket on the I/O board.

    Be really careful when reconnecting the I/O board cable connector. The deep connector has a tendency to bend the pins with very little force applied. If this is the case, check to see if the gold pins are bent down, you may only see one row of gold pins vertically, or none.

    They can be lifted with a flat head screwdriver bit. Gently slide the bit under the pins, this may need a small amount of pressure depending on how far they are bent down. Lever the pins back to the vertical position.

    I found attempting to insert this connector was easier while holding the MacBook on a slight angle to see down the pins as I aligned the connector.

    Another way to tell if the I/O connector cable is in place correctly is to run an Apple Hardware Test. Hold down the letter D while booting the mac and follow the prompts. If no issues found, you're all good.

    A common error for a misconnected I/O Connector is 4SNS/1/C0000008:TS0P--124. This means the system cannot read the palm temperature sensor. Fix the cable and you're good

    Ben -

    Hi, Can the 13” Logicboard of 2012/2013/2014 or 2015 be compatible in the 2011 model?.

    verma1986 -

    This is ridiculous.

    From this point, skip ahead to step 18. There is no need to perform steps five through 17.

    AnnoniMoose -

    I am glad I saw your comment. This saved me a lot of time and allowed me to miss many points of failure. thanks.

    norsk4sure -

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    • Carefully peel the I/O board cable from the top of the fan.

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    • The following connector has an especially deep socket. Use care when disconnecting it.

    • While gently pulling the I/O board cable upward near its connection to the logic board, use the tip of a spudger to pry upward on alternating sides of the connector to help "walk" it out of its socket.

    • Remove the I/O board cable.

    This step can be skipped, not required for removing the fan.

    yurkennis -

    Agreed, there is no need to remove this cable.

    David Robillard -

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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.

    It is not necessary to remove the fan cable.

    ezequielaceto -

    It's certainly necessary to remove the fan cable, as you won't be able to remove the fan in Step 10 if you don't!

    Goth70 Fuzed -

    If you break the ZIF socket, it could be a bad day.... It happened to me. Not one to throw in the towel, I fashioned a hold-down with a length of paperclip held in place by the nearby screw. So far, it is working like a charm. Hopefully, it continues to work and this helps some other poor soul.

    Lester Newsom -

    I also haven't removed the fan cable. No need for this step IMHO. Just let the fan on the side instead of completely remove it.

    David Robillard -

    Trouble putting the cable back in the ZIF socket?

    Get some electrical tape and cut it down the the width of the ribbon cable fold over one end to create a pull tab. Now place the tape onto the ribbon to give yourself something to pull either in or out as needed. Then you can peel off the tape.

    Don't forget the unlatch the connector first!

    Source: Re-connecting fan ribbon cable

    Adam Banko -

    The hardest part is to put the fan cable back in the ZIF socket.

    (Why do people say you don’t have to unplug the cable? that makes no sense)

    Digital Blended -

    after putting the cable back in the fan is very loud, can someone help?

    Ramon majem -

    Be very careful when locking the ZIF connector during reassembling. This was my first time seeing a ZIF connector, the retaining flap plastic bounced when I was reassembling the I/O board ( I didn’t pushed so hard though) and a struggled nearly 1 hour to reassemble it. Same connector, be careful. It was a nightmare, thank god it didn’t broke!

    Berkin Birol -

    Quick note, when u install the new fan, i inserted the ribbon cable back in the zif socket first with a pair of tweezers then screw the fan back in.

    robdroby -

    I see comments suggesting not to remove the ribbon cable. This would work. Simply flip the fan like the page of a book, from right to left, thereby getting it out of the way while you remove the i/o board. Flip it from left to right when you reinstall. This approach would save some frustration, as it is a challenge to reinsert that tiny ribbon into position.

    If you do remove the ribbon, reinsert it before repositioning the fan. That will give you more play as to fiddle with the ribbon.

    Mark -

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    • Peel the rubber gasket off the adhesive on the top of the fan.

    Note how the “ears” of the gasket are routed

    davecortesi -

    Where can I purchase a replacement gasket? It’s missing after the repair place opened my computer

    Erin Kaspar-Frett -

    Should I put some adhesive back when reasembling?

    Marco -

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    • Remove the following three screws securing the fan to the upper case:

    • One 3.6 mm T5 Torx screw

    • One 2.7 mm T5 Torx screw

    • One 3.6 mm T5 Torx screw with a short head

    So far great

    Joseph Sperber -

    When reinstalling, start all three screws before tightening down. There’s some play in these holes, and you will have trouble lining them up if you tighten one down first.

    Curtis Kline -

    I just replaced the the i/o board and it went fine, but I think I broke the screw holder on the top left side of the fan, and now can get the screw out - the computer still runs - i was wonder can I get a way with that one screw not holding it down?

    ilarkin1 -

    Same here. The screw socket was broken for the 2.7 mm T5 Torx screw. Is there a way to re-solder the socket? Or support the fan. It’s making a horrible noise now :(

    Jason -

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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.

    Would like more detail about removing the fan cable. Looks like it just pulls out to the right. I thought I ripped it off.

    kennyavis81 -

    On re-installation of fan cable cable no tool required - just wiggle it in from from side/above (side force aided by bend of cable)

    Super easy - my first computer repair..hope all is well

    paul deacon -

    The ribbon connector held in the socket by a tiny square on top, which enters a square hole in the top of the socket. An xacto blade used to pry the top of the connector gently up will help release the connector.

    peteragries -

    This helped me no end, I agree with the people above that it's worth explaining how the ribbon cable is held in and that

    it's simple to remove and reinstall. Thank you for a brilliant guide.

    leesparey -

    Year, from the top, the ribbon appears to be just the plastic strip. Copper connectors are on the bottom but at first glance it looks like I pulled the connector off the ribbon. Mine pulled straight out away from the connector, no upward angle needed or desired.

    Allen -

    Question: Is the ribbon connector a part of the fan, so that the new fan has its own ribbon connector? Apologies if this sounds trivial, but I could not tell from the wording/picture.

    jerry bennett -

    So I did the replacement according to this guide, with a replacement fan purchased from iFixit, and the fan would not spin even under heavy load! I took out the fan, and noticed that there was quite a lot of resistance when I spun the blades manually. It turns out, the fan was slightly squashed flat near the vent so that the resulting friction prevented the blades from spinning free. I un-squashed the fan, re-installed it, and the fan is spinning! The moral of the story is to make sure the blades can spin free when installing a new fan.

    Hiroshi -

    On reassembly, I found it hard to reinsert this ribbon cable, so did step 11 again. I disconnected the I/O board, connected the fan and snapped the retainer down on the ribbon cable, then undid step 11 (ie. I connected the I/O board again). As others have said, a brilliant step-by-step guide, and slloeing comments is a great idea too.

    Jim Henderson -

    nice! Congrats!

    Luis -

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    • 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 right edge of the Air.

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    • Pull the camera cable parallel to the face of the I/O board toward the corner of the Air to disconnect it from its socket, using the tip of a spudger to help push the connector out of its socket.

    • Do not lift upward on this cable as you disconnect it, as its socket may break off the logic board.

    Mine was very reluctant... couldn't get any purchase with a spudger, had to use flat tweezers to get enough grip on the cable. Exerted slowly increasing pull, but when it came out, it broke loose suddenly.

    Allen -

    My Macbook Air (2013) didn't have this cable.

    Phillip Remaker -

    Mine too, only a slot where a cable was passing,

    Gianni Borghesan -

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    • 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.

    • De-route the left speaker cable from its retainer on the I/O board.

    On re-assembly, I haven't gotten the speaker or microphone to work. Must have broken the connection, but it looks fine. Ran the hardware diagnostic (holding down "D" at start up) and got the following error code - 4MOT/4/40000002:Exhaust-0

    Anyone know what this means.

    Daniel Thomas -

    I recommend for the two speakers & mic connectors place thumb nail on top while prying up so you can gauge the upwards pressure better.

    also generally before trying anything scary double click the picture & zoom in so you can see better what you’re dealing with. Or even get your phone magnifier to zoom in on to your tricky parts.

    nijafe -

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

    • Pry up from beneath the wires.

    Be very careful: it is quite easy to accidentally pry the whole cable connector from the I/O board.

    Dallas Guy -

    What do you do if this happens? Buy a whole new I/O board?

    adamwitz -

    I agree, I found this to be the only critical step of the entire disassembly procedure: I snapped the microphone connector socket off the board despite applying a relatively gentle pull on the cables. Fortunately I did this on a dead MBair from which I wanted to get the display, but now I'm afraid of doing the same damage while installing the display on the target MBair!

    Any tricks/tips would be most welcome.

    Lorenzo

    Lorenzo Cangiano -

    Following up on my previous post I'd like to share how I eventually circumvented the risk of snapping the microphone connector socket on the I/O board. Instead of attempting to disconnect the mic (as suggested in this guide, step 14), I did the following: a. remove the battery, b. detach the right speaker, c. detach the microphone from the outer case (for steps b and c I followed the iFixit guide on how to replace a MacbookAir microphone). The advantage is that the microphone can now remain safely connected to the I/O board. Of course when reassembling the mac one has to reverse these extra steps (the microphone can be easily reattached to the case as it has a sticky side). I would strongly advise iFixit to revise this guide accordingly!

    Lorenzo Cangiano -

    I don't think this step is necessary if you aren't seeking to fully remove the I/O board - if you are seeking only to remove the heatsink, you can skip this step, leave this delicate cable attached, then in the next couple steps you'll end up "flipping" the board out of the way, while leaving this cable connected.

    coopermarcus -

    Maybe I just lucked out but removing the mic cable was about the same effort as the left speaker cable. I wasn't ready to try Lorenzo's workaround above without a photo guide, so took my chances. Your mileage may vary.

    Allen -

    I find it very helpful that you give directions on where to pry, and how to address each connection. I’m always hesitant for fear of snapping something off, so I appreciate this detail. Thanks.

    Adam Goldstein -

    I recommend for the two speakers & mic connectors place thumb nail on top while prying up so you can gauge the upwards pressure better.

    nijafe -

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

    The screw was stripped and I couldn’t remove it, but it didn’t matter, I could complete removal of the logic board without removing the I/O board. I think the steps involved with disconnecting the I/O board are redundant.

    Nigel Anderson -

    I have done this repair without the steps laid out above. The I/O board does not need to come out. Just be careful when de-routing the wires attached to the display and you should be fine. I was able to skip steps 11-21 and go straight to step 22 without issue.

    Kevin Ginther -

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

    When following these instructions in reverse, and reinstalling the I/O board, be sure to carefully check and adjust the alignment of the ports on the board with the holes in the case - it is especially obvious if the headphone port is mis-aligned with the case.

    coopermarcus -

    Also on reassembly, make sure the speaker and microphone cables are visible before securing the i/o board!

    davecortesi -

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    • Remove the two 4.9 mm T8 Torx screws securing the antenna cable retainer on the left display hinge to the upper case.

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    • Push the antenna cable retainer out of the way and remove the 3 mm T5 Torx screw securing the end of the heat sink to the upper case.

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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 five 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.

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    • These shots show how the rubber fan gasket should be installed during reassembly. Be sure not to install the gasket underneath the ear where the end of the heatsink is screwed down to the upper case.

    • Additionally, be sure the small post molded into the rubber gasket mates with the hole cut into the upper right corner of the logic board.

Author

Andrew Bookholt

585795 Reputation

4 comments

Excellent instructions / guide. Replaced both heat sink and fan without a hitch. Thank you!

Robert Makar -

I wanted to bring my old 2011 MBA back to life since its still running strong, so I followed this with a new thermal paste, good cleaning and a new battery, its like a brand new computer now. Glad I got the ifixit kit as well when I ordered the battery. Hope to keep this MBS going another year or two before I upgrade. Now I need to do the same with my MBP 2010 for fun.

John Ficchi -

I have a mid-2011 MacBook Air identical to the model in the instructions, and it frequently gets up to 80C when running under a heavier load. I am planning to disassemble it entirely and repaste the machine, and fully blow out the inside. I will post on here when I get it done and see how it runs! Thanks for the guide!

Sam -

thanks alot.. I followed the procedure to replace the thermal paste and it was great.but i didn’t realise a difference in heat and sound of fan.

Ahmed Fadly -