MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Logic Board Replacement

Written By: Walter Galan
  • Comments: 16
MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Logic Board Replacement

Difficulty

Difficult

Steps

25

Time Required

1 - 3 hours

Introduction

Like brain surgery? Use this guide to replace the mind of your computer.

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    • Unplug your MacBook Air and power it off before you proceed.

    • Remove ten Phillips screws securing the lower case to the MacBook Air:

    • Six 2.8 mm screws

    • Two 3.8 mm screws

    • Two 5.4 mm screws

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    • Slightly lift the lower case near the vents and push it toward the rear of the computer to free the mounting tabs.

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    • Disconnect the battery connector by pulling it straight out of its socket.

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    • Remove the following nine screws securing the battery to the Air:

    • Four 2.9 mm Phillips.

    • Four 3.8 mm Phillips.

    • One 7.2 mm Phillips.

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    • Lift the battery out of the Air.

    • If you're installing a new battery, you should calibrate it after installation:

    • Charge it to 100%, and then keep charging it for at least 2 more hours. Then, unplug and use it normally to drain the battery. When you see the low battery warning, save your work, and keep your laptop on until it goes to sleep due to low battery. Wait at least 5 hours, then charge your laptop uninterrupted to 100%.

    • If you notice any unusual behavior or problems after installing your new battery, you may need to reset your MacBook's SMC.

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    • Disconnect the port hatch ribbon cable from the logic board by pulling it straight up by its black pull tab.

    • Pull the audio out ribbon cable off the adhesive securing it to the upper case.

    • Use a spudger to pry the audio out ribbon cable connector board off the hard drive bracket.

    I skipped the step (6c) of prying the audio out ribbon cable connector board off the hard drive bracket (& disconnecting it), since it doesn't come off real easily, and I didn't want to damage it. It only requires a little more care when removing the HD from it's bracket if you skip step 6c.

    amiller770 -

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    • Disconnect the audio out cable from its socket on the port hatch ribbon cable.

    This is not necessary and looks pretty risky too.

    eugene_o -

    Agreed, I encountered no issues when I skipped this on a Rev.B model.

    Kyle Milnes -

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    • Use a spudger to pry the hard drive cable connector up off the logic board.

    Reversing step 8 is where I ran into trouble. The replacement fan I had was slightly thicker than the original and caused the ZIF cable to work its way out of the tenuous connection it had to the SSD, resulting in a "?" missing boot drive error upon startup. Took me three tries to get it right! The difficulty is to get the drive connector to the logic board to reach and seat without pulling the other end out of the drive.

    aaronmiller -

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    • Use the sharp end of a spudger to de-route the microphone cable from the hard drive bracket.

    • Remove the cosmetic screw cover from the adhesive securing it to the hard drive bracket.

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    • Remove the four Phillips screws securing the hard drive assembly to the upper case:

    • Two 4.7 mm screws.

    • Two 3.9 mm screws.

    Longer screws on top.

    Adam Nelson -

    Two 3.9 mm Phillips screws.

    Two 4.7 mm Phillips screws.

    Alvaro Hermida -

    There is a cable glued to the diskframe that must be loosened with a spudger before you can remove the frame.

    oysteinalsaker -

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    • Lift the hard drive assembly out of the upper case.

    Ever since Steve Jobs died, Apple hasn't been what it used to be.

    George A. -

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    • Use the tip of a spudger to pull the fan cable connector straight away from its connector on the logic board.

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    • Use the tip of a spudger to move the cosmetic fan cover aside.

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    • If you have the original version of the MacBook Air (A1237), refer to picture 1. Remove the following screws securing the heat sink to the logic board:

    • One 5.9 mm Phillips screw.

    • Two 1.9 mm Phillips screws.

    • One 1.9 mm Phillips screw.

    • If you have the A1304 version of MacBook Air, refer to picture 2. Remove the following screws securing the heat sink to the logic board:

    • One 5.0 mm Phillips screw

    • Five 1.9 mm Philips screws.

    • One 2.5 mm Phillips screw.

    On A1237, the yellow screw is a bit longer then the two orange ones.

    Peterdk -

    I have replaced several Logic boards at this point on the A1304 model, and realized that I did not need to remove the heatsink (Steps 14 through 17). You need to remove the screws around the fan, and disconnect the microphone cable (step 19). Of course if your replacement logic board doesn't include a heatsink, you need to take it off.

    Steerpike -

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    • Lift the processor clamp off the heat sink.

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    • Deroute the microphone cable away from the channel in the fan.

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    • Lift the heat sink up off the logic board.

    • Be mindful of the microphone cable when lifting the heat sink, as it can get tangled on the top edge of the fan.

    • When you mount the heat sink back onto the logic board, be sure to apply a new layer of thermal paste. We have a guide that makes replacing the thermal paste easy.

    I removed the fan at this point as well. Disconnect the small connector from the fan to the logic board and lift out the fan. Good time to blow off the dust!

    Andrea Wang -

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    • Use a spudger to pry the audio cable connector up off the logic board.

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    • If present, remove the small piece of black tape covering the microphone cable connector.

    • Disconnect the microphone cable by pulling its connector straight away from the socket on the logic board.

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    • Remove the two small Phillips screws securing the logic board bracket to the upper case.

    • Lift the logic board bracket out of the upper case.

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    • Use a spudger to pry the AirPort/Bluetooth and trackpad control cable connectors up off the logic board.

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    • Disconnect the DC-In cable by pulling its connector straight away from the socket on the logic board.

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    • Remove the small Phillips screw securing the display data cable ground loop to the upper case.

    • Disconnect the display data cable by pulling its connector straight away from the socket on the logic board.

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    • Remove the three Phillips screws securing the logic board to the upper case.

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    • Lift the logic board out of the upper case.

Conclusion

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

Author

Walter Galan

694047 Reputation

5 comments

nice its very helpful for each other.

Rjames Tabuzo -

I currently have a 1.6ghz A1237 Original Macbook Air, and I was wondering if the logicboard is interchangeable with the late 2008 model A1304. I hope someone can answer this for me. I want to swap out the logic board for A1304.

ric2081263 -

I have the same question too. Who can help me because I want to upgrade to El Capitan instead of Lion

Tom Xu -

great work and helpful!

frank.haubold -

Can we upgrade or add, make part from new mac dumbed down? advisor meeting with your board

Donald Eugene Moore -