Introduction
This guide shows the hidden screws you must remove when replacing the keyboard.
Tools
Parts
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Use your fingers to push both battery release tabs away from the battery, and lift the battery out of the computer.
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Lift the memory door up enough to get a grip on it, and slide it toward you, pulling it away from the casing.
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Remove the following 6 screws:
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Two 10 mm T6 Torx screws on either side of the RAM slot.
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Four 14.5 mm Phillips screws along the hinge.
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Rotate the computer 90 degrees and remove the two 3.2 mm Phillips screws from the rear of the computer.
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Rotate the computer 90 degrees again and remove the four 3.2 mm Phillips screws from the side of the computer.
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Lift up at the rear of the case and work your fingers along the sides, freeing the case as you go. Once you have freed the sides, you may need to rock the case up and down to free the front of the upper case (there are some hidden plastic clips that need to be clicked off).
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Disconnect the trackpad and keyboard ribbon cable from the logic board, removing tape as necessary.
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Remove the upper case.
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Use the tip of a spudger to flip up the black plastic flaps locking down the keyboard and keyboard backlight ribbon cables.
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Use the tip of a spudger to flip up the brown plastic flap locking down the keyboard backlight ribbon cable.
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Carefully peel up the orange ribbon cable which carries the power and sleep signals, removing tape as necessary.
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Peel back the black protective sheath on the right side of the upper case. It is not necessary to fully remove this shield. Simply peel it back enough to access the screws beneath.
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Peel back the black protective sheath on the left side of the upper case. It is not necessary to fully remove this shield. Simply peel it back enough to access the screws beneath.
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There are four locking tabs along the back edge of the keyboard holding it in place. These tabs must be straightened before you can remove the keyboard.
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The first frame shows a tab in the "locked" position and the second frame shows the same tab in the "unlocked" position.
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Use needlenose pliers or a spudger to bend each of the four tabs so that they are all in the "unlocked" position.
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Place the upper casing on its edge and use a spudger to push the keyboard away from the casing, poking the spudger through the central keyboard screw hole. Grasp the keyboard as it separates from the casing.
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Maintaining your hold on the keyboard, lay the casing flat and gently bow the keyboard until the two tabs on either side of the keyboard come free.
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Slide the keyboard away from the trackpad and out of the upper case.
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When reversing the steps and installing the new keyboard, be sure to carefully insert the keyboard ribbon and the keyboard backlight ribbon into their respective slots in the upper case before reinserting the tabs on either side of the keyboard.
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
2 comments
The replacement keyboard I bought, although advertised for A1211 had no tabs on the sides and 6 locking across the top. The extra locking tabs in the corners made the corners of the keyboard bubble up. If someone wanted to saw bits of the top cover it might work. I ended up breaking of the 2 extra locking tabs, and holding the corners down with double-sided tape. I had to triple up the double sided tape in 1 on the two corners to hold down all the layers. Not a great solution, but it actually worked and looked clean, and the keyboard lights still worked fine afterwards.
Shane -
As to this ENTIRE guide I have to say - BRAVO - thorough, detailed, complete. Made this keyboard replacement fast, and totaly NON-confusing! Yay!
re: tiny backlight cable - it IS possible to (gently) thread it through it's designated opening after the keyboard has been seated, but you must do that BEFORE you screw it down. I found it easy by using a spudger to lift the tiny connector end through its opening while gently pushing on the keyboard from below (the side where you will screw it in.
gnome -
Years ago, I had to return/replace this type of a battery several times because of erratic behavior in the laptop. Suddenly I had one that lasted for 5 years before not taking any charge anymore. So, I'm going to order a new one hopefully without having to restart the return charade BECAUSE:
I observed that the battery's CONTACTs are unreliably INTERMITTENT. So far, it helped for a while moving it in and out in order to chafe the contacts' surfaces against each other.
moise -