Introduction
Replacing the upper case requires removal of nearly every component inside your MacBook Pro.
Tools
Parts
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Remove the following ten screws securing the lower case to the upper case:
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Three 13.5 mm (14.1 mm) Phillips screws.
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Seven 3 mm Phillips screws.
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Using both hands, lift the lower case near the vent to pop it off two clips securing it to the upper case.
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Remove the lower case and set it aside.
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Use the edge of a spudger to pry the battery connector upwards from its socket on the logic board.
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Bend the battery cable slightly away from its socket on the logic board so it does not accidentally connect itself while you work.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to lift the right fan connector out of its socket on the logic board.
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Remove the three 3.4 mm (3.1 mm) T6 Torx screws securing the right fan to the logic board.
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Lift the right fan out of its opening in the logic board.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the AirPort/Bluetooth connector up from its socket on the logic board.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to lift the optical drive connector out of its socket on the logic board.
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Disconnect the hard drive/IR sensor cable from its socket on the logic board by lifting up from beneath its connector.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to lift the subwoofer/right speaker connector out of its socket on the logic board.
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Remove the two 1.5 mm ( 1.2 mm ) Phillips screws securing the keyboard/trackpad cable cover to the logic board.
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Lift the cover off the logic board and set it aside.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the trackpad connector up and out of its socket on the logic board.
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Use your fingernail to flip up the retaining flap on the keyboard ribbon cable ZIF socket.
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Use the tip of a spudger to pull the keyboard ribbon cable out of its socket.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to lift the battery indicator connector up and out of its socket on the logic board.
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Grab the plastic pull tab secured to the display data cable lock and rotate it toward the DC-In side of the computer.
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Pull the display data cable straight out of its socket on the logic board.
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Use the tip of a spudger to flip up the retaining flap on the keyboard backlight ribbon cable ZIF socket.
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Pull the keyboard backlight ribbon cable out of its socket.
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Remove the following nine screws:
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Seven 3.4 mm ( 3.1 mm) T6 Torx screws on the logic board
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Two 8 mm T6 Torx screws on the DC-In board
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Carefully lift the logic board assembly from its left side and work it out of the upper case, minding the optical drive cable and the I/O ports that may get caught during removal.
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If necessary, use the flat end of a spudger to separate the microphone from the upper case.
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Pull the I/O port side of the logic board away from the side of the upper case and remove the logic board assembly.
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Carefully peel the battery warning label off the upper case between the battery and the optical drive to reveal an additional Tri-point screw.
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Remove the last 7.5 mm ( 7.2 mm ) Tri-point screw securing the battery to the upper case.
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Remove the two Phillips screws securing the hard drive bracket to the upper case.
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Remove the hard drive bracket from the upper case.
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Pull the hard drive connector out of its socket on the hard drive.
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Remove the hard drive and set it aside.
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Remove the following four screws securing the hard drive/IR sensor cable to the upper case:
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Two 2.5 mm ( 2.9 mm ) Phillips screws
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Two 10 mm ( 9.6 mm ) Phillips screws
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Carefully peel the IR sensor cable off the adhesive securing it to the upper case.
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Pull the hard drive bracket/IR sensor housing away from the side of the upper case.
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Remove the hard drive/IR sensor cable from the upper case.
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Use the tip of a spudger to pry the four antenna connectors up from their sockets on the AirPort/Bluetooth board.
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De-route all four antenna cables from their channels in the AirPort/Bluetooth housing.
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De-route the camera cable from its channel in the AirPort/Bluetooth housing.
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Remove the following two screws:
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One 8.6 mm ( 8.4 mm ) Phillips screw
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One 3.9 mm Phillips screw
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Remove the AirPort/Bluetooth assembly from the upper case, minding any cables that may get caught.
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Remove the three 3.5 mm ( 3.3 mm ) T6 Torx screws securing the optical drive to the upper case.
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Lift the optical drive near its connector and pull it away from the upper case to remove it from the computer.
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Remove the following six screws securing the subwoofer and right speaker to the upper case:
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Two 3.2 mm ( 3.0 mm ) Phillips screws.
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Two 12.3 mm Phillips screws.
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One 2.5 mm Phillips screw.
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One 8.3 mm ( 8.1 mm ) Phillips screw.
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Lift the subwoofer and right speaker assembly out of the upper case.
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Remove the 8.6 mm Phillips screw securing the antenna/camera cable retainer to the top left portion of the upper case.
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Remove the antenna/camera cable retainer from the upper case.
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Remove the 8.6 mm ( 7.0 mm ) Phillips screw securing the display data cable retainer to the top right portion of the upper case.
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Remove the display data cable retainer from the upper case.
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Remove two of the three 6 mm T6 Torx screws securing the right side of the display to the upper case.
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Remove two of the three 6 mm T6 Torx screws securing the left side of the display to the upper case.
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Open your MacBook Pro so the display is perpendicular to the upper case.
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Place your opened MacBook Pro on a table as pictured.
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While holding the display and upper case together with your left hand, remove the remaining T6 Torx screw from the upper display bracket.
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Grab the upper case with your right hand and rotate it slightly toward the top of the display so the upper display bracket clears the edge of the upper case.
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Rotate the display slightly away from the upper case.
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Lift the display up and away from the upper case, minding any brackets or cables that may get caught.
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If your replacement includes the battery level indicator, stop here.
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Remove three 2.0 mm Phillips #00 screws securing the battery level indicator to the upper case.
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Use the tip of a spudger to gently pry up the edge of the metal shield covering the battery level indicator cable.
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
Step 1 (technically step 9 - replacing the base plate) Apparently one of my screws was a micron or two smaller than the others. This screw belongs to the hole above the optical drive, which is also apparently a couple of microns smaller than the others. It took seven attempts to figure which screw had originally been in that hole; all the other screws were too large, but fitted perfectly everywhere else.
Bizarre much?
Will -
It might be a matter of how the screws are driven in, and not that they're slightly different sizes. When I reassembled my MacBook, a couple of the screws, including the one over the optical drive you mention, were hard to drive in and jutted up a little bit instead of sitting entirely flush. Swapping screws didn't help. The solution was to unscrew them and drive them in at a bit of an angle - perpendicular to the slightly curved surface of the back plate where the screw holes were, instead of fully vertical with respect to the ground the Macbook is sitting on. Doing it that way, the screws were easier to drive in and they all ended up flush in their holes. Didn't matter which screws they were. (I swapped a few around just to check after reading this.)
Andrew Janke -
I had no such screw issues. Either there are differences in manufacturing lots or I just got incredibly lucky during reassembly!
xtophr -