Introduction
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 carefully pry the AirPort/Bluetooth ribbon cable up off its socket on the logic board.
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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 securing the AirPort/Bluetooth assembly to the upper case:
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One 8.6 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 8.6 mm Phillips screw securing the antenna/camera cable retainer to the upper case.
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Remove the antenna/camera 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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Grab the plastic pull tab secured to the display data cable lock and rotate it up and over the connector, toward the DC-In side of the computer.
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Pull the display data cable straight back (not up) out of its socket on the logic board.
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Remove the 8.6 mm Phillips screw securing the display data cable retainer to 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 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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Starting on the right side of the display, slide the antenna's plastic cover approximately 1/4" to the right.
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Then, lift up the right edge of the plastic cover just enough to separate it from the display.
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Continue lifting the cover along its length, until the entire cover is separated.
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Remove the plastic cover and retain for reassembly.
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Unwrap the black tape to separate the iSight camera cable from the Airport/Bluetooth cables.
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If unwrapping is not possible, carefully cut the black tape lengthwise, making sure not to accidentally cut any of the cables -- especially the iSight cable.
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Optional: Place a cover on top of your display, just in case your screwdriver slips.
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Remove the two #000 Phillips screws on the far-right (see detail photo).
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Remove the somewhat-hidden #000 Phillips screw on the far-left of the display (see detail photo).
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Remove the six #000 Phillips screws in the middle of the antenna board.
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Make sure to re-wrap the Antenna/iSight cables back with some tape. If your replacement part did not include any, reuse the one you took off. My replacement part came with tape, but I still put a bit of Kapton tape around the black tape to completely close the fold.
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The new antenna hopefully came with the small grounding straps that go around the cables, and get screwed in on the far-right of the display. If they didn't, you'll need to remove them from the old antenna.
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Insert the replacement board starting with the far-left side. Once inserted, the board should sit loosely in the grooves of the display.
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When installing the new antenna, first screw in one of the six center screws -- that will help align the far-left screw over its hole.
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
One comment
The last steps are pointless, I've followed every single step, and now I'm stuck because I have no idea how to install the piece featured in this guide, with the one we just unmounted. I'm so upset you can't imagine..,.
A.R -
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 -