MacBook Pro Retina 2012–2015 Feet Replacement

Written By: Taylor Dixon
  • Comments: 21
MacBook Pro Retina 2012–2015 Feet Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

7

Time Required

10 - 30 minutes

Introduction

This is a prerequisite guide describing how to replace MacBook Pro Retina feet, applicable to models A1425, A1502, and A1398. For a full guide including lower case removal, refer to the specific MacBook Pro device pages.

  1. RIRDFvMa45YxjgXa
    RIRDFvMa45YxjgXa
    lJxlSYN1HJ1EPEAN

    • Peel away any stickers from the backside of the rear case covering the feet you have chosen to replace.

    • Any stickers you remove will most likely be unsalvageable for re-use. That's okay! Your MacBook does not need them to function.

    If you take an exact knife or similar and trace out a section around the feet, you can leave the rest of the sticker in tact. I found it easier to remove a small section of the sticker as it was fairly well adhered.

    Stephen Chan -

    @Stephan Chan - Your suggestion was perfect. Cutting away the small section of sticker where the feet go is definitely the way to do it.

    seattlehudson -

    I agree with you @gusto5 (Stephen Chan) - cutting out a small circle in the sticker with a craft knife is much easier. Just to be on the safe side, since it did expose a little of the aluminum of the case, after I’d stuck the replacement foot and held it in place for 30 seconds, I put a small piece of Scotch tape over the hole I’d cut in the sticker on the back.

    Owen Edwards -

    Received a quicker delivery of the feet replacement kit. Followed the suggestion and was quicker and boots (feet) flashed fit on bottom case.

    Albert Evangelista -

    If, like mine, all your feet have sheared off, you may be able to pry the center bit of plastic left in the lid at each foot out with tweezers. Obviously don't go digging deep or forcing things, but if you are lucky like I was then you don't need to remove all the screws and the lid. My new feet went in well and seem really well stuck. Make sure you clean the surface of the aluminium extremely well.

    I didn't find any need to cut the plastic backing. I found that each foot easily came off the backing and I grabbed it with the tweezers.

    I put a pencil mark on the lid showing the position of the little "key" nub and made a mark on the foot too, showing its position. This allowed me to align the "key" nub with it's hole easily.

    frostyfriday -

    After pealing away any feet, be sure to remove the clear film after applying the adhesive remover. I found this easiest to do with my finger name and then double checked that all four feet recessed areas were free of the clear plastic adhesive backing from the prior removed feet.

    Frank Dries -

    The black stickers are for electrical insulation. I patched mine with black insulating electrical tape.

    Steve Lamb -

    Does removing all the black stickers hurt the MacBook in any way?

    luisshr -

    The adhesive actually peels off quite easy. I didn't need the adhesive remover, it peeled off like a thin plastic film.

    Francisco Daza -

  2. vClZDXpWhxMDJNIe
    vClZDXpWhxMDJNIe
    X1sYxJb1XmiBnJEG

    • Remove any broken or damaged feet.

    • If the foot you are replacing is still intact, you can use your tweezers push it out from the inside.

    • If the old foot is difficult to remove, use a hair dryer or a heat gun to apply some heat to the area and loosen the adhesive.

    There are large black stickers in the way of removing this little piece on my A1502 Early 2015 MBP. How do we proceed from here?

    Jason Protzman -

    Hey Jason! You can remove those stickers entirely, or just peel them back enough to remove the foot and then cut away the peeled part of the sticker.

    Taylor Dixon -

    Is the larger feet shown in picture 1 of this section for the MacBook Pro. I am assuming the second picture refers to the Retina MacBook Pro?

    Khushal Varsani -

    All the pictures and text in this guide refer to the Retina MacBook Pro! The The Unibody MacBook Pro has its own feet replacement guide.

    Taylor Dixon -

    I think what Khushal meant was that picture 1 doesn’t represent the lower case foot hole of the Retina model, the hole left after the removal of the foot is too big. While the 2nd picture seems indeed accurate.

    fbianchife -

    Can the macbook walk? 🤣

    Yanny 57 -

  3. G15X4A5dMSaMfGZw

    • Scrub the foot cavity with adhesive remover to remove any remaining adhesive.

    The adhesive is on both sides of a clear plastic sheet that sits in the foot cavity. It is easily missed but appears shiny when holding the case up to light after removing the rubber foot. If you look at the image in Step 9 below you can also see the sheet on the case side of the rubber foot (note this is not the same thing as the plastic sheet that the feet are attached to, this one is very thin and has adhesive on both sides). I applied adhesive remover twice and let it sit for a few minutes to dissolve the adhesive under the pad, then scrubbed with a bit of pressure to get that clear sheet removed from the foot cavity, but am glad I did.

    James -

    For me, the adhesive remover was not strong enough, but I was able to apply acetone nail polish remover to remove the remaining adhesive before wiping it down with alcohol.

    Joseph Wilk -

    Thank you so much, James, for mentioning the clear adhesive! I would’ve completely missed it had I not seen your comment!!

    Tina Nakai -

    My adhesive remover didn't work, but what did work was gently scraping with a knife. This is for the clear adhesive mentioned by James.

    olive long -

  4. awVcxhouY56dJWmT

    • Wipe the foot cavity with an isopropyl alcohol prep pad to remove any cleaner residue and prep the area for the adhesive on the new foot.

    I used a paper towel (or a tissue would work) to mop up the bulk of the adhesive remover first. And then I went back with the alcohol swap to get any remaining adhesive remover and let the area air dry.

    Frank Dries -

  5. Mnb5F3feRRcqjTLa

    • Peel a replacement foot from the plastic backing.

    • The adhesive is fairly strong—make sure that you are peeling the foot up, not tearing the plastic backing.

  6. uexDpCgnLZZtrCd3
    uexDpCgnLZZtrCd3
    TXNVHgMvNWanjALH
    FyJkgDrE1tluS12y

    • Align the new foot inside the cavity.

    • Make sure the alignment nub on the foot is lined up with the small hole near the perimeter of the pad.

    • You may want to use a pencil to lightly mark where the alignment nub is located. Be careful not to scratch the lower case with your pencil.

    • Lay the foot down while keeping it properly aligned.

    • Check for proper alignment from the inside of the case. The alignment nub should be slightly visible through the alignment hole.

    Matching the alignment nub with the small hole is easier if you align the point of the tweezers with the nub. The tweezer tip then acts as a reference point for matching the nub with its hole.

    Paul Jacobson -

  7. dwZ1hXCiq6bTTI2A
    dwZ1hXCiq6bTTI2A
    DadSFPovI4YwTLHB

    • Press the new foot into place firmly with your finger, then apply pressure by pinching the foot from either side of the case with your finger and your thumb.

    • Maintain pressure for 30 seconds to set the pressure-sensitive adhesive.

    • Repeat the last seven steps for any remaining broken or worn feet.

Conclusion

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

Author

Taylor Dixon

Member since: 26/06/18

66785 Reputation

0 comments