MacBook Air 11" Late 2010 Logic Board Replacement

Remove the following ten screws:

Two 8 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws

Eight 2.5 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws

Wedge your fingers between the display and the lower case and pull upward to pop the lower case off the Air.

Remove the lower case and set it aside.

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry both short sides of the battery connector upward to disconnect it from its socket on the logic board.

Bend the battery cable slightly away from the logic board so the connector will not accidentally contact its socket.

Remove the single 2.9 mm T5 Torx screw securing the SSD to the logic board.

Use a spudger to help lift the free end of the SSD just enough to grab it with your other hand.

Pull the drive straight out of its socket and remove it from the logic board.

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the I/O board cable connector upward out of its socket on the I/O board.

While gently pulling the I/O board cable upward near its connection to the logic board, use the tip of a spudger to pry upward on alternating sides of the connector to help "walk" it out of its socket.

Remove the I/O board cable.

Use the tip of a spudger to carefully flip up the retaining flap on the fan cable ZIF socket.

Remove the following three screws securing the fan to the upper case:

Two 5.2 mm T5 Torx screws

One 3.6 mm T5 Torx screw

Lift the fan out of the upper case and carefully pull the fan ribbon cable out of its socket as you remove it from the Air.

Remove the following five screws securing the battery to the upper case:

Two 5.2 mm T5 Torx screws

One 6 mm T5 Torx screw

Two 2.6 mm T5 Torx screws

Lift the battery from its edge nearest the logic board and remove it from the upper case.

Disconnect the I/O board by pulling the power cable away from its socket on the logic board.

Use the tip of a spudger or your fingernail to flip up the retaining flap on the trackpad ribbon cable ZIF socket.

Pull the trackpad ribbon cable straight out of its socket toward the front edge of the Air.

Use the tip of a spudger to de-route the right speaker cable from the slot cut into the logic board.

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the right speaker cable connector up and out of its socket on the logic board.

Gently push the tip of a spudger under the black plastic flap stuck to the display data cable lock to make the lock pop upward and away from the socket.

While holding the lock away from the socket, use the tip of a spudger and your fingers to gently remove the display data cable from its socket.

Remove the small rubber gasket from the corner of the upper case near the display data cable.

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry both antenna cable connectors up and off their sockets on the AirPort/Bluetooth card.

Gently de-route the antenna cables from the slot cut into the logic board.

Remove the three 3.6 mm T5 Torx screws securing the logic board to the upper case.

Gently lift the logic board assembly out of the upper case, minding the fragile heat sink and any cables that may get caught.

Remove the single 2.9 mm T5 Torx screw securing the AirPort/Bluetooth card to the logic board.

Slightly lift the free end of the AirPort/Bluetooth board and pull it out of its socket on the logic board.

Remove the AirPort/Bluetooth board from the logic board.

Remove the eight 2.5 mm T5 Torx screws securing the heat sink to the logic board.

Remove the heat sink from the logic board.

Logic board remains.

When reinstalling the heat sink, be sure to apply a new layer of thermal paste. If you have never applied thermal paste before, we have a guide that makes it easy.