MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Mid 2009 Upper Case Replacement

Schritt 1

Remove the following ten screws securing the lower case to the upper case:
Seven 3 mm Phillips screws.
Three 13.5 mm Phillips screws.

May be helpful to have more distinct colors to identify the different screws.

Victor Caamano - 12/02/19

Schritt 2

Using both hands, lift the lower case near the vent to pop it off two clips securing it to the upper case.
Remove the lower case and set it aside.

Schritt 3

Remove the two 5-Point Pentalobe screws along the top edge of the battery.
You do not necessarily have to follow steps 3-6 to remove the battery in order to replace the hard drive. However it is recommended to remove all power sources from electronics before working on them.

Question: why do you remove the battery? According to Apple's official manual, this is not required (not for the mid-2009 and not for the mid-2010 15-inch MacBook Pro) - see pages 37 ff:

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/MacB...

alexkli -

Zitat von alexkli:

Question: why do you remove the battery? According to Apple's official manual, this is not required (not for the mid-2009 and not for the mid-2010 15-inch MacBook Pro) - see pages 37 ff:

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/MacB...

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/MacB...

I'm interested by your experience.

Did you have removed the optical drive without removing the battery ?

I'm just in this step now and if it is possible I would proceed like you because removing the battery void the warranty (and there is a sticker).

Thanks in advance.

youyou -

Looks like my note to step 3 appears on all repair guides that have the same step. I meant that in the context of the hard drive replacement only.

Did you have removed the optical drive without removing the battery ?

I haven't yet done anything, waiting for my MacBook Pro 15 inch mid-2010 to arrive.

alexkli -

I missed the notes and went ahead and purchased the 5 point driver for the battery before I realized it was not necessary.

I've edited the repair guide to remove the section on the battery, but I don't have the points to approve the changes.

Chris Davis -

Please note - the step about removing the battery is part of a pre-requisite guide, that is used for many of the guides, most that do require removal of the battery. Also, working inside a disassembled laptop with the battery still connected risks damaging/shorting out very expensive parts.

Eric Essen -

Absolutely. To be clear -- ALL of the above discussion is ONLY in reference to replacing the hard drive.

Chris Davis -

I replaced a hard drive in a MacBook Pro of an earlier model than this without removing the battery. The hard drive wasn't right. It only worked at about half speed, and I had to replace it once more. The second time I removed the battery and all went well. The recommendation by the iFixit staff to remove the battery before working on electronic equipment is a good one.

doug -

What is the size of those screws... I have rounded off the socket on mine and would like to replace them.

Ghatothkach Yadav -

I measured the screw size, using a micrometer, its about 1.523mm in diameter and 3.186mm in length. Not sure what screw size that is. They are not easily available I guess, unless someone is selling used ones on ebay

Ghatothkach Yadav -

Schritt 4

Use the tip of a spudger to bend back the finger of the "Warning: Do not remove the battery" sticker while you remove third five-point Pentalobe screw hidden underneath.

Schritt 5

Lift the battery by its plastic pull tab and slide it away from the long edge of the upper case.
Do not try to completely remove the battery just yet.

Removing the battery is not necessary for the hard drive removal/replacement procedures.

Erik -

My T6 (appears to be same screw driver you have - $6 on amazon for 20piece set) did NOT fit int he battery screws...not sure if I had the wrong screws or what, but I went ahead w/o battery steps and it was pretty easy.

Anthony Ettinger -

I also noticed that the new SDD (from crucial) didn't have the 4 screws, so I had to move those off the old HD and onto the new one.

Anthony Ettinger -

Just had the same issue: T6 does not fit the battery screws ;-( ... but with a little bit more preassure it was possible to remove the screws.

dirkvloenwagner - 31/10/15

Schritt 6

Tilt the battery back enough to access the battery cable connector.
Pull the battery cable connector away from its socket on the logic board and remove the battery from the upper case.
If you're installing a new battery, you should calibrate it after installation.

Excellent guide

Kola Ajibade - 14/06/20

Schritt 7

Use a spudger to pry the fan connector straight up off the logic board.
It is useful to twist the spudger axially from beneath the fan cable wires to release the connector.
The fan socket and the fan connector can be seen in the second and third pictures. Be careful not to break the plastic fan socket off the logic board as you use your spudger to lift the fan connector straight up and out of its socket. The layout of the logic board shown in the second picture may look slightly different than your machine but the fan socket is the same.

Schritt 8

Remove the three T6 Torx screws securing the left fan to the logic board.
Lift the fan out of the upper case.

Top left screw in this picture isn't a torx screw, and should be left in place. The screw you want is a bit further down than the one circled.

digitalwraith -

Good catch! It's fixed now.

Andrew Bookholt -

Schritt 9

Use the flat end of a spudger to disconnect the left fan connector from the logic board.
Pry up from beneath the wires.

I didn't understand the description of the step to remove the fan connectors and I broke them both off. However! If anyone else does this, don't panic, the soldered connections are not electrical; they're just there to secure the fan connector. If you have the equipment you may be able to solder them back on, but I just put the whole thing back together - carefully sliding the jack back over the pins - and held it down with polyimide tape. I am using my Macbook Pro right now and the fans are definitely working.

thesqueedler - 06/02/15

For my Mid 2009 Macbook Pro, I only had one fan, so didn't have to do step 9 and 10.

anonymous 7084 - 15/09/16

Schritt 10

Remove the three T6 Torx screws securing the left fan to the logic board.
Lift the left fan out of the upper case.

For my Mid 2009 Macbook Pro, I only had one fan, so didn't have to do step 9 and 10.

anonymous 7084 - 15/09/16

Schritt 11

The camera cable connector is not secured by any locking or snapping mechanism. Hence, Apple sticks a small strip of black plastic with adhesive applied to the side facing the logic board behind the camera cable connector to keep it in its socket.
When moving the strip (cable retainer) out of the way, be sure not to break any surface-mounted components off the logic board.
Hold the end of the cable retainer down with one finger while you use the tip of a spudger to slightly lift the other end and rotate it away from the camera cable connector.
Disconnect the camera cable by pulling the male end straight away from its socket.
Pull the connector parallel to the face of the logic board, not straight up.

Could not figure out what this step was telling me to do. The warning made me very cautious. Never got the board out because of this step. (Then I broke the subwoofer, but I can live with that.)

boz -

I’ve tried to clear things up in a pending modification, since I also had problems getting the point of this step. Hope it helps.

Mihai Moldovan - 21/06/19

The “strip” is the shiny black thing on the photo. The tip of the spudger is “pointing” at it on the photo. In fact it is already pushing the “strip” out of the way to be able to pull out the connector.

glitter challenge - 15/03/21

I finally got my system back together & running so much cooler after removing, cleaning the heat sink & repasting the CPU die & the two GPU dies. But working backward from this step to put it back together was most arduous: neither camera nor WiFi/Bluetooth worked when I first put the system back together. This is because it was hard to gauge that this connector was indeed back together and hold it so, based on 12 year-old fabric-padded adhesive alone. In the end, I checked that no pins in the connector were bent, guided them in as firmly as a flat spudger (not my hand, which twisted the cable at an angle) would allow, held it in the connector bay with electrical tape, put the fabric cushion back on top of that, and electrical taped across the cushion, between the connector bay and the cable. Phew! After tons of trial and error, put the system back together & both WiFi/Bluetooth and the camera work again!

jonnywot - 12/05/21

Schritt 12

Disconnect the camera cable by pulling the male end straight away from its socket.
Pull the connector parallel to the face of the logic board, not straight up.

Schritt 13

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the optical drive cable connector up off the logic board.

Schritt 14

Using the flat end of a spudger, pry the subwoofer connector straight up from the connector jack.
Be careful to pry the connector, not the socket. It's possible to accidentally pry the socket up from the logic board.
Removing the foam applied to the top of the connector will make it easier to see and avoid prying up the socket.

Not sure what this is supposed to do. I tried to gently pry subwoofer off but it broke. :-(

boz -

guy's this is the same kind of connector as the fan is and it would better to use the axial twist technique then pulling up at the connector side like i did and damaged the subwoofer connector...

repping - 19/12/15

Schritt 15

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the hard drive/IR sensor cable connector up off the logic board.

Schritt 16

Remove the two 1.5 mm Phillips screws securing the cable cover to the logic board.
Lift the cable cover out of the upper case.

Schritt 17

Use a spudger to pry the trackpad flex ribbon cable connector up off the logic board.

Schritt 18

Use your fingernail to flip up the locking flap on the ZIF socket for the keyboard ribbon cable. The locking flap is located at the opposite side of the socket compared to the keyboard ribbon cable. Hook your fingernail under it and carefully lift it up vertically.
Do not attempt to slide the keyboard ribbon cable out of its socket before you have unlocked the ZIF socket. Ribbon cables are fragile and excessive force will easily break them.
Use the tip of a spudger to slide the keyboard ribbon cable out of its socket.

Schritt 19

Use a spudger to pry the battery indicator ribbon cable connector up off the logic board.

Schritt 20

Remove the single 7 mm Phillips screw securing the display data cable retainer to the upper case.
This screw may remain captive in the display data cable ground loop. If replacing the display, be sure to transfer this screw to the new unit.
Remove the display data cable retainer from the upper case.

Schritt 21

Grab the plastic pull tab secured to the display data cable lock and rotate it toward the DC-in side of the computer.

Schritt 22

Pull the display data cable connector straight away from its socket.
Make sure to pull the connector parallel to the face of the logic board, not straight up from its socket.

Schritt 23

Using the tip of a spudger, flip up the keyboard backlight ribbon cable retaining flap.
Pull the keyboard backlight ribbon cable straight out of its socket.

Schritt 24

Remove the following screws:
Seven 3.3 mm T6 Torx screws securing the logic board to the upper case.
Two 8 mm T6 Torx screws securing the DC-In board to the upper case.
Do not remove the logic board yet! There are components on the underside of the logic board attached to the the upper case that must first be disconnected.

For my Mid 2009 Macbook Pro, in Step 24 I had 8 3.3mm T6 Torx, not 7.

anonymous 7084 - 15/09/16

Schritt 25

Carefully lift the logic board assembly from the left side and work it out of the upper case, minding the port side that may get caught during removal.
Do not entirely remove the logic board yet!

Schritt 26

Lift the logic board enough to gain clearance and use a spudger to pry the microphone up off the upper case.
Slide the logic board away from the port openings and lift the assembly out of the upper case.
Before reinstalling the logic board, it is easiest to press the microphone down into its housing in the left speaker to keep it in place.

Schritt 27

Slide the logic board away from the port openings and lift the assembly out of the upper case.
Before reinstalling the logic board, it is easiest to press the microphone down into its housing in the left speaker to keep it in place.

Schritt 28

Remove the two Phillips screws securing the hard drive bracket to the upper case.
These screws are captive in the hard drive bracket.
Remove the hard drive bracket from the upper case.

Schritt 29

Using its attached tab, lift the free end of the hard drive and pull it away from the edge of the upper case.
Do not try to remove the hard drive just yet.

Schritt 30

Pull the hard drive cable connector away from the body of the hard drive.
Remove the hard drive and set it aside.

Schritt 31

Carefully peel the hard drive cable off the adhesive securing it to the right speaker housing.

Schritt 32

Remove the following four screws securing the hard drive and IR sensor cable to the upper case:
Two 1.5 mm Phillips screws.
Two 4 mm Phillips screws.

Schritt 33

Slide the hard drive and IR sensor bracket away from the edge of the upper case.

Schritt 34

Carefully peel the IR sensor/sleep light ribbon cable off the adhesive securing it to the upper case.

Once the ribbon is free, lift out the IR sensor/sleep light ribbon cable, and set aside.

Jason Condon - 14/11/15

Schritt 35

Peel the camera cable off the adhesive securing it to the body of the optical drive.

Schritt 36

This step is for anti-glare display machines only. Skip this step if you have a glossy display.
Disconnect the Bluetooth cable by pulling the male end straight away from its socket.
Use the flat end of a spudger to carefully pry the AirPort antenna off its socket on the AirPort card.
Pull the connector parallel to the face of the logic board, not straight up.

Schritt 37

This step is for anti-glare display machines only. Skip this step if you have a glossy display.
Remove the two 8 mm Phillips screws securing the Bluetooth/camera cable retainer to the upper case.
One of the screws may remain captive in the Bluetooth/camera cable ground loop. If replacing the display, be sure to transfer this screw to the new unit.
Lift the AirPort board/cable retainer assembly out of the upper case.

I was changing top case on antiglare model and for me it was confusing that after removing BT and wireless card you also need to remove wireless antenna, witch is clued to body. The cord you disconnected in step 36 is ironed down to metal piece, you do not need to use iron, just pry the metal plate up and it will go off with the antenna.

lasdolphin - 05/11/15

Schritt 38

Remove the single 3.5 mm Phillips screw securing the inner side of the optical drive to the upper case.

Schritt 39

Remove the two 3.5 mm Phillips screws securing the outer side of the optical drive to the upper case.

Schritt 40

Lift the optical drive from its left edge and pull it out of the upper case.

Schritt 41

Remove the following four screws securing the subwoofer and right speaker assembly to the upper case:
Two 3.2 mm Phillips screws.
One 2.6 mm Phillips screw.
One 5 mm Phillips screw.

Schritt 42

Lift the subwoofer and right speaker assembly out of the upper case.

Between Step 41 & 42, you need to remove the straight bracket that the optical drive was screwed into. It's the thin bracket directly across from the right speaker (adjacent to the subwoofer) that has one white square screw hole and 3 white round screw holes.

The single screw holding the optical drive to this bracket was removed in Step 38.

Jason Condon - 14/11/15

Schritt 43

This step is for glossy display machines only. If you have an anti-glare display, skip this step.
Remove the two 8 mm Phillips screws securing the camera cable retainer to the upper case.
One of the screws may remain captive in the camera cable ground loop. If replacing the display, be sure to transfer this screw to the new unit.
Lift the camera cable retainer out of the upper case.

Schritt 44

Remove the outer two T6 Torx screws securing both display hinges to the upper case (four screws total).

Be VERY VERY Careful with this step. These T6 screws are INFAMOUS for being stripped because they are machine bolted and glued. 3 out of 6 of mine stripped and I was using two different brand new, high quality screwdrivers. Getting them out was a nightmare.

A Mac User - 14/03/16

Schritt 45

Open your MacBook Pro so the display is perpendicular to the upper case.
Place your opened MacBook Pro on a table as pictured.
While holding the display and upper case together with your left hand, remove the remaining T6 Torx screw from the lower display bracket.

Schritt 46

Be sure to hold the display and upper case together with your other hand. Failure to do so may cause the freed display/upper case to fall, potentially damaging each component.
Remove the last remaining 6 mm Torx screw securing the display to the upper case.

Schritt 47

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.
Rotate the display slightly away from the upper case.
Lift the display away from the upper case, minding any brackets or cables that may get caught.

MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Mid 2009 Upper Case Replacement

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