MacBook Unibody Model A1342 Logic Board Replacement

Schritt 1

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the AirPort/Bluetooth ribbon cable up off the logic board.

The steps from 7 up to 16, and then 19 and 20 are not necessary. It looks like Apple intentionally designed the shape in the corner around the magsafe connector, so that it can be replaced without disconnecting and unmounting the main board. Also, the placement of the two screws mounting the magsafe board confirms that - they are easily available. This is true at least for the 2009 model, which I've successfully repaired.

So you can skip the risky steps of disconnecting of all the main board connectors and go straight to unscrewing the magsafe connector. Then, having the spudger and some 3D imagination, you can remove the magsafe board with some 3D rotations. Same for mounting the new magsafe.

I've found out that crucial simplification only because I failed to unscrew the fan (broken a screw completely, while following this guide step by step). Then I found a comment from user grze under step 6, which saved my macbook by confirming, that 7 to 16 can be skipped.

Sebastian M - 07/06/17

Schritt 2

Use a spudger to pry the fan connector straight up and out of its socket on 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.

Since this kind of connector and very fragile and easy to damage even with a spudger I use a needle that I insert in the front side of the connector, between the connector and the socket and only apply a little pressure while lifting up the needle. The connector will then pop up from one side. Repeat the procedure for the other side. With this method it's impossible to damage the connector. I adopted this method after ruining two or three connectors using the spudger.

lemerise -

Hi, how do you fix the axial which connects the fan with logic board..it's broken! Thanks in advance..

Gagandeep - 15/09/17

HELP! Both the connector AND socket detached from the logic board! Is it possible (barring micro-surgery) to reattach the socket to the logic board?

John Watson -

same problem here...any ideas? Did you fix it again, John?

Ben Kn - 19/12/14

I disconnected the connector and socket from the logic board because I wasn't being careful and wasn't using a spudger tool as was recommended. Luckily, a friend of mine that's handy with a soldering gun was able to individually solder each wire from the cooling fan's wire assembly back onto the soldering points on the logic board. It's really intricate, tricky, and risky...but at that point, what choice do you have? I verify it's possible to fix and my cooling fan is now running perfectly fine.

Dan Barnhart - 16/02/15

Hi my name is Lynn I made a mistake on the logic board trying to detach fan from laptop

A1342 and the whole thing came off so I was wondering do

I solder it back on or how can I fix it thank you and be Blessed

lynn6202388 - 29/03/20

Schritt 3

Remove the following three screws securing the fan to the upper case:
One 7.1 mm Phillips screw.
Two 5 mm Phillips screws.
Lift the fan out of the upper case.

Schritt 4

Carefully pry the delicate rear speaker connector up off the logic board. These small L/R speaker connectors are quite easily broken.
Use extreme caution; this connector is easily destroyed.

While these connectors are very delicate, a new upper body case will have new connectors already installed. I slightly broke two connectors while removing them.

Also, the connectors have a notch underneath (on the logic board) for the corner of the spudger to fit into. The hard part is that you cannot see the notches until the connectors are removed.

Nations81 -

Hi. Long time ago, I know but.... How did you fix them?

I snapped mine off, can it be soldered back on?

Sai G - 06/07/15

I used pointed tip of one side of the tweezers from the ifixit Home Tech Toolkit. I found this thinner pointed tip better than a spudger for hitting that notch in the socket underneath the connectors. Since this is a metal tool, I pried very gently and I was working on a MacBook with the battery taken out entirely (early on as suggested in the video) and was also using an Anti-Static wrist strap. I found the spudger broke one of the connectors because it's relatively thick plastic, and put too much pressure under the cables before the tip could reach the plastic block of the connector. The pressure under the cable popped the wire contact right through the top of the plastic block connector. (it was OK this connector broke since I didn't need to reuse it--my replacement keyboard/upper case came with its own cables.)

Because the tips of the tweezers are angled, I felt I had better control of the torque I was applying than if I used a jeweler's flathead screwdriver.

kenhtanaka -

i used a very sharp dental pick - a tool i've permanently "added" to my ifixit tool kit bag

pprod - 21/01/16

Using a needle/pin works well. I did what another person mentioned in Step 8. Pry up from the back corner with the tip of the needle. Be gentle. One side will pop up a tiny bit. Move to the other side and gently pry there. Mine popped out completely at that point.

stanos1 - 13/02/16

Totally agree with the needle solution prying up from the side of the connector. A dentist tool is perfect!

(yes, in 2021 i’m fixing a 2009 macbook! :P)

Filippo Giadrossi - 26/04/21

Schritt 5

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

Schritt 6

Use a spudger to pry the right speaker connector and sleep LED connector up off the logic board.
These connectors are very delicate and easily broken.

I broke a speaker connector on this step. I found it easier to use a tiny flathead screwdriver to gently pry these connectors up.

brad -

Did u manage to fix the broken speaker connexion Brad? Mine snapped off. How can I fix that?

Sai G - 19/06/15

what is the connector in the image that is two prong and has the orange and red box around it in the 3rd image? Need to replace that connector. Please help. Part number would be great

ajfrasca - 13/02/17

Schritt 7

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

Schritt 8

Use your fingernail to flip up the locking flap on the ZIF socket for the keyboard ribbon cable.
Use the tip of a spudger to slide the keyboard ribbon cable out of its socket.

I had to remove the battery again to insert the keyboard ribbon cable. I just couldn't get the right angle and force otherwise.

asciimo -

When reassembling make sure this cable is really deep in it's socket. (Use some force with the spudger wedging it in between the cable and battery). If you don't, you won't be able to power up the board. I had 2 logicboards that I thought were dead, but it turned out the cable was not inserted enough. Jump starting them with the jump pads did nothing (with or without cable connected), but connecting the cable properly made the board come alive. Really check this!!

Peterdk -

You sir, just saved my day! Switching boards between two mac and I thought I broke the two at once... This should be documented on the manual!!

jorgecarleitao -

Thanks for your help!!! I thought I did the replacement wrong. Greetings from Peru.

Lalo Gonzalez -

This was hugely helpful! The cable requires much more force than expected.

Daniel DeGrasse - 18/05/16

'This should be added to the guide:

MacBook unibody keyboard ribbon cable won't go in

bilang31 - 28/07/14

There really should be a comment in the steps regarding tips on how to put the ribbon back in. The tape did the trick and I am back up and running.

alexhgreene - 15/09/15

The two silver squares above the left corner of the Keyboard and to the right of the Trackpad cable ribbon are the jump pads to power on the MacBook if your power button may not be working.

Jason Ognosky - 07/04/17

Accidentally I broke this flap thing. Can I replace it some point?

Thank you!

MJS Nope - 08/08/19

Nope big job to replace it. Use Kapton tape to hold it in place. https://www.amazon.com/Retermit-Resistan...

mayer - 08/08/19

Schritt 9

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

Schritt 10

Use a spudger to pry the left speaker connector and microphone connector up off the logic board.
These connectors are very delicate and easily broken.

Note: the 2009 and 2010 model differ here. On one the 3 point connector is left and 2 point is right, on the other one the 3 point connector is right and 2 point is left.

I found this while installing several logicboards for A1342.

Peterdk -

@Peterdk, are the connectors exchangeable?

I mean, would putting the 3 pin on the 3 pin, and the 2 pin on the 2 pin, regardless of the position (left or right) be ok?

Have you successfully used a 2010 logic board on a 2009 case?

Alberto Einstein - 08/02/17

I can't seem to connect those any suggestions

Ayat - 20/09/14

how do you reconnect these?

yourstruly69101 - 23/11/14

hi! i know iʻm 6 years late, and you probably figured it out already, but for the rest of us newbies , line the plug over the socket and gently press down. the correct orientation of the plug is the side with the tiny slots in them faces the logic board, aligning with the contacts in the socket. it may help to press the side farthest from the ribbon cable first.

Kahana - 28/04/20

Schritt 11

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

Just lift the tab up slightly to release the clip that secures the data display cable. Then the cable will slide out easily.

matt15 -

If the video data cable has been disconnected before, the adhesive on the might not hold. Be extra cautious in disconnecting this. An illuminated magnifier would be a good help on this step as it is very delicate. This was where I feared I would fail. Was very relieved in getting through this step...

svenaustx - 19/11/14

I wasn't careful enough here, and didn't realize that the silver metal piece around the connector is actually a locking clip. No wonder disconnecting the cable required more than a gentle pull. The clip popped out of the cable-side connector in the process, and was bent; fortunately I was able to very carefully bend the clip out just enough to get it re-seated in the connector; there are tiny slots on the sides of the connector that the clip fits into.

kmcrawford111 - 09/02/17

Schritt 12

Gently pull the display data cable connector away from its socket on the logic board.
Pull the socket parallel to the face of the logic board.
The display data cable socket is made of very thin metal and is easily bent. Be sure to pull the connector straight away from its socket.

Schritt 13

Remove the six 4.1 to 4.4 mm T6 Torx screws securing the logic board to the upper case.
Remove the two 4.1 to 4.5 mm T6 Torx screws securing the MagSafe board to the upper case.
On some models, these screws may be T7. Be careful not to strip away the head with a smaller bit.

Schritt 14

Lift the side of the logic board opposite the ports out of the upper case.
Rotate the logic board away from the upper case until the ports clear the lip molded in the upper case.
Pull the logic board and MagSafe board away from the edge of the upper case as one piece.
The MagSafe board may get accidentally disconnected during this process. As a precaution, be sure the MagSafe board connector is securely seated in its socket before lowering the logic board back into the upper case.
Before lowering the logic board back into the upper case, be sure the left speaker and microphone cables are seated in their channels cut into the upper case (as seen in the third picture).

(When re-installing) Before screwing down the logic board, go around the edge and make sure no cables are caught underneath, remember there are 11 of them, 12 if the battery is present at this point.

kenhtanaka -

I reassembled the macbook A1342 using this guide and everything is perfect, except that if I shut down the computer and power it up after 1hour or so, I have to press the power button a few times before it starts. What could I have gone wrong? I checked the magsafe connector and it seems to be firmly seated. :(

Alok -