Mac mini Model A1176 Bottom Housing Replacement

Step 1

Power down your Mac mini, disconnect all of the cables, and flip it over.
Insert the Jimmy into the crack between the aluminum top housing and the plastic lower housing.
The Jimmy should reach a stop about 3/8" down.

A spackle knife makes these steps go much faster.

A double sided letter opener or a thin non-serrated butter knife will suffice.

To prenent cosmetic blemishes, place a matchbook cover or similar thin cardboard on the outer perimeter under the “jimmy”.

Mike - 12/04/20

Step 2

Gently bend the Jimmy outwards to pry the crack open a little larger and lift the lower housing up a small amount.
There are several plastic clips on the lower housing that fit into a channel in the aluminum top housing. Your goal is to use the Jimmy to push these clips inward enough to free them from the channel, while gently pulling up on the lower housing.

Patience is your best friend.

Do not insert “jimmy in too far. Marking a line from tip upwards on the tool will prevent too far insertion, possibly breaking tabs or damaging internal components.

To prevent the cover closing back up, small strips of matchbook cover (os equivalent) can be inserted about half inch hold prevent closure.

Mike - 12/04/20

Step 3

Once you have the first side free, rotate the Mac mini and start prying up on the front edge.
Use the same prying motion to both bend the clips inward and lift the lower housing up out of the top housing.

Step 4

You may need to move the Jimmy along the edge to pry up all of the clips. Be patient and do a little bit at a time.

Step 5

Keep working around the perimeter, freeing the clips along the final edge.

Step 6

Flip the Mac mini back over and lift the top housing off of the lower housing.

Before reassembly, make sure no wires are sticking out.

Line up top cover carefully. Gently press down on top cover until top and bottom fully seated.

CAUTION! DO NOT PRESS TOO HARD ON THE COVER TO PREVENT CRACKING THE PLASTIC TOP.

GO EASY.

Mike - 12/04/20

Step 7

Later in this guide you will remove several recessed Phillips screws. Bit drivers are generally too large to fit in the recesses, so be sure to have a thin shafted Phillips screwdriver on hand.
First remove the AirPort antenna (the larger of the two), located near the power button.
Slightly squeeze the two retaining arms toward each other and lift the AirPort antenna off its post.
Squeezing the two posts excessively will surely break them off the internal frame. Work delicately.
During reinstallation, you will have to slightly squeeze the two posts together so they fit into the openings on the AirPort antenna board.

Step 8

Use the tip of a spudger to slightly lift the left side of the ZIF cable lock up from its socket.
The ZIF cable lock will lift about 1 mm and stop. Do not try to completely remove the ZIF cable lock.

Now also lift the right side of the ZIF cable lock up from its socket.

chriZ -

Good catch of the incomplete unlocking instructions. ;P

lamarhavard - 25/12/15

Hmmm... what if I didn't read this before and I removed the cable and the lock sort of broke?... what would happen... would I experience problems? I can still put the cable back in place and push the lock back down with the spudger.

Dan O -

Same. I totally removed the lock , the edges are busted and won't stay in place, How can I get the cable to stay? what's the fix?

Suzanne -

Dan O & Suzanne, hold the cable in the socket and put a dab of hot glue on both sides, It's non-conductive and should hold...worked for me.

lamarhavard - 25/12/15

does any one know, where to get the connector from zhe ZIF Cable?

someone, that preowned my mac broke the holder!

julian gmeiner -

Julian, did you ever find where to get a replacement lock for the Zip Cable. Mine is also broken..

Suzanne -

This is not my first memory replacement in a Mini and I got over-confident and stupidly fully removed the audio cable ZIF lock and assumed I had broken something. But, now that I have read this guide more carefully, I am not sure. I sure would love to hear some detailed instructions for putting a ZIF lock back on.

Is it possible that I have removed it without having broken it? If I have broken it, do I have to buy a new cable? Just a new ZIF lock? A new audio board? This is a 2.0 GHz A1176.

Thanks!

GalvanicMacPro -

Michael, Mine seems to be broken. I bought & tried the Kapton Tape that was suggested & still no sound.

Suzanne -

C’est la première que je doit déverrouiller un câble ZIF. Je précise qu’il faut lever à gauche et à droite, ça force un peu, prendre appui sur le boitier du Mac, comme e montre la photo.

La partie noire reste dans la partie blanche (+1 mm), et la nappe flexible sort par le haut.

Ludovic - 17/12/17

Step 9

Lift the audio board ribbon cable up out of its socket.
If it refuses to lift from its socket, the ZIF cable lock is not fully released. Make sure it is evenly lifted about 1 mm from the socket on the interconnect board.

As an option to avoid potential damage when disconnecting the cable from the ZIF socket and clip, it is possible to unscrew the audio board and remove it along with the internal frame.

Nick Baldwin -

Step 10

Rotate the mini so that the SuperDrive slot loading mechanism is facing you.
Use a pair of tweezers to lift the hard drive thermal sensor cable connector up off its socket on the logic board.
Use tweezers to grab the connector (as seen in the picture), not the wires.
The connector is located under the optical drive opening, next to the PRAM battery.

Managed to leave this connected by flopping back the drive rather than totally removing

pglock -

WATCH OUT!!

separated one of the wires from the connector very easily. i would have preferred to use a spudger at this step. the tweezers in effect snipped the wire!!

mklsvg -

As my experience you should definitely use angeled tweezers as shown in several pictures. To avoid stripped cable deflash sharp edges of the tweezers a little bit. I never experienced problems when using that kind of tool carefully.

Timpetou -

I've had to remove a few of these connectors on iBooks and other small Apple devices ... I've found that, with careful and gentle pressure (working first one side and then the other) using a small flat-headed jeweller's screwdriver is best.

Mike Haines -

I agree Mike.

dixieskettlecorn - 23/03/18

Note where the airport antennae connecting wire comes out from the interior along the top. When reassembling, it has to be routed the same way, or it won't reach its install position.

robert -

If your fan runs at high speed after you complete this project, you have forgotten to reconnect the thermal sensor.

Curt -

Step 11

In the next few steps, you will remove the four Phillips screws securing the internal frame to the bottom case. Included in each step is an overview picture showing the general location and a closeup showing the actual screw.
Remove the recessed Phillips screw near the power button securing the internal frame to the bottom housing.

Step 12

Remove the recessed Phillips screw near the sleep light securing the internal frame to the bottom housing.
This screw is the longest of the four screws securing the internal frame to the bottom case.

Step 13

Remove the Phillips screw from the internal frame near the Bluetooth antenna.

Before removing any of these screws, there is another step needed which is not here:

On the front of the optical drive, right side as you look at the slot-load, is a small blue board attached by a single black screw. This needs to be removed before the optical drive can be taken out.

Mike Haines -

Step 14

Remove the Phillips screw near the audio ports securing the internal frame to the bottom case.

On reassembly, if you don't have a magnetic screwdriver, a tiny dab of grease at the tip of your screwdriver will help hold the screw on the driver so you can lower it into the recessed slot.

pfbloom -

Step 15

Gently lift the internal frame up from the bottom housing, minding the AirPort antenna and any other cables that may get caught.
It may be necessary to pull up near the interconnect board to separate it from the logic board.

At this point be careful that you don't pull out the Airport antenna ... but if you do, just check that it is back before re-assembling.

Mike Haines -

During re-assembly, the internal frame has to go in at an angle ... the back of the optical drive goes in first.

This means that you can seat the fan cover correctly, but more importantly, there is an interconnect board on the back of the optical drive that must be firmly pushed back into its housing on the logic board.

Mike Haines -

Reassembly: Before slipping the main frame back into its place, refer to earlier photos, ensuring proper routing of the WiFi cable.

Steve -

If, like me, you pull the wire on the airport antenna free, it snaps back into place easily. The connector is on the extra card screwed to the motherboard that looks like it has a phone battery embedded in it. The connector is at the top of the 'battery'. This accessory card is the wifi card, so it makes sense that the antenna plugs onto this.

Dan - 07/06/15

Step 16

Firmly grasp the power button cable connector with a pair of tweezers and lift it straight up off the logic board.

Step 17

Firmly grasp the sleep light cable connector with a pair of tweezers and lift it straight up off the logic board.

Step 18

Remove the single T10 torx lug securing the logic board to the bottom housing.

I think a T15 fits better

Marius137 - 01/12/18

Agreed, T15 is a better fit

jouniseppanen - 12/01/19

Step 19

Use the flat end of a spudger to slightly lift the logic board near the PRAM battery to separate it from the bottom housing.
It will be necessary to gently pull the sleep light (shown in red) away from the mini to clear the edge of the logic board.

Step 20

Gently lift the free end of the logic board and wiggle the board as you pull it away from the I/O ports.

Hi, when re-assembling, if you find resistance to the board sliding right up to the rear panel make sure that the spring finger on the casing goes over the power connector not inside it. It fits much better that way!

Adrian Berry - 27/09/17