MacBook Air 11" Late 2010 Battery Replacement

Written By: Andrew Bookholt
  • Comments: 27
MacBook Air 11" Late 2010 Battery Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

5

Time Required

15 minutes

Introduction

Use this guide to replace your MacBook Air's internal lithium polymer battery.

Note: If there is a thin plastic film on your replacement battery, do not attempt to remove it. It is glued on and protects the battery pack while it is inside the MacBook.

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    • Before proceeding, close your computer and lay it on a soft surface top-side down.

    • Remove the following ten screws:

    • Two 8 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws

    • Eight 2.5 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws

    • The special screwdriver needed to remove the eight 5-point Pentalobe screws can be found here.

    I recommend that one of the tools you obtain is a jeweler's loupe that mounts on your glasses. It makes things easier.

    blairweaver -

    This is not correct. You need the pentalobe tool at this point.

    Duane Hellums -

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    • 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.

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    • 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.

    This is the same as step 3 isn't it?

    No Name -

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    • 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

    Don’t be like me! Make sure you use the *other* screw driver, not the one you took the case off with. I got five of them out with the wrong screwdriver, stripped the head on the sixth, got it out with a screw extractor, cut a new slot in it so I could use a normal flat head screw driver on it to put it back in, and then realized….

    Sarah Stockton -

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    • When handling the battery, avoid squeezing or touching the six exposed lithium polymer cells.

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

    • If you're installing a new battery, you should calibrate it after installation:

    • Charge it to 100%, and then keep charging it for at least 2 more hours. Next, unplug and use it normally to drain the battery. When you see the low battery warning, save your work, and keep your laptop on until it goes to sleep due to low battery. Wait at least 5 hours, then charge your laptop uninterrupted to 100%.

    • If you notice any unusual behavior or problems after installing your new battery, you may need to reset your MacBook's SMC.

    I need to point out here that the replacement battery that I bought here at iFixit for this MacBook Air says that the battery calibration consists on draining the battery below 10%, then charging it uninterruptedly to 100%, but this is not consistent with the battery calibration that appears on this guide. Which one should I follow? Any additional thoughts on this? Thanks.

    Rafael Pérez -

    Hi Rafael,

    We updated our battery calibration technique recently. The most reliable way would be to follow the guide method (charge full + 2 hours, drain completely, charge full again).

    Arthur Shi -

    This was wonderfully easy-peasy! I just have one small suggestion: you might add a word (and a photo would be great), reminding folks that they need to connect the new battery connector. I know, it should (ok, it is! :) obvious and all… but I have to admit, after having my hand held so well through the rest of the process, having to engage brain again and realize that needed to be done (“what’s missing here?”) - took a moment. It was a bit nervous-making, too, since the new battery cable was quite stiff, resistant to bending, and I had to apply a wee bit of brute force and ignorance to position and connect the connector. Adding a note about that might be useful. Just a thought! Otherwise, super easy and straight forward - I feel so empowered! :)

    Suzanne Bell -

Conclusion

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

Author

Andrew Bookholt

578096 Reputation

20 comments

This looks like an excellent how-to! Especially liked the location illustration of different length battery screws.

My only comment would be to have a tray ready to put the screws in - looks like they could easily be lost.

Leonard -

Now my touchpad isn't working as well as before. Any ideas why?

todd rumaner -

Dead on Accurate. Was very easy. I would change the rating from moderate to easy. The hardest part is getting the correct screw drivers.

Phil Blake -

hello, is there any difference between A1370 (late 2010) battery part and a A1370 (2011) battery?

Carlo Mejia -

I'm also wondering the same thing. Did you find the answer to your question? Thank you.

swj.sean -

The connector is in a different location, although the batteries are otherwise similar-looking (including using the same power connector shape.) Unfortunately the different connector position means the battery mounting screws can’t be installed while the wrong battery model is connected, which in turn means the case will not be able to close. I also don’t know whether there are rating or electronic interface differences that might cause problems.

Benjamin Wiley Sittler -

Followed this guide - very straightforward. I now have a late 2010 Macbook Air nicely running Lubuntu with a long battery life.

I would point out:

- be ready to clean dust from the inside of your Mac

- when re-inserting the battery connector, you need to bend it quite significantly so it is short enough to reach the connection pins

- screws are very small and easy to lose

Richard Hickling -

Any suggestions on where to order a replacement battery for my MacBook Air 2010 A1370.

robert.sandfox -

You can find batteries at MacSales (Other World Computing) by going to Shop All > Batteries & Battery Chargers and selecting your exact model Mac from the list. If you have questions you can chat with them directly to make sure you get the exact battery for your machine as not all batteries are the same.

As always, you’ll need to calibrate the new battery.

Hope this helps.

spearson -

so usefull thanks a lot,its my first time to open this model.

jhay-ar Quibar -

I have followed these instructions and they worked. However, my battery connector has disconnected three times and have had to remove the bottom panel three times to reconnect the battery to the logic board. Any ideas on what I could do to keep this from happening? Thx.

Matt and Jaclyn Naegle -

Great job, Andrew. Easy to follow, very straightforward. Thank you for your contributions.

Gary S -

Super easy! Laptop plugged in and charging - can’t wait to see how it does. Thanks!

Sarah Stockton -

Worked like a charm, excellent instructions and great visual tools. Thanks! One less computer for the land fill :)

penders -

Got the replacement from Amazon with 5stars rating…followed the instructions to the T…still not charging nor powering up..does it matter if I use my 15inch charger to charge it, same year…

deejaycoke2 -

What torque setting should be used when reassembling to avoid over tightening? When I dissambled to remove bloated battery I didnt have a torque screwdriver so I had no way to measure tightness but now I have one so I would like to be accurate.

Ryan J Cunningham -

My battery was inflated, so after replacement, no charging, So believe the battery management IC also got damaged, Is there a procedure to replace it?

Gerardo Garcia Serrano -

Thanks great instructions. On the Yanec replacement battery I bought, I had to manipulate and bend the cable holding the connector to the battery quite a bit to get it to stay connected to the motherboard. Once I did that though, all good.

Mat Boek -

Dead easy, thank you for this how-to. Fiddling with the miniscule screws was the hardest part

Dan

Dan Pillich -

Merci pour ce tutoriel. Vraiment bien expliqué. Facile à faire.

loicgertschen -