MacBook Pro 13" Retina Display Early 2015 Trackpad Cable Replacement

Written By: Sam Goldheart
  • Comments: 49
MacBook Pro 13" Retina Display Early 2015 Trackpad Cable Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

5

Time Required

No estimate

Introduction

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    • Use the flat end of a spudger to pop the trackpad connector straight up off its socket on the logic board.

    The trackpad cable can also be of a different type where you pull the tape on it

    Rogier van der Heide -

    If you are replacing an old battery with a new battery, and the trackpad cable goes “under” the battery from the trackpad connector to the other side of it (instead of the trackpad cable going “over” the battery from its trackpad connector as shown in the provided image), then you might instead see a trackpad connector that has a loose tape on it. If the trackpad cable goes “under” the battery then it is possible to skip this step. It is not necessary to pull the tape. Note that I had an A1502 MacBook Pro laptop and was replacing its A1493 battery, it had the trackpad cable going “under” the battery, so I skipped this step and was still able to successfully replace the battery.

    Luke Schoen -

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    • Lift the trackpad cable up off the battery to separate it from the adhesive securing it.

    • Be careful not to damage the cable. If it doesn't peel up easily, apply a little heat from an iOpener, heat gun, or hair dryer to soften the adhesive, and try again.

    • If you are installing a new trackpad cable, be sure to fold the new cable to match the shape of the old cable. The new cable will appear to be too long if it is not folded.

    On the picture above, it looks like, that the CIF cable for the keyboard, located right to the trackpad cable, should also be separated, but this is not necessary. You can leave it attached.

    anmeldung -

    What helped release the cable was to place the body of the spudger under the cable and rotate it upward as I gently pulled it down to release the cable from the adhesive. It may not have been necessary, but it did help.

    Todd S. Jones -

    I did this after reading your comment and it worked incredibly well!

    N DesRochers -

    If you are replacing an old battery with a new battery, and the trackpad cable goes “under” the battery from the trackpad connector to the other side of it (instead of the trackpad cable going “over” the battery from its trackpad connector as shown in the provided image), then you then it is possible to skip this step. See my comments in Step 17.

    Luke Schoen -

    For people having keyboard or trackpad issues:

    If you followed the disassembly photos you may have lifted the the tap on the ZIF connector in Step 18 image. Note the lifted “tape” below the thumb. This may release the ZIF Connector and cause keyboard issues. Make sure the black retaining bar is in the down position on the ZIF Connector.

    Also, check the ZIF connector in Step 19 and 20. The Black plastic retaining bar MUST be in the “up/open” position to remove and reinstall the ribbon cable.

    Donald MacTavish -

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    • If necessary, peel back any tape covering the trackpad cable connector.

    • Use the end of a spudger to flip the retaining tab on the ZIF connector.

    Overall, I really enjoyed this project and it was a complete success but this step is the one spot I came up short. I forgot to flip the retaining tab back down when I reassembled and I got a totally unresponsive keyboard and trackpad before I opened it back up and realized I had forgotten this tiny but crucial step.

    nathan taylor -

    I also forgot to flip the ZIF connector. Thankfully my trackpad worked after.

    Make sure to flip the ZIF connector before putting the trackpad cable back, too.

    ibash -

    I did not remove this retaining clip for fear of not getting it plugged in again then just carefully folded it back to clear battery instal

    Peter Stoll -

    This was the most challenging part of the installation. Putting this tab back, it's so fragile and difficult to put back. I thought it was going to get damaged but it worked.

    Gaetano Daidone -

    Like Peter, I just folded it back a bit and had care to keep it out of the way. I think it is much better than the risk involved with taking it out.

    All in all it found it a bit less difficult than I expected - As with all the work I have done on different Apple products: Slow and careful work and following the instructions - including all the comments - seems to be the best advice.

    Adam Griggs -

    I have a semi responsive trackpad and an unrecognized keyboard. Any suggestions?

    Daniel Lynn -

    CHECK the ZIF connector in Step 19 and 20. The Black plastic retaining bar MUST be in the “up/open” position to remove and reinstall the ribbon cable.

    Donald MacTavish -

    Daniel- remove and put back again the cable on the ZIF connector, making sure it is pushed all the way in before closing the retainer clip. May have a partially reinserted cable.

    drrobins -

    If you are replacing an old battery with a new battery, and the trackpad cable goes “under” the battery from the trackpad connector to the other side of it (instead of the trackpad cable going “over” the battery from its trackpad connector as shown in the provided image), then you then it is possible to skip this step. See my comments in Step 17.

    Luke Schoen -

    This was the most difficult part for me.In frustration, I thought I had a bad cable so I bought two new ones and still was not successful.So I skipped the whole thing and bought an external wireless keyboard which I have been using till now.Recently, my LCD screen cracked and I am about to replace it. So, I now have another opportunity to open my laptop and try fixing this step again.This time I will read users comments before attempting another go.Please if anyone have additional useful tips for this step, kindly post a comment.I should be fixing my laptop in 2 weeks.Thanks!

    Ernest Kanu -

    One thing to know about the tape that you have to remove is that it has "arms” that wrap around the cable just beyond the connector. If you bend the cable toward you you can see these. Remove/bend them so that they are pointing ‘north” and then pull the sticker.

    Michael Gorman -

    The “flip up” tab was hard to see for me but once my 7yo confirmed it was up, I slowly moved the cable into the slot using my fingers (to avoid bending/breaking anything, thanks to comments I read), staying perpendicular. Once it was clearly in, I confirmed it was fully seated with a toothpick (a gentle tool for delicate parts). If worried, take zoomed in pictures straight from above, that way you will know what it should look like when reassembling.

    Marc -

    After completing this repair and breaking the zif socket while trying to make sure this cable was re-attached properly. I believe the battery replacement can be done without doing this step. I would just carefully bend the cable out of the way when it came time to prying the portion of the battery out that sits below this cable.


    I'm taking my Macbook into Apple to see if they'll replace the touchpad and cable now since I don't feel like messing with this anymore. My screwup may just push me into buying a new M2 Macbook Air... I'm thinking subconsciously my brain tricked me into sabotaging this repair attempt so that I'd just get a new computer, lol.

    Greg Burkhardt -

    Same experience as many. I didn't read the comments or the instructions well enough here and forgot to flip up the ZIF connector. Ended up just pulling the ribbon cable out which must have damaged it. After the battery replacement when I reassemble and turned my computer back on, the trackpad and keyboard were unresponsive. I bought a replacement (used) trackpad cable from iFixit, it came a few days later, I popped it in (the correct way!) and my keyboard and trackpad were back to working. So, don't forget the ZIF connector tab!!!!

    Kelly Archer -

    READ THE COMMENTS ON THIS ONE.

    Broke the ZIF connector :-(

    Should've seen this step properly and read the comments. I was on the right path but somehow thought needed to plug. out the casing of ZIF connector too and maybe just ripped out the cable wrongly. My bad and now will see what the Mac does without the ZIF connector flipper... or may just buy the new trackpad.

    houguy -

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    • Pull the trackpad cable straight out of its ZIF socket on the trackpad control board.

    • During reassembly, make sure that the retaining tab is in the up, "unlocked" position before you insert the cable into the socket.

    With all due respect, step # 19 and 20 pics shows the ZIF socket on the trackpad board, not the Mac logic board, I think...

    See step #17 which seems to be correct. There is an inconsistency in the guide.

    Just to be sure...

    Bart Van Dessel -

    This was the most difficult step for me. It was hard to locate the retaining tab on the ZIF connector and the trackpad cable had some adhesive on the bottom of it and it was difficult to remove from the socket. Be patient….

    Gary Bain -

    I skipped this two steps (19&20) , just bent the flat fable when taking the battery out.

    Aleš Smokvina -

    This does look the most frightening part of the process, that connector looks really flimsy. Is it ok to just bend it back and leave it connected as suggested?

    Jack Sukerman -

    This is the only step I skipped, as Gary Bain mentioned above there was adhesive which made it difficult to remove, and it’s probably the only step worth skipping.

    John Davis -

    Can you buy replacements for this trackpad control board? They dont seem to come with new trackpads.

    Rachel MacLeod -

    The ZIF retaining tab is a tiny black plastic bar. Pull the trackpad cable HORIZONTALLY out of the socket.

    Richard Johnson -

    If you are replacing an old battery with a new battery, and the trackpad cable goes “under” the battery from the trackpad connector to the other side of it (instead of the trackpad cable going “over” the battery from its trackpad connector as shown in the provided image), then you then it is possible to skip this step. See my comments in Step 17.

    Luke Schoen -

    Unfortunately, i didn’t notice that there was a retaining tab, so i damaged my ZIF Connector. I ordered a new one from amazon. I followed the procedure and did it in the “correct” way. Anyway trackpad and keyboard won’t work. Can you help me?

    Andrea -

    I removed that cable and not sure that I put it back properly. The trackpad and keyboard are not working. I might need to order a new trackpad cable and try the process with the new, Can anyone help?

    Thank you

    Faliere Dieujuste -

    I broke the tiny plastic clamp on the ZIF socket and that, to my understanding, is why the ribbon cable is not connecting properly (so neither keypad nor keyboard are connected). I wonder if I can buy a replacement somewhere for that clamp or the socket as a whole.

    Ghassen -

    Hi Ghassen, I too just broke the plastic clamp on the ZIF socket. What did you do to repair it? I’m pulling my hair out looking for a solution!

    David O'Brien -

    "straight out" in this case is away from you and horizontal, not straight up! I tugged on the cable a bit harder than I'd like to admit before realizing my mistake, although no damage seems to have occurred.

    jheiss -

    Thank you for all the comments on the direction to pull this cable. Pull horizontally toward the battery. It slips out of the connector then you can pull it vertically to free. Mine had a little bit of sticky on the cable that held it to the battery.

    Steve -

    Removing this cable took a lot more effort than I thought it should. I removed it horizontally away from the front of the laptop. I was certain to pop up the plastic retaining clip to remove, then push it down to reinstall. For whatever reason I feel like I’m not getting the cable back in all the way. After reassembly my touchpad and keyboard do not work. I’m wondering if I damaged the cable or the small board with the zif socket…

    Greg Burkhardt -

    Same. Any idea how to resolve it? Any progress on your part?

    Jose Huerta -

    Same for me. Trackpad is not working anymore. What a pity…

    Katrin Klug -

    I had to replace the cable after my keyboard and trackpad would not work after replacing the battery, lucky they are available from iFixit

    Cameron Wheatley -

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    • Remove the single 3.7 mm T5 Torx screw securing the battery board to the upper case.

    If lost where could I find a replacement for this screw?

    Justin -

    Yes, where could I find a replacement for this screw?

    Ryan Borchert -

    Before continuing, draw around the outside of the existing battery with a pencil to make a template ready for when installing the new battery. It means when you get there, the new battery can be installed perfectly in place and you will not have space problems when trying to reinstall the speakers during reassembly.

    Dan -

    when installing new battery it is better to start with this step and secure the battery control board first with the screw. This is needed to align the battery plug with the jack on the mother board, then glue the rest of the battery back.

    Igor Kapitanker -

    FYI this was a T4 on my system

    anonymous 5375 -

    When aligning the placement of the battery, on my second attempt, I used a sim card removal pin (a paper clip would suffice) to align the battery board hole with the screw hole underneath. Unfortunately on my first attempt I inadvertently stripped the threads a little. Luckily there was just enough threads to hold

    Charles Meitin -

Conclusion

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

Author

Sam Goldheart

Member since: 19/10/12

457524 Reputation

3 comments

Why remove the screw in step 5?

Ari Cooper - Davis -

Yes @sam , why should you remove the screw in step 5? Is this a mistake?

lmdehaas -

Step 5: Remove the single 3.7 mm T5 Torx screw.

Step 6: Re-screw single 3.7 mm T5 Torx screw.

David Grabowski -