MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Early 2011 Heat Sink Replacement

Written By: Andrew Bookholt
  • Comments: 154
MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Early 2011 Heat Sink Replacement

Difficulty

Difficult

Steps

21

Time Required

1 - 2 hours

Introduction

Are the gobs of OEM thermal paste causing your MacBook Pro to be sluggish while hot? Use this guide to remove your heat sink and apply new thermal paste.

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    • Remove the following ten screws:

    • Three 14.4 mm Phillips #00 screws

    • Three 3.5 mm Phillips #00 screws

    • Four 3.5 mm shouldered Phillips #00 screws

    • When replacing the small screws, align them perpendicular to the slight curvature of the case (they don't go straight down).

    How much weight can I save by removing the optical drive?

    gunes314 -

    You can save a lot of weight if lets say your installing a solid state drive or putting in a second hard drive but if you know that you use the CD/DVD disc drive a lot then you might just want to leave the drive alone.

    Marshall WahlstromHelgren -

    Tip: Use one of those weekday pill holders to have a cheep way to store screws you remove and each day of the week can be for different sizes or parts. It has been handy to have (much less expensive than the magnetic mat.

    Robert Wacker -

    Hello, where can I buy the screws I need in case I lose one of them?

    taylornya -

    iFixit sells a kit: MacBook Pro Unibody Lower Case Screw Set

    Darrell Johnson -

    I have one stripped screw... How opening without drill it?! Any suggestions please?

    rodrigosady -

    I also stripped a couple screws. I wasn’t able to open it up without drilling. After drilling the heads and removing the cover it was easy to hacksaw the tip and unscrew with a standard driver.

    Michael Wilkens -

    We have a guide for that!

    How to Remove a Stripped Screw

    Sam Omiotek -

    My top tip - make sure you buy good quality Phillips screwdrivers and a magnetic holder. Cheap screwdrivers won’t get the screws undone safely. Without a magnetic holder you have no chance of getting the tiny crews in and out safely.

    jeremyyoung -

    A good Phillips 00 is your friend here. Also, when reinserting the screws, gently start anticlockwise and you wil feel a click at the start of the thread. This tells you you’re in the right place and less likely to cross-thread through force in the wrong place.

    Iain Boyd -

    I feel like these are 000 screws. Amazon sales describe them as such and my 000 screwdriver fits better

    cam2000deluxe -

    Before ordering a new Trackpad remove the existing battery and try clicking the Trackpad. If it clicks OK with the battery out the source of problem is likely a swollen battery, which should to be replaced even if it still works to some degree. From the side of the battery you will likely see the soft part of the battery bulging beyond the hard case.

    Patrick Langvardt -

    That’s absolutely correct as I can testify. With the battery removed I also adjusted the T6 set screw that adjusts the sensitivity of the trackpad click, evidently someone had cranked mine down tighter than the factory setting.

    Gary Register -

    Le quatrième paragraphe dans les instructions en français n’est pas correct : ce ne sont pas les 2 petites vis, mais les 7 petites vis qui sont inclinées. Et les 3 grandes sont bien verticales.

    Degeorges -

    Bonjour ! Merci de votre observation. J’ai corrigé la traduction. iFixit étant un wiki, n’hésitez pas à modifiez si vous remarquez une erreur :) Encore merci de votre attention et à bientôt !

    Claire Miesch -

    Tip: if you have a magnetic screw mat or similar, lay the macbook over the mat to make sure it catches any screws that may decide to fall of and hide under your table

    Moritz -

    Funny, it's not her hands that are doing the close ups. :)

    Cinemated Man -

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    • Use your fingers to pry the lower case away from the body of the MacBook near the vent.

    • Remove the lower case.

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    • Use the edge of a spudger to pry the battery connector upwards from its socket on the logic board.

    • It is useful to pry upward on both short sides of the connector to "walk" it out of its socket. Be careful with the corners of the connectors, they can be easily broken off.

    Is this step of removing the battery connector required?

    manodh -

    yes - as with disassembly of any electronic component you have to remove any power source. You don't want to accidentally turn the Mac on

    khull -

    Prying the battery connector off does not take much force. I did exactly what the guide suggested (walked it off back and forth) with the spudger without any problems. Just be very gentle, much like with anything inside laptops, they are very fragile and need to be worked with carefully. A+ instructions, battery replacement was a success.

    aekinaka -

    Be patient on disconnecting this one. It worked for me step by step, little by little.

    Phil Wagner -

    I used the nails of thumb and pointer finger simultaneously - worked pretty fine

    Reinhard Kaune -

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    • Bend the battery cable slightly away from its socket on the logic board so it does not accidentally connect itself while you work.

    I put some tape between the connector and socket while working on the drive.

    Stephen Smith -

    That's a good tip

    Anrothan -

    Great tip, I did that too

    Ahmed Mahran -

    One other note: The screw heads fit flush with the curvature of the case -- which means that they aren't exactly horizontal. In other words, they aren't perpendicular to the table that the computer is resting on. Don't try to force them straight in vertically, because you'll risk cross-threading them. (nearly ruined one screw hole myself!)

    lelandjordon -

    On my MacBook Pro, the connector seems to be an integral part of the battery.

    Jerry South -

    I suspect it’s just like the special screwdriver required for seatbelts on cars – to discourage regular consumers from attempting repairs. Of course, this only encourages consumers to use the wrong tool to attempt to repairs

    colleenthompson -

    Dissambling my MacBookPro Premium Mid 2012 (i5-3210M 2.5Ghz) was easily, Careful with the screws, use screwdriver fitting exactly with the screws, you damage them very fast. Work very exactly, relaxed with time, consentration, good Tools and with feelings in your hands. Disconnect the Akku was easy if you take care, remove it to be safe, Two screws more, more space to work & haven`t to think about damaging someting. Apple use diffrent screws, you should have many difffrent scewdrivers. It is also good to clean everything inside, With time everything gets very dusty & dirty, don`t forget the sides and little fittings at the case. Use a pinsel, alcohol, soft peace stuff, it will look like new. If you have knowledge & experience, you can paint it in any colour or airbrushing for individualizing. You can also just polish it with a soft Politure (Sonax car Polish No1, NOT with wax or take an other light Politure you familiar & can do the job, A Laptop should serviced once a year, keeping it good working over years

    Stefan Lindner -

    First thing i do is open & cleanig everything inside,specially the cooling & fan, renew the thermal paste with an high quality product. Install the Nain System, clean up Bloatware and other unnecessary things, install standard software for daily use, additional change system components against better one (Edge to Firefox, Windows Media Player to VLC , an Office Suite and configuring everything for Data Protection, Privacy- & Indentety Protection, install Drivers from the component Manufactur (incedible effect, disable limitations, more functions, work better & faster, increasing performance, additional change the WiFi & Bluetooth Card to a better one a UMTS WWAN to an LTE Card, increase RAM with two Dual-Channel working SODIMMs, Use M2 or 2,5" SSD if no M2 Slot aviable) as System- and Software iDrive, a FAT32 formatted 32GB Partition to be safe of metaviruses comes with harmless downloads, and a big 2,5 HDD to store the user data. What does you guys think about this? Old Computer become a new life,

    Stefan Lindner -

    I livein Austria, near Vienna, if someone needs help or anything else, i would be glad to help. I always searching old or broken devices to bring them to new live. I also searching for spare parts, specilly a Bottom & Side Case and a 256GB or higher NGFF Storage Card for a Sony Vaio Tab 11 SVT1144HE (2014), some 14,1" Displays for a HP Probook 440G5 (2016), Elitebook MT 43 Mobile Thin Client, (2011), Dell Vostro 3460 (2012) Lenovo Thinkpad T440s (2014), and a Logic Board for an Lenovo Ideapad 330-15ARR (2017, damaged by Water i think) and a Logic Bord for an Alienware 17R4 with i7-6870HX & Nvidia 1080 (2018, CPU dead, maybe there is a repair Guide or workaround to bring it back to Life). I need always 8GB or 16GB DDR3 and DDR4 RAM Storage (perfectly two ident one for Dual-Channel use for Laptops, M2 SATA 6GB/s and NVMe PCIe SSDs 500GB or more and 2,5"SSD or HDD with 1TB or more and 3,5" HDD with 4GB or above. If you have some of this or other useful parts and doesn`t need them, please make me an offer, maybe

    2

    Stefan Lindner -

    an change something you need. This is not a Business what i do, it`s more a Hobby with challenging new Excercices.. Thats the best Point. Plase forgive me as a Newbie this very long Post in the wrong Section, but if you are start writing you cannot stop.... But now i have to come to an end and would be happy if someone wants to get in contact. My E-Mail is: udontknowme@gmx.at (the adress name is just a notice against Big Data and for Privacy Protection!

    Stefan Lindner -

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    • Use the edge of a spudger to gently pry the fan connector 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.

    I successfully soldered the fan connector back on for a friend. I used a small soldering iron (maybe 6-10 watts) and ground the tip down to a very fine point. Also used a magnifying light and very fine rosin core solder. I took my time and lined everything up and was careful not to heat any other junction unnecessarily.

    Scott Stanley -

    Yup. Be careful on this one. I was trying to gently pry up and popped it off the socket. Computer working fine after replacing magsafe board, but no fan for cooling…

    Thomas Carr -

    This one is really delicate, as pointed out.  Be careful if using the pointed end of a spudger NOT to dig down and under ….there’s a layer of plastic-y insulation that can be torn.  I accidentally gored it with the pointy end of a spudger and it was slightly ripped.  Fortunately, I was able to press it down and there was no problem when the cable was reinserted.

    Carolyn Ryan -

    For less than $16 I ordered a new fan from amazon. Fans eventually start making noise. If they fail, your system could expire from heat. Consider simply replacing your fan since this model is now about five years old. Here’s link:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FWP...

    airshack -

    I used a guitar pick and gently wiggled underneath to lift it up and out of the socket. no damage! woo hoo! on to step 7!

    jcundy2 -

    I simply skipped this step and left fan wire connected to logic board. Just unscrew screws from Step 6, put fan on the logic board and remove whole stuff togheter.

    paczor -

    Thanks, I did that too,,

    a lot easier

    Ahmed Mahran -

    sorry i dont understand what you did? could you please explain more detailed?

    Olivier -

    Yes, tricky. Insert the spudger just like in the photo. You won’t be able to dig it out out from any other side. Also, notice which side of the connector faces down into the socket: it is the side without the four shiny gold areas (again, just like in the photo).

    rmccord23 -

    I used a really thin, plastic spudger gently inserting from each side on mid-2012 and then very gently twisting the spudger. It worked fine without tearing or damaging anything. When reinstalling the connector, do not forget to twist it 180 degrees so that the open side of the connector is facing down to insert properly for seating.

    Gary Renick -

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    • Remove the following three screws securing the fan to the logic board:

    • One 7.2 mm T6 Torx screw

    • Two 5.3 mm T6 Torx screws

    These are T5 screws

    dbell316 -

    I think so too, (maybe on a certain batch?) tried a T6 and its too big

    billytalentlovexo -

    I wasn’t able to open mine up. The heads looked like little triangles instead of hex torqx things. Is there a chart with the head shape of all the bits you can buy? I want to just get the one.

    Christopher Roode -

    They might be tri point

    Daniele Carminati -

    they were T6 for me

    Macrepair SF -

    T5 for me, my MBP was manufactured in 2015.

    colleenthompson -

    When seating the fan, be aware that the cutout on the fan for the wire harness may not match up with the cutout on the board itself. Line the wires up to the board and then seat the fan in an incremental manner - gently pushing at each connecting hole. Then put the screws in without tightening at first. Once all of the screws are seated, then sequentially snug them up. Finally, push down gently on the fan and snug up each screw without over tightening. I found that the fan seats a tad further and I wanted to avoid future rattles. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN THOUGH.

    Gary Renick -

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    • Lift the fan out of its recess in the logic board, minding its cable that may get caught.

    Note that, as per the photo, the fan goes in label side DOWN. Took me a few minutes to figure that out!

    colleenthompson -

    Before reinstalling the new fan and for novices like me, do not forget to have a can of compressed on hand to clear out years of dust, fine fibers, and maybe even a cat hair from the fins blowing outward. Do not shake the bottle and hold it upright, and use small squirts of air.

    Gary Renick -

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    • Use the tip of a spudger to pull the right speaker/subwoofer cable out from under the retaining finger molded into the upper case.

    • Pull the right speaker/subwoofer cable upward to lift the connector out of its socket on the logic board.

    Reminder: When replacing the cable the connector should be placed in from above. This fooled me and I damaged the seat a bit, but not enough to prevent proper connection.

    Lee Hughart -

    Excellent guide, I feel this bit could be clearer tho. As it is a socket like a fan connector.

    Mine had a foam pad on the top like the other lift-up connections and I’ve accidentally taken the socket off.

    So just to be aware if your mac has the foam pad on top of this connection.

    acupton86 -

    I’ve broken the connector of the speaker (on the logic board) by installing it in the wrong way.

    Now, I ordered the connector from aliexpress, and have to do some micro soldering and hopefully it’ll work.

    Be careful guys

    iAziz -

    This one took me a moment to figure out. I also have the foam pad and couldn't see where the socket begins. Use the flat end of the spudger and go underneath the red/black cable part close to the socket, then slowly lift it up until it loosens a little, then do the same on the other side.

    Chris -

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    • Disconnect the camera cable from the logic board.

    • Pull the cable parallel to the face of the logic board. Pulling the cable upward may damage the logic board or the cable itself.

    The camera cable head has bump at both sides. Just use two spudgers to pry it out.

    townbull -

    thank you great suggestion

    Soham Thacker -

    Here's where the mid-2009 13" MacBook Pro 5,5 makes its first major departure from this guide. No such connection exists. At least nowhere I could find on the motherboard.

    Larry Horton -

    IIRC the official service manual suggests putting the blunt or wide edge of a black-stick/spudger underneath the cable and then pressing down on said cable to provide better gripping force while pulling the cable out/away from the connector. It’s my tried-and-true method of choice.

    James -

    Anyone has a data of this cable becausei brkoe it and i have an other same connector ??

    Mail : mr.leminecrafteur@gmail.com

    VARE -

    Just broke this cable by pulling to hard. Definitely use a spudger to pry out the connector instead of pulling the cable.

    maxpoetter -

    Same, any suggestion about its replacement?

    giovanni.billet -

    Really grip those little bumps on the head with a pair of pliers and gently wiggle!

    moonsugar33 -

    In case you need replacement parts for the broken cable : http://www.powerbookmedic.com/MacBook-Pr...

    To find out how to replace the cable, you can have a look at this tutorial : https://fr.ifixit.com/Tutoriel/Remplacem...

    Guillaume Lamaison -

    Die Metallverbindung besteht aus zwei Teilen. Der kabelferne Teil drückt den Stecker nach unten. Der kabelferne Teil ist ein festgelöteter Schuh. Mit Hilfe einer dünnen Präpariernadel konnte ich den kabelzugewandten, beweglichen Metall-Teil der Verbindung zum einen horizontal herausschieben, zum anderen habe ich gleichzeitig gezogen. Nicht zu viel Kraft beim Ziehen aufwenden.

    Mir hat geholfen, ein Makrofoto vom Stecker zu machen, um ihn zu verstehen.

    hpw -

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    • Disconnect the following four cables:

    • AirPort/Bluetooth cable

    • Optical drive cable

    • Hard drive cable

    • Trackpad cable

    • To disconnect the cables, use the flat end of a spudger to pry their connectors up from the sockets on the logic board.

    On the mid-2009 13" MacBook Pro 5,5 the Airport/Bluetooth cable is different from the other three cables in this step. It's fabric wrapped, and its connection works in a fashion more like the display data cable connection, although it does not have a lock that releases by pulling a tab back over the cable. So, to those of you who are repairing this model, be careful. Prying upward is not the way to remove this cable. I played with it until I could detect which parts were moving which way and why. Although I can't say with precision how the connection works, I removed it by gently coaxing slightly up at an angle and back along the plane of the optical drive. The idea is to pull the cable back out of its socket while lifting slightly.

    Too bad we can't post photos in the comments.

    Larry Horton -

    Same with the Mid 2010 model - moving the cable parallel to the board, towards the optical device works fine.

    Hans -

    It is advised to tape all those connectors out of the way of the mainboard. Use paper tape or paper labels as you want to avoid the electrical discharge associated with peeling off of plastic tape.

    dbovey -

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    • Use your fingernail to flip up the retaining flap on the keyboard ribbon cable ZIF socket.

    • Be sure you are prying up on the hinged retaining flap, not the socket itself.

    • Use the tip of a spudger to pull the keyboard ribbon cable out of its socket.

    • The cable may be difficult to insert. If you are having trouble, temporarily attach a piece of tape to the cable to help you guide the cable into the socket.

    Hello i've a late 2011 and have manged to break the keyboard ribbon cable ZIF socket. Is this a part that can be replaced? Ribbon is still good just the plastic has broken on the edge. Thanks

    Derek Cowan -

    No, You'll need to replace the logic board. I'd probably just use a wired or bluetooth keyboard and put the money towards a new machine.

    maccentric -

    I ran into trouble reattaching the keyboard ribbon cable into the ZIF socket. I couldn't grasp it in a way that let me push it all the all back. A local repair guy told me his trick: use a piece of tape. Attach a piece of tape to the ribbon cable and make a tab so you can pull the cable into the socket. Use of a piece of tape that you can easily remove. Works like a charm.

    David -

    Buy that man a pint! I've been working on computers professionally for a decade and I've never thought of that trick. Brilliant!

    Gryyphyn -

    Amazing this saved me!

    Felipe Cordero -

    You've saved me countless hours of crying trying to simply push it in

    Tunipguy -

    Thanks! This saved me hours!

    Marc Steffen -

    Thank you so much. Very clever idea that works like a charm!

    Todd Walls -

    Thank you so much! After 15 minutes of frustration, it inserted in less than 5 seconds.

    Todd Walls -

    I didin't read this before, but it was the idea i had in the moment... after 30 minutes of struggle. Thanks!

    Franco Iván Bello Rojas -

    After I put it all back together, the keyboard didn’t work; I traced it to this cable not being plugged in all the way. I used the tape trick to coax it all the way in to seat well and it works like a charm.

    Ruedi Schubarth -

    Thanks for the tip about keyboard ribbon, saved me a major headache

    domhnallk -

    It’s worth pointing out that the lever to lift this is at the back of the connector and that you’re pulling it towards yourself - this then releases the plastic on top of the cable that’s holding it in place.

    Nick Watts -

    The tape tirck saved my bacon!! Thank YOU!

    Jonathan Davis -

    Thanks so much. This trick saved the day!!!!

    Rafael Giuliano -

    It is advised to tape this connectors out of the way of the mainboard. Use paper tape or paper labels as you want to avoid the electrical discharge associated with peeling off of plastic tape.

    dbovey -

    Der Sicherungsbügel kann leicht mit dem Fingernagel vom Mainboard um 90 Grad zu mir her geklappt werden. ACHTUNG: Genau lesen, filigrane Teile gehen leicht kaputt.

    hpw -

    The tape trick worked for the smaller keyboard backlight ribbon but not this bigger ribbon…. I might take it to a repair shop because I’m out of ideas. Anyone know any other solution? I think someone mentioned using a pencil eraser as a grip on another site… might try that.

    hi there -

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    • If present, remove the small strip of black tape covering the keyboard backlight cable socket.

    The bottom of the small strip has excellent adhesive which will re-stick upon reassembly without any problems. I handled the sticky side and even stuck it to a plastic tray without any issues. Which is to say the sticky-ness does not seem to wear off.

    airshack -

    This is the most difficult ribbon cable to reinsert. As noted in the comments for the keyboard ribbon cable above I’d recommend also using a a small piece of tape to help reinsert.

    Bill Kirby -

    I used Blu-Tac on the end of my spudger to provide a gentle grip to get it to slide in.

    moonsugar33 -

    It is advised to tape this connectors out of the way of the mainboard. Use paper tape or paper labels as you want to avoid the electrical discharge associated with peeling off of plastic tape.

    dbovey -

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    • Use the tip of a spudger or your fingernail to flip up the retaining flap on the keyboard backlight ribbon cable ZIF socket.

    • Be sure you are prying up on the hinged retaining flap, not the socket itself.

    • Pull the keyboard backlight ribbon cable out of its socket.

    The first time I reassembled the system I left this tiny ribbon connector under the logic board by accident. If your keyboard backlight no longer works after reassembly it’s because you forgot to reattach this small connector. Fortunately, I caught my mistake before securing the logic board screws. It’s an easy to miss item.

    airshack -

    It is advised to tape this connectors out of the way of the mainboard. Use paper tape or paper labels as you want to avoid the electrical discharge associated with peeling off of plastic tape.

    dbovey -

    What the part name, i accidently broken this part

    Sandy Mustika Alam -

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    • Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the sleep sensor/battery indicator connector up from its socket on the logic board.

    the sleep sensor/battery indicator were not included with my new case, i had to transfer them over from my old case. once the battery is out (step 22), you can see the three screws you need to remove in order to take it out. it’s also secured by adhesive. the button for the battery indicator will likely fall out (at least it did on mine) when you remove the board, so be careful not to lose it…my new case did come with the button for the battery indicator (even though it didn’t come with the board or cable), but i just re-used the old one.

    Matt -

    I forgot to place this tiny flex cable on top of the mainboard, and tried to recover it from under (lazy!) so I broke it.

    In general I would tape all those connectors out of the way of the mainboard. Use paper tape or paper labels as you want to avoid the electrical discharge associated with peeling off of plastic tape.

    dbovey -

    Update: the computer works even without this feature. Of course the led battery indicator does not work, but it is not a big loss.

    dbovey -

    Does it still sleep properly?

    maccentric -

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

    • Pull the display data cable straight out of its socket on the logic board.

    • Do not lift up on the display data cable, as its socket is very fragile. Pull the cable parallel to the face of the logic board.

    Its quite delicate, pull gently and it will pop out with a slight clicking sound

    Leo Jose -

    On my mid-2009 13" MacBook Pro 5,5 the display data cable was square with the motherboard, rather than at an angle. I'm not experienced with working on computer connections, but if I were going to describe this procedure, it would be more like:

    "Grasp the plastic tab on the end of the display data cable connection, and pull it gently back over the cable, toward the DC-in board. The tab is connected to a flat rectangular 'ring' that locks the cable to its connection, and when you pull the tab, the rectangular lock will flip back over the cable, allowing the cable to be removed by pulling the same direction, parallel to the surface of the motherboard."

    Larry Horton -

    Exactly the same as on the Mid2010 Model - never pull up, always parallel to the board, using the spudger to keep the cable down might helpfull while pulling with fingers the cable towards DC-In at the right side.

    Hans -

    My display is not working after reassemble the mac.

    Any reason?

    Nitin Sonwal -

    I had the same problem, and it was solved by slightly unscrewing the 14.4 mm screw that sits nearest the ESC button (upper left hand side, if the computer is open as if you’re using it). All the way screwed in, and the display conks out (something must be getting pinched). Slightly loosened, and the display immediately came back!

    Shannon Maguire -

    I choose not to remove this, just laid the board over. Worked just fine.

    Justin Patterson -

    I second this. It’s quite easy to leave this connection in place. The board flips over nicely, and everything is still accessible.

    Steven Weeks -

    I used my phone to photograph the entire underside of the Macbook Pro before I started removing things. This photo helped augment the excellent photos here. Take a few close-ups of each section/item before disassembly to reference upon assembly.

    airshack -

    when reattaching the display cable, i used the spudger to tuck the spongy top flap underneath the cable lock, so that i could then get the cable lock down the entire way. i couldn’t get it under there (and get the lock closed) without it, the top part of the display cable blocked it.

    Matt -

    When replaced the logic board when reassembled lap top screens not working. Saw others similar issues plugged in my monitor it’s working great must have messed up any ideas how to fix?

    Wayne McCarthy -

    Hi Wayne, and Michael! I had the same problem, and it was solved by slightly unscrewing the 14.4 mm screw that sits nearest the ESC button (upper left hand side, if the computer is open as if you’re using it). All the way screwed in, and the display conks out (something must be getting pinched). Slightly loosened, and the display immediately came back! —Shannon

    Shannon Maguire -

    My display is not working after I put everything back together, can hear the macbook chime. Tried shining light onto the display, see nothing. Tried loosening the screw slightly like someone suggested here, that does not help either. Tried cleaning the contacts of the LVDS cable, nothing. Any help appreciated.

    Don Seenu -

    Found a solution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjIQXwit...

    Don Seenu -

    This resolved it for me. My clasp wasn’t didn’t seem worn in any way but it seemed when it was clamped it caused the short circuit causing my screen to be black upon turning on. Lifting the clasp immediately resolved it. Odd issue! Thanks very much for the video. Incredibly helpful.

    Chris Gervais -

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    • Remove the following nine screws:

    • Five 3.6 mm T6 Torx screws

    • Two 4.3 mm T6 Torx screws

    • Two 7.2 mm T6 Torx screws

    • In some models the screws may be slightly shorter as follows:

    • Five 3.0 mm T6 screws

    • Two 3.6 mm T6 screws

    • Two 6.7 mm T6 screws

    2 of the 7 listed 4mm screws attaching the logic board are actually 4.5 or 5 mm.... unfortunately. I didn't notice that until I was reassembling. so I don't know which positions they came from.

    starf1970 -

    I'm just noticing this too... I've put the longer screws as the two on the far left of the picture because they seemed to be the two holes I couldn't see the bottom to.

    ForumHermit -

    Just took one apart and paid attention this time. On this Mac, the screws colored orange should be red, and the 2 screws on the left side of the board should be orange (they’re a bit longer).

    maccentric -

    For keeping the screws straight I drew a simple diagram and placed them on it head down/threads up in their respective positions. Then all screws went back into their original positions without any guess work. Another suggestion I have during assembly is to start the screws without torquing them all the way down - leave them a little loose to allow some adjustment of the logic board for getting them all to line up with their holes, then torque them down. This technique also works for the screws on the bottom cover/lower case.

    Great guide! Saved me some dough, and now my MagSafe connector stays nice and cool.

    gregory mogle -

    for me the two on the farthest left were the 4.3mm screws. otherwise all went as described

    Levi Hoover -

    on something like this (like in iphones) i print the picture and place the screws on the picture. saves some problems and guessing.

    jeff chasalow -

    Well on my mid 2012 MacBook Pro the screw heads are definitely not T6 but rather J000. Will place the removed screws on a paper drawing of logic board. Good tip ….

    dontrep7a3 -

  17. EmuxSAVFeeWnUIpq
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    • Remove the following two screws:

    • One 8.6 mm Phillips screw

    • One 5.5 mm Phillips screw

    • Remove the display data cable retainer from the upper case.

    Definitely not necessary to remove this bracket. You can disconnect the mic from the logic board and not have to deal with this bracket.

    kc7gnm77 -

  18. TSDkwsJJM3ZeunmW

    • Use the tip of a spudger to gently peel the microphone off the adhesive securing it to the upper case.

    Careful with this one. The wires are very thin fragile and it’s glued down very well making it extremely hard to remove. Just go slow and be patient otherwise you’ll damage the wires.

    Rob Kruit -

    I finally got that mic out by gripping it between two spudgers like a pair of chopsticks and gently pulling it out at an angle. The rubber shroud on it makes the thing hard to grip, and when I finally pulled it free, part of the adhesive ring tore off and stayed stuck to the chassis. When reassembling the machine, I had to kind of squish it back into place. It doesn’t hold quite as well as it did before, but it seems fine.

    Thomas -

    I managed to get the board out without prying the microphone off by twisting the board out while the microphone is still connected.

    You can then disconnect the microphone cable, which is a similar style connector to the fan cable and remove the board completely

    Alex -

    Vraiment pénible cette déconnection, allez y gentiment et la colle partira.

    raph raph -

    when reseating the logic board, first install the DC board in position and loosely seat the screws. then try to align the logic board to the 3.6mm screw housing closest to the firewire/ thunderbolt port and align the board to the ports and gently drop it into position. watch out for the cables that can get snagged under the board while seating it.

    Avocet Peregrine -

  19. IJie6MvkGZXLWiT1

    • Minding the many connectors near its edges, lift the logic board from the end nearest the optical drive.

    • Without flexing the board, maneuver it out of the upper case, minding the flexible connection to the DC-In board that may get caught in the upper case.

    • Remove the logic board.

    I had the same issue. After wiggling the logic board back and forth and slowly applying more force, just up the threshold where I felt uncomfortable, it came out. The problem appeared to be caused by glue on the heatsink barcode sticking to the layer underneath.

    Shaun -

    I did all this, and worked! .but Im wondering, has anybody unscrewed what seems to be a mini heatsink (black 1 inch square housing) on the integrated GPU? Could I re apply paste on that?

    tony perry -

    I did make the change yesterday. inside it has a thermal pad, that appears to be 3mm or less. i try to clean on my best. I make a making a very tick pea size and added again. but i have no idea if it works or not. still having temps on 56c on idle. there is no much info on that. i use MX-4 from arctic. but i still, in my option, a little to for my use. if someone have more info on that part on the late 2011 i7 macbook pro 13inch please send the info.

    Carlos De Bernard -

    I did and applied Arctic Silver 5 underneath instead of the crap tape they put under there. This alone stopped the random freezing and rebooting problem I was having with this macbook pro. I recommend if you're already that deep into it, you might as well do it. I'm glad I did.

    ej257lgt -

    Need help. After I put everything back together, everything works fine but my macbook just wont charge. Any diagnosis on this? Anyone who can explain to me how the battery and the charging work in a Mac?

    justfinditjoshyip -

    If this happened to me, I would first suspect I hadn't completely connected the DC-in board cable. If I hadn't just replaced the battery, I would wonder if the battery was good. MagSafe power cable connect connections fail too, especially if they've been attached for a long time to a red hot DC-in board.

    If those failed, I'd head to the genius bar!

    Larry Horton -

    I had this problem. I accidentally cut the a cable from the DC-in board and I had to buy this component and replace it. You have to be very careful when mounting back the logic board in its position to not get a cable from the DC-in board cut by the screws.

    Enrique Cerrillo Cuenca -

    I broke the black backlight shield.... be careful when you feel the logic board and the film underneath it seem stickinig togethre.

    EUNAE JO -

    The fan exhaust grille was catching onto the speaker unit so I had to skip to step 28 to take it out. After taking out the airport card the speaker was able to move away from the fan grille and let me lift out the logic board.

    MrUnkownGuy -

    Also be sure to lift up the logic board to a slight angle so it clears the optical drive then pull it out gently at that angle. Do not pull it ulwards.

    MrUnkownGuy -

    The mainboard got stuck with the speaker and I can't lift it up. So I removed the first speaker screw (Wich is nearest to the mainboard) then I was able to remove the mainboard

    Mauricio Larrea -

    I removed the battery …. helps getting the logic board out.

    dontrep7a3 -

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    • Remove the three 8.4 mm #1 Phillips screws securing the heat sink to the logic board.

    • Don't lose the springs held under each of the screws.

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    • Carefully remove the heat sink from the processor.

    • If the heat sink seems to be stuck, it may be helpful to gently pry it off the processor with a plastic spudger. Be careful not to break any surface mount components on the processor while prying.

    • Be sure to clean off the old thermal paste and apply a new layer before you reinstall the heat sink. We have a guide that makes it easy.

    There’s some kind of a very thin “heat sink” connecting the GPU and the other IC chip (under the left speaker) that is not conducting heat anywhere. This seems to be totally unnecessary, because it has been removed from the mid 2012 Macbook Pro (picture) with a similar board setup. Well, I removed the black piece of metal following the Left Speaker Replacement guide and cleaned the two chips from the goo-like thermal paste. That solved GPU heating issues when playing videos or gaming, and now the left side of the Mac doesn’t seem to be building up heat like it used to. Highly recommended.

    Korp Pu -

Conclusion

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

Author

Andrew Bookholt

578096 Reputation

17 comments

Awesome guide, I was able to complete the whole job (very slowly and carefully) in an hour start to finish. I am not an expert, I am just your average, everyday DIYer. I'm actually a medical student with an interest in engineering and "tinkering" looking to save money however I can. I would HIGHLY recommend this to every one of my friends (and I may even do this for some people). My keyboard doesn't get warm anymore, and my fan stays quieter doing more things. I'm now running 40-45 degree temps instead of 70-85 temps. Incredible. Like others on the internet, my computer had a TON of paste on it that was all over the CPU. I feel better now that I know how my computer was put together (by me). Good luck!

Piotr Starosta -

I also reapplied thermal paste under the heatsink on my early 2011 Macbook Pro. Temps are on average much lower, now my cpu almost never spikes above 70 C. I used the mac application Hardware Monitor to check temps in real time before and after. Previously doing pretty much anything on my MBP would cause the fan to spin at its max rpm and the computer was almost always hot to the touch. Now it's silent (also swapped the hdd for an ssd) and the fans almost never turn on at all!

Drew Dittmann -

I followed the guide after my MBP began showing extreme CPU temps like 95-98 C.

I removed all the dry paste that was left on top of the CPU, and replaced it with a brand new paste.

But it didn't work. I'm still getting these high temps. I reopened my computer and placed even more paste. But it's not cutting it.

I'll try a new cooler. Maybe that helps... though. I'll comment here if it does.

Rodrigo -

Less is better, you want a very thin (think see through silk thin) coating between the CPU and the Cooler otherwise it acts as an insulator and causes more heat not less. just enough to make sure that no air is between the two.

John Gordon -

Awesome guide Ifix it rules! Loved the step by step format. Im not a big fan of videos. The zoomed pictures saved my life as reference. Perfect!

daltontkole -

After replaced the paste the fans started to work way more effectively. They used to run on full speed even on average CPU load for no effect -- it was still way too hot. Now it's back to how it was when the laptop was brand new. Thanks for the guide.

andreymochichuk -

I've been seeing high CPU temps during relatively boring loads on my Macbook Pro 2011 for a while -- idle around 88º C and under even a moderate web browsing load consistently at 99º C, at which point the CPU was throttled down from its listed 2.7 GHz to 2 GHz or so.

I followed the guide here to replace the thermal paste and compiling a mid-sized C++ project became 23% faster, while resting temps are down to around 75º. The CPU now much more often hits its Turbo Boost frequency of 3.2 GHz, and the CPU fan is far more often at the lowest state of 2000 RPM (almost silent).

Scott Wheeler -

I followed this guide because of the comments posted here. I measured the temperature beforehand using the istats ruby gem. You can install this by entering the following command in the terminal: sudo gem install iStats

Then you can use the istats command in the terminal to get the current temperature.

I found that the applied thermal paste was hardened and not evenly distributed. I replaced it with Arctic MX-2 Thermal Compound.

Before this I found the CPU temperature at about 75° C + when running parallels with CAD Software. After the replacement, the idle temperature is 40°. For browsing the web and video playback it settles at 56°C +-2 °C . Using Parallels I now get a max Temp of 70° that quickly drops to 60° and after 20 seconds of idle even to 52°. This did not happen before, so I am very glad I replaced the thermal paste. Overall it took me a little more than 30 minutes, but I already had experience replacing components in the Macbook. Pretty sweet result for the time invested :)

Y S -

Hi!

I followed this guide, and everything is connected now.

Problem is that the screen doesn’t work. I tried to recheck the connection of the screen, and when I turn on the MBP, the screen turns on for milliseconds, and turns off. I connected a second screen, and I can see everything, but the main screen doesn’t work.

I looked up the screen connector, doesn’t seem different from before I dismantled…

Do you guys know what’s the problem?

Thanks!

Fabio Costa -

Same thing has just happened to me, I have no idea what to do. I have checked everything. Did you figure out what went wrong?

philip081 -

If an external display works fine, it seems like that pretty much isolates it to a problem with the built-in display or board damage of some kind. Did you try re-seating the display connector? If not, unplug it, inspect it carefully for contamination or damage, and plug it back in. If it looks dirty, clean the connector and socket with a blast of compressed air, and/or give it a gentle wipe with some isopropyl alcohol. Inspect the display cable and make sure it’s not kinked or damaged. If you’re still stuck, check the forum for help. Good luck!

Jeff Suovanen -

He seguido el tutorial y perfecto. Cambiando pasta termica( por una especial para overclook) he bajado +- 20 C

muchas gracias. Los pasos perfectos, todos los tornillos en su sitio y los componentes bien conectados a la placabase.

Yeray -

J’ai réalisé le changement de pate thermique après 9 années et je crois qu’il était temps de le faire….

Super tutoriel, avec vraiment tous les détails précisés.

N’hésitez pas à réaliser l’opération et investissez dans le nettoyant articClean. Mon mac a retrouvé une jeunesse

Ferréol Gauthier -

Nice Tutorial. Glad i repasted because there was so much old paste that it covered the whole cpu and parts of the logicboard.

Still the same idle temperature around 55C but under max load I won’t get higher than 85C.

Before CPU throttled at 99C.

Also the fan keeps default 2000rpm while startup and office/surfing task.

Very nice and worth the efford

Björn Schmitz -

Super tuto , utiliser pour donner un coup de rafraichissement d’un macbook pro début 2011 avec remplacement du ssd , bien expliquer réaliser en 45 minute avec remontage , plus aucun emballement du ventilateur .

senaikemoi -

Awesome guide. My 2011 MBP was running very hot with full fan speed. So i decided to give this a go. Already changed ssd and Fan twice. Unbelievable how much dust there was in the back side if the logic bord and around the heat sink. Thermal oaste fully dried. Followed it step by step, 1,5h lter everything runs super fast, cool with almost no fan noise. So much better! Thank you fixit!

Max Tapp -

From a try of this today, I would recommend replacing also the heat pipe, it seems like there's a problem with it (the thin plastic shielding between the keyboard and mainboard had glued onto the heatpipe)

Florian Heigl -