MacBook Pro 17" Unibody Battery Replacement

Written By: Andrew Bookholt
  • Comments: 64
MacBook Pro 17" Unibody Battery Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

6

Time Required

15 - 45 minutes

Introduction

Use this guide to replace your MacBook Pro's battery. Removing the battery requires a Tri-point screwdriver.

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    • Remove the following ten screws securing the lower case to the upper case:

    • Three 13.5 mm Phillips screws.

    • Seven 3 mm Phillips screws.

    important to reassemble the "lower case" successfully: the threads of the seven 3mm phillips screws are drilled at an angle :-/

    mysterioes -

    Same issue with me. After reassembling my 13-inch and my 17-inch, one of the screws are sticking out ever so slightly. Very annoying, especially since I scratch whatever surface I'm on now.

    Kyle Spadaro -

    Very important note; this guide is NOT correct for the Macbook Pro 17" A1297 late '11.

    The A1297 has an assembly adjacent to the optical drive, identifiable by 4 antenna connectors, 1 usb cable (with very small connector) and one PCI-e flat cable running across the optical drive.

    I did not take pictures, but found one on the web. I'm very new to iFixit and have no idea yet on how to create a guide, but here's the picture showing the assembly on top (this pic only has 3 antenna wires, the A1297 has 4, but at least you'll know what to look for.

    - carefully undo all connections and 2 screws

    - remove the assembly and flip it over

    - again carefully remove the shielding tape

    - undo 3 tiny screws

    - gently pry the airport card from the assembly (the flat cable will be a bit of a pain)

    - reverse process with replacement card.

    image can be found here:

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2446...

    Remon -

    It helps if you mark the holes where the long screws go so you can easily find them when the time comes to button things up. Also, a little dish or custard cup to hold those tiny screws is essential.

    Human -

    3 x 13.5 mm screws are actually TWO different types! Return to EXACT SAME HOLES.

    -I discovered this on my mid-2010, but from comments, sounds like it may affect other models as well

    2 x 13.5 mm screws are pointed ends

    1 x 13.5 mm screw is a FLAT end <- CORNER HOLE

    These areTWO slightly different lengths, and must return to correct holes. If you put the flat end screw in the wrong hole, it will stick out slightly. If you put either of the pointed screws in the wrong hole, they will go in all the way, but will not catch threads, and will simply fall out when laptop is flipped back over.

    scottbernardis -

    I printed out the image above and taped each screw to the photo as I removed each one, just to make sure I put them in the right location.

    Grace Morris -

    This is a brilliant suggestion! I did this for all the steps that involved removing screws, numbered the sheets, and that made it very easy to put it all back together in reverse. Thanks!

    Steve Adamczyk -

    Be sure to use Loctite on the screws when re-attaching the bottom of the computer. The screws can and will fall out once they have been removed for repairs if you do not put Loctite on them when you reuse them. Otherwise, purchase new screws before repairing the computer as the new screws come with Loctite material on them. (I have personal experience with this problem.)

    johnpartridge -

    Be sure NOT to Buy this Battery from iFixit. I bought it from eustore.ifixit.com and the Condition of Battery is : Service Battery ,

    from the &&^&^$^ first day.

    Till today my battery Cycle Count is: 80.

    I’ve tried everything as: Battery Calibration, resetting the SMC, PRAM, reinstalling the battery,

    and Service Battery warning still there.

    Just DO NOT BUY crappy, trash from here.

    I have very bad experience.

    Doruntin Koci -

    Hi Doruntin,

    we’re more than sorry to hear about your bad experience.

    I’ll inform our customer service team who’ll reach out to you and offer either a replacement or reimbursement.

    If ever you’d need assistance again, please feel free to directly write to eustore@ifixit.com, as comments are not regularly checked for service issues.

    I’m confident that we’ll find the solution that suits you best!

    Sandra Hiller -

    PLEASE OBSERVE: The image of the left speaker used is NOT for a 2011 model. A 17inch MacBook Pro A1297 - LEFT SPEAKER + MICROPHONE - 2011 has IDENTIFYING NUMBER: Apple Part #:922-9821, 922-9822. And its COMPATIBILITY: 17 inch MacBook Pro Unibody A1297 - Early 2011 MC725LL/A 2.2 i7 - Early 2011 MC725LL/A 2.3 i7 - Late 2011 MD311LL/A 2.4 i7 - Late 2011 MD311LL/A 2.5 i7

    kenneth krabat -

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    • Wedge your fingers between the lower case and the vent, and lift upward to release the two clips holding the lower case to the upper case.

    • During reassembly, carefully align the lower case and then press it firmly until both clips engage.

    • Remove the lower case.

    I recommend using anti-static protection, i.e., wearing a ground strap, or at least touch metal chassis inside the computer before unplugging cables. Otherwise, you might create an ESD discharge into your RAM and have to replace it like I did!

    d68ef792 -

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    • Whenever working near the logic board, it is always wise to first disconnect the battery to avoid short circuits.

    • Grab the plastic tab attached to the battery connector and pull it toward the front edge of the device.

    • Pull the tab parallel to the face of the logic board.

    No plastic tab on either the stock battery or the new one from iFixit

    wer -

    N.B.! MacBook Pro Early 2011 (and presumably all 2011s): the Battery Connector has no pull tab; it’s a pin-type connector that you must detach by pulling UP (perpendicular to the logic board i.e. towards the ceiling). I had to use a pry tool - I gently pried the left & right (lateral?) ends of the connector upward & away from the logic board to loosen it. I then pulled it off the board gently using my fingers.

    ronherrmann -

    How do I add/submit a photo showing the newer style battery connector?

    ronherrmann -

    Never mind; I figured it out.

    ronherrmann -

    When installing the new battery, I found it helpful to connect the cable before putting the screws in place. That way I could aim the cable straight into the receptacle, and the wires folded appropriately into their small space when I put the battery in position and screwed it down.

    Katherine Williams -

    my plastic tab snapped and got out of the conector. What do I do? I need to change the battery

    Jose Bucci Casari -

    mine is underneath the motherboard

    Jose Bucci Casari -

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    • Remove the three 6.5 mm Tri-point screws securing the battery to the upper case.

    Is the tri-wing screw size Y1 or Y2? In the tools required section the link is directed to a Y1 tri-wing screwdriver.

    Art -

    I bought the Y1 and it worked just fine.

    talldeadguy -

    Also, not that the three tri-wing screws are not the same length. The one farthest from the hard drive is slightly shorter and will not work in the other 2 holes.

    talldeadguy -

    hi, i am trying to look for Y1/Y2 but cant find it in my country.. the one i have it says y 2.0x40mm, is it same?

    ravi -

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    • Use a plastic opening tool or another soft thin-edged tool to carefully lift up a corner of the "Warning: Do not remove the battery" sticker off the right speaker/subwoofer enclosure.

    • Peel the sticker off the right speaker/subwoofer enclosure.

    • It is not necessary to completely peel the sticker off the battery.

    Bonsoir. Faut-il débrancher la prise du secteur avant de débrancher la batterie ??

    Joseph Deneurone -

    Bonjour, oui, il est effectivement recommandé de débrancher complètement l’ordinateur de la prise et de l’adaptateur secteur. Le mieux est d’attendre ensuite que la batterie se décharge. Vous éviterez ainsi tout risque de court-circuit en manipulant l’ordinateur.

    Bonne réparation !

    Claire Miesch -

    Good evening. Should the mains plug be disconnected before disconnecting the battery? Joseph Deneurone - Feb 14, 2018 Hello, yes, it is indeed recommended to completely unplug the computer from the outlet and the AC adapter. It's best to wait for the battery to discharge. You will thus avoid any risk of short circuit when handling the computer. Good repair! Claire Miesch - Feb 15, 2018

    English translation courtesy of Google Translate... - Rick Rose

    Richard Rose -

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    • Lift the battery by its attached pull tab 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.

    merci, c'est super , le centre de dépannage que j'ai contacté a(Bordeaux- Bègles) me dit "votre matériel est obsolète" impossible de trouver une batterie, en gros jetez votre mac( macbook pro de mi- 2009, 179 charges de batterie)

    je la trouve sur IFIXIT au usa , je commande la batterie samedi soir dans la nuit, je suis livré mardi a 14,00hrs, 10mn de démontage & remontage, tout est OK.

    C'est merveilleux, MERCI .

    allard jean pierre -

    superb, could not have been simpler!!!

    Vincent Sims -

    Very easy install took about 10 minutes. Bought the Battery and Lifting Tool from IFIXIT as well.

    robert lechterman -

    Will the battery charge clock reset automatically when I reboot with the new battery?

    dianataylorlondon -

    No obvious reason why there might be a moldng issue, but the hole for the tri-wing screw through the plastic battery tab closest to the hard drive would not align at all with the threaded hole beneath in the unibody metal, There is little play in the position of the battery for realignment, so I had to ream that hole through the plastic laterally with a small drill bit in order to reinstall that screw.

    Otherwise installation was easy with the iFixit battery and tool kit.

    wer -

    This was great, but my only issue occurred in inserting the connector on the replacement battery. Visibility for inserting the clip is mostly obscured, but it seemed that the connector fits towards the top when reinserting it.

    Travis Heath -

    Will a battery pulled out of a mbp17” 2011 be compatible with a mbp17” Early 2009?

    Dusty Santos -

    I have replaced the battery in 2019 with a new one bought from this store and your manual worked pretty well thank you!. Now my macbook has problems again. When I connect the PSU it starts booting by itselfs and then runs into a reeboot loop of death somewere at the greyscreen load up. When I unplug the PSU during the boot up process it imediately dies like no power is connected. When I disconnect the battery it boots up normaly. SMC and NVRAM reset did not solve anything. Diagnose Tool reports memory fault, I replaced also the RAM, now diagnose tool does report all OK no errors. But it still does not boot. Do you think the 2 years old replacement battery is died again? How can I find out? Thank you for your help

    felusch -

Conclusion

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

Author

Andrew Bookholt

578096 Reputation

30 comments

There is a little rubber post under the battery, black with an orange inside guide. Where is that from?

Drago -

Maybe good to know: as this type of MacBook Pro is already ageing, mine showed some bulging in the battery. As I don't use my MacBook Pro anymore as a real laptop, for me, it doesn't matter anymore to replace the battery. But for safety reasons, I removed the bulging battery, and the MacBook Pro is still running fine!

Dirk Blom -

Hello, i've tryed to do it but without the battry my macbook didn't turned on... do you have any tip? Did you have to configure anything inside? My mac is a Macbook pro 17'' 6,1 mid 2010

kirapereira -

@kirapereira, it should work. I took my bulging battery out and made no configuration changes. Just make sure you keep the MBP plugged into a working electrical outlet at all times and keep it plugged in while you are using it. If the magsafe connector gets dislodged for any reason the computer will shutdown immediately, no warnings or questions asked.

lordquake -

I just changed my A1297 model Late 2011 MacBook Pro 17" battery using a NewerTech battery kit (includes the two tools you need) that I sourced off OWC (OtherWorldComputing aka MacSales website) and using their installation video (while checking it against install guides on EverythingMac and the iFixit websites) The replacement went without a hitch and the battery is charging now The only thing I had to do was reset the clock after boot up I will report problems here, if any But if not, then Finito!

Alan Fiermonte -

Hey There, I just replaced my battery from a website called macbookbatteries.com, used the iFixit guide, and it works, but the battery dies at 30% every time, which is exactly what it did with the original battery. I took it into the GB and the new battery failed, I am guessing because its just third party, but power supply passed. My question is, does anyone recommend a good battery that doesn't die so prematurely? This one has a 1 year money back guarantee, it's why I bought it! But I am just not satisfied and really want to keep my laptop running great. Oh, it's an early 17" Unibody. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

kddeals -

Replaced my battery safely with this guide! Thank you!

David Philipe Gil -

Hello All!

I need a guide/link(PLEASE)MBP A1278,2.3Mhz Early 2011 battery replacement, more specifically is there anything special I need to do like "hold a button" when rebooting with the new one? I just want to make sure I'm doing it right and there is no "how to replace the battery procedure MBP A1278 13inch Early 2011" .

I know how to swap out a battery but want to make sure I do it correctly so as the MBP see's it as a new battery and resets the cycle count ETC(fully charges first time). So you know where I'm at, I am reassembling a used MBP2011 putting in my good MBP2011 battery(USED)then putting my brand new battery 2011MBP battery in the reassembly unit. I know there are guides here just can't find one(no site Nav)on proper procedure for this on MBP 2011 Early, as the only guide they have here is for a 17 inch(I assume there all the same)still no specific 1 telling me "HOW to reset cycle counter", ETC.

Help please.......

You'll get an ATTA BOY for a timely response :)

THANK YOU!

PHILLY CHEESE

Philip settimi -

A tech at a Simply Mac store said I shouldn't replace the battery myself because of some special adhesive between the battery and body...is this true? They won't replace the battery because this model is now considered "vintage." I have the tools and already removed the back to clean out the fans...so I feel I'm capable, lol. Thanks!

arismom -

straightforward !

THX.

thegardener -

Clarification question: Is the Tri-wing screwdriver needed for this a Y1 or a Y2? The tools list says you need a Y1, but the appropriate step in the instructions says the screws are Y2.

Mark McKean -

Thank you for the clear and concise instructions on how to remove the battery. I found that on my early 2011 - 17" MacBook Pro that the battery connector lifted upwards. I also noted that there was space for me to place the connector such that I could replace the lower cover and experiment with the MacBook Pro without actually removing the battery. I covered the connector with tape to avoid a short-circuit, closed the case and much to my delight the computer started again after zapping the PRAM several times. I did this because the touchpad shows no sign of weird behaviour, but if it had I would have removed the battery immediately. Now I can run the Apple Hardware Test and see what that says.

John -

Please note that you might want to know the cycle count for your battery BEFORE you disconnect it. Go to About This Mac, select System Report, click on Hardware to expand it, click on Power, and near the top check what it says beside Cycle Count.

John -

After most of two weeks I reopened my MacBook Pro and reconnected the original battery. It ran for two days and then crashed, following which it vehemently refused to restart. After asking myself what had changed I disconnected the battery again and it started with the first attempt.

My MacBook Pro seems to need to be warm to restart properly. I will just keep it on all the time and if it crashes and is then reluctant to start up again I will just keep zapping the PRAM until it warms up. I am waiting to see if OS X v10.13 will run on my MacBook Pro before deciding what to do with it.

John -

Tim - 5/5/17

My daughter's MacBook Pro Model A1502 won't turn on with it plugged. I was told to check the battery, but wouldn't it turn on if plugged in to an outlet? Or if the battery needs replacement.. it would't tun on at all? Please advise. Thanks

Tim Bacheler -

The bulged battery in my early 2011 A1297 17" MPP caused the clicker on the trackpad to quit working. Also, a thin-blade jeweler's screwdriver works to remove the tri-wing screws. I don't much recommend this because you might damage the screws if they are too tight, but I got away with it.

k4thwright -

When the new battery comes with a clear protective film like printers do should it be removed? It is loosely attached and the battery info cannot be read underneath it.

Jay Helling -

Hi Jay! The basic rule of thumb is to make your replacement part look like the one you’re removing. That often means removing plastic covers =)

Sam Goldheart -

WARNING: I had the battery bulge issue causing trackpad dysfunction, but all else was pristine on my 17” MB Pro. I followed these steps to a “T” to replace the battery. However one step they don’t tell you is the key command to “power down” the battery first. Apparently, even though nothing seemed to go wrong at all during the process, a surge from power leftover when I disconnected the old and/or reconnected the new battery went thru the logic board to the display, and the display was toast and I had to pay $400 for a new display that was working perfectly without a single glitch before I opened it up to replace the bulging battery. An Apple expert told me of this and although it is not common, it can happen and should always be included as a step BEFORE removing these internal batteries with stickers that read DO NOT REMOVE THE BATTERY! Apple does not tell you this because they don’t want you to replace it yourself (unlike the external latch-type battery on the very first 2008 unibodies).

SWLinPHX -

Well, did you find out what the key command is for shutting down the battery? And would you please share it?

NMranchhand -

hi , i replaced my battery on the mac book pro A1297 like you said in picture .

But the Strange thing is that now my display is not good anymore , show me different color and is flashing with plenty of color .

What &&^& I did ? i touched Something ?

thanks for help

PC&MAC SYSTEM -

I recently did this on my own without reading this guide. I wish I had read this before. I removed the battery, put it back in. Now MBP will not turn on or charge. No lights come on at all. Ugh. If anyone can offer trouble shooting advice, thanks.

danlord65 -

Anyone know where I can purchase a new battery connector that is on the underside of the logic board, as shown in the photo in this tutorial?

Michael Aldridge -

I replaced the MacBook Pro unibody , late 2011 with a battery from you guys and the trackpad will not click. The trackpad is responsive to touch , as in I can move the cursor around, I cannot select anything.

Heather Beveridge -

Followed this to the “tee”. Worked awesome (with the ifixit battery. Thanks for the guide!!

Leo Lambert Jr -

Ordered this battery and my MBP Mid 17” 2010 has been bought to life! Thank you iFixit!

Cory Williams -

Instructions are good and to the point!

Thanks,

Jim

James Pomernacki -

That was easy indeed! Thanks!

Katja Huovinen -

Why are no one addressing that the software(mac or windows) can't read how much battery time is left after battery replacement? Is there some update you have to do?

johannessenjr -

It would be helpful to list the details of the battery for this computer instead "MacBook Pro 17" Unibody (Early2009 to Mid 2010) Replacement Battery" . Right now, the link to Amazon doesn't include the 17" model, only 15". I'd do more research to find a different provider but I am not sure of the exact model for this battery as the details are not indicated. I'm sure that it would help many people. Thanks for considering!

Pat -