MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Early 2011 MagSafe DC-In Board ... https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Unibod...

MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Early 2011

MagSafe DC-In Board Replacement
Replace the MagSafe DC-In board on your Early 2011 MacBook Pro 15" Unibody.

Author: Walter Galan Diculty: Dicult

x 11 x 13

Replacing the MagSafe DC-In board requires removal of the logic board.

Sections Tools (continued) MacBook Pro 15" Unibody

Lower Case 2 steps Spudger Early 2011
Battery Connector 2 steps T6 Torx Screwdriver
Left Fan 3 steps Released February 2011 / 2.0, 2.2, or 2.3 GHz
Logic Board 15 steps Relevant Parts Quad-core Intel Core i7 Processor
MagSafe DC-In Board 1 step MacBook Pro 13" Unibody (Model A1278) and
15" Unibody (Mid 2009 through Mid 2012)
Tools
MagSafe DC-In Board
Phillips #00 Screwdriver

Step 1 Lower Case

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

Three 13.5 mm (14.1 mm) Phillips screws.

Seven 3 mm Phillips screws.

Step 2
Using both hands, lift the lower case near the vent
to pop it o two clips securing it to the upper case.

Remove the lower case and set it aside.

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Step 3 Battery Connector

For certain repairs (e.g. hard drive), disconnecting
the battery connector is not necessary but it
prevents any accidental shorting of electronics on
the motherboard. If you do not disconnect the
battery connector, please be careful as parts of the
motherboard might be electried.

Use the edge of a spudger to pry the battery

connector upwards from its socket on the logic
board.

Ittheis connector
useful to pry upward on both short sides of
to "walk" it out of its socket.

Step 4
Bend the battery cable slightly away from its
socket on the logic board so it does not
accidentally connect itself while you work.

Step 5 Left Fan

Remove the three 3.4 mm (3.1 mm) T6 Torx screws
securing the left fan to the logic board.

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Step 6
Use the at end of a spudger to disconnect the left
fan connector from the logic board.

Itbeneath
is useful to twist the spudger axially from
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 o 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 dierent than your machine but the fan
socket is the same.

Step 7
Lift the left fan out of the upper case.

Step 8 Logic Board

Use the at end of a spudger to lift the right fan
connector out of its socket on the logic board.

Itbeneath
is useful to twist the spudger axially from
the fan cable wires to release the
connector.

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Step 9
Remove the three 3.4 mm (3.1 mm) T6 Torx screws
securing the right fan to the logic board.

Lift the right fan out of its opening in the logic

board.

Step 10
Pull the camera cable out of its socket on the logic
board.

Don't lift upward on the camera cable as you

disconnect it. Pulling upward on the cable may
damage both the cable and the logic board. Pull
the cable parallel to the face of the logic board.

Step 11
Use the at end of a spudger to pry the
AirPort/Bluetooth connector up from its socket on
the logic board.

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Step 12
Use the at end of a spudger to lift the optical
drive connector out of its socket on the logic
board.

Step 13
Disconnect the hard drive/IR sensor cable from its
socket on the logic board by lifting up from
beneath its connector.

Step 14
Use the at end of a spudger to lift the
subwoofer/right speaker connector out of its
socket on the logic board.

Pry up from beneath the wires.

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Step 15
Remove the two 1.5 mm ( 1.2 mm ) Phillips screws
securing the keyboard/trackpad cable cover to the
logic board.

Lift the cover o the logic board and set it aside.

Step 16
Use the at end of a spudger to pry the trackpad
connector up and out of its socket on the logic
board.

Step 17
Use your ngernail to ip up the retaining ap on
the keyboard ribbon cable ZIF socket.

Be sure you are prying up on the hinged retaining

ap, not the socket itself.

Use the tip of a spudger to pull the keyboard

ribbon cable out of its socket.

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Step 18
Use the at end of a spudger to lift the battery
indicator connector up and out of its socket on the
logic board.

Step 19
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.

Step 20
Use the tip of a spudger to ip up the retaining ap
on the keyboard backlight ribbon cable ZIF socket.

Be sure you are ipping up the hinged retaining

ap, not the socket itself.

Pull the keyboard backlight ribbon cable out of its

socket.

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Step 21
Remove the following nine screws:

Seven 3.4 mm ( 3.1 mm) T6 Torx screws on the

logic board

Two 8 mm T6 Torx screws on the DC-In board

Step 22
Carefully lift the logic board assembly from its left
side and work it out of the upper case, minding the
optical drive cable and the I/O ports that may get
caught during removal.

If necessary, use the at end of a spudger to

separate the microphone from the upper case.

Pull the I/O port side of the logic board away from
the side of the upper case and remove the logic
board assembly.

Step 23 MagSafe DC-In Board

Disconnect the DC-In board by pulling its cable
toward the heat sink.

Pull the cable parallel to the face of the logic

board.

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

For more information, check out the MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Early 2011 device page.

Comments

Step 1 Step 1 (technically step 9 - replacing the base plate) Apparently one of my screws was a micron or two smaller than the others. This
screw belongs to the hole above the optical drive, which is also apparently a couple of microns smaller than the others. It took
seven attempts to gure which screw had originally been in that hole; all the other screws were too large, but tted perfectly
everywhere else.
Bizarre much?

Will, June 29, 2012

It might be a matter of how the screws are driven in, and not that they're slightly dierent sizes. When I reassembled my
MacBook, a couple of the screws, including the one over the optical drive you mention, were hard to drive in and jutted up a little
bit instead of sitting entirely ush. Swapping screws didn't help. The solution was to unscrew them and drive them in at a bit of
an angle - perpendicular to the slightly curved surface of the back plate where the screw holes were, instead of fully vertical with
respect to the ground the Macbook is sitting on. Doing it that way, the screws were easier to drive in and they all ended up ush
in their holes. Didn't matter which screws they were. (I swapped a few around just to check after reading this.)

Andrew Janke, January 7, 2014

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I discovered a great way of organizing the screws. I used an ice cube tray and added the screws in order, keeping the dierent
kinds together. So when it came to reversing the steps, the screw order was an added control step to returning everything in its
place.

leonie, February 3, 2014

Great advise! Love it! :)

Ririds, March 17, 2015

@Will, in my case I had the same result as you did. As a reminder to myself the next time I need to open the computer, I put a dot
of white paint on those two screw's head and a very, very thin ring of white on the very edge of each hole, that way I'll know they
go into those two holes.

Roger, May 13, 2014

Actually the four screws on the bottom were not threaded all the way up. I didn't check to see if the thread gauge was the same on
them, but it wasn't until I had about four screws out (I didn't take them out in the order that the bottom all came out rst) that I
noticed a dierence. I then took out the rest of the bottom ones to see if they matched the two that were already out that weren't
threaded to the top. They did. So I went under the assumption that those were all bottom screws and when I put it back together
everything went ne with no resistance.
So there are three types of screws: Four for the bottom, three long ones as indicated and three others that might be slightly
smaller than the bottom ones.

wresnick, June 13, 2014

Hi,
Although its more than a year since your contribution, I thought you might be amused to know that it is not just that the screws
go in more easily when at an angle, Apple actually drilled and tapped the holes at a 15% angle. I too had tried to drive them in
straight. An Apple "genius" - I was in for something else - claried the design for me. It was done so that the screws lay ush on
the angled part of the lower case. Nice design, but since Apple encourages DIY memory and drive changes, they could have
mentioned this little ... trap.

H Stahl, February 22

MacBookPro8,2
Intel Core i7, 2,2 GHz, RAM 16 GB
Mountain Lion
May someone help me?
I have installed the second drive with ssd 840 evo, but when I try to copy the le from the new drive to the main hd this in not
allowed (errore -36)

Piero, September 12, 2014

Hey everyone, here's the very best way to PERFECTLY organize your screws AND keep track of the order of the procedure: Get a
piece of plain corrugated cardboard and a pen (I like using a Sharpie). For EACH step of the disassembly, draw a simple diagram of
the layout of the computer on the piece of cardboard, with dots or Xs where the screws are located. Right after you remove each
screw from the computer, poke a hole in the cardboard in its corresponding diagram position with your screwdriver and place the
screw in that hole. If there are other non-screw related parts to be removed, you can add notes below each step diagram to
remind you of where they go or how they should be placed. This cardboard method is great not only because your screws will not
go ying or get mixed up by accident if bumped, but each screw goes EXACTLY back where it came from and you can keep the
cardboard as a template for future use if necessary!
- zer K

zeroK, October 18, 2014

for all the mac 2011 owner. we should pressure apple to accept their fault. they gave as a piece of junk while they took our $2000.
-betrayed apple fanboy

mindful, November 21, 2014

a video of these steps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS9is40C...

julie56, February 24

Step 3 nails work pretty well as well...

Sibe Jan Kramer, May 2, 2012

At rst sight I was confused when I read the description at this step, 'cause it seemed that disconnecting the battery connector was
optional, in order to eliminate static discharge. While it's a helpful advice in other circumstances (as mentioned as an example
changing hard drives), when changing the battery it is not an option - you have to disconnect the battery connector.
It would have been better to mention the optional disconnecting recommendation in a side-note.
Other than that, an excellent guide!

Damienn, May 8, 2013

the fact that this step is optional can not be stressed enough. i tried disconnecting the battery and in the process it short circuited
which now leaves me with an even more expensive problem than i had before when i just wanted to change hard drives (at least
the new hard drive works ne..)
the hard drive changing worked though.

nina, November 19, 2013

Excellent guide, it was as easy as a breeze to replace my battery. I can't believe I nearly followed Apple in their saying that this part
was not user replaceable. Great job for this description, and many thanks. iFixIt is THE reference for Mac owners.
Patrick.

Patrick Demaret, March 24, 2014

So - I have a weird comment about this. I wanted to make sure that I was getting the right model - so I opened up my laptop and
then thought "well, why not just remove the battery while i'm in here, it's shot anyway". Though, I forgot about the stupid screws
(Apple really did us over on that one!). Though I disconnected the battery connector and didn't bother to re-connect it when I was
nished and just put the cover back on.
Here's the weird part - when I went to turn my laptop back on...MY BATTERY WAS RECOGNIZED...AND WORKING! I was under the
impression that the connector "connects" the battery's charge to the laptop, but this just doesn't make sense! Plus, now my very
dead battery is in "normal" condition according to the system report. I haven't worked for apple, but have about 5 years of IT

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experience and am baed by this! I'm starting to think i've experience a miracle! Has this happened to anyone else?

Shelly, April 7, 2014

Possibly disconnecting the battery caused the System Management Controller to reset. That might have been your problem
rather than the battery itself. See http://osxdaily.com/2010/03/24/when-and-...

Duke Briscoe, February 8

I'd just like an advise of where to dispose the old battery. Thanks

Jaime Seram, March 3

Step 6 I successfully removed my right fan, cleaned it and installed it back. But when it came to the left one I accidentally broke the
connector from the logic board. Now I'm left with only one functioning fan. I'm using an external laptop fan. Do I have to replace
the whole logic board or can it be xed somehow? My temp is between 90-95 C when I run a heavy game.

khalid alodan, November 23, 2014

Step 8 Of course, this is not the right fan but the left in the picture.

maccentric, September 6, 2013

Step 15 Be sure to use the right size screwdriwer, as these screws might be hard to remove. I ended up having to cut the metal cover and
bend it away as the screws wouldn't come loose.
That works too however..

dmitri, May 17, 2014

Step 17 Need a better picture of the zif connector. You lift the lock from the side farthest from the at cable, and it lifts toward the cable.
When reinserting be sure to get the cable all the way or you may have only half the keyboard working.

Jim, July 20, 2012

I could use some advice on reinserting the ZIF cable rmly in its socket. I can get it started, but getting it far enough in to make
contact is dicult, given its exibility. Any tips on manipulating it?

CJ Attias, March 1, 2014

I used a piece of sticky tape that I attached to the ZIF cable, then pulled rmly on the tape (attached to the cable) to get the ZIF
cable to seat properly. The tape held to the cable, the ZIF cable seated properly, and the keyboard worked.

robertemcgee, April 10, 2014

getting the cable back in was leaps and bounds more dicult than this entire replacement job! be very very careful and note that it
goes alllll the way in. i bent the ribbon like crazy, but the keyboard still seems to work ne!

shmianco, September 5, 2014

REINSERTING THIS CABLE WAS ABSOLUTELY THE MOST DIFFICULT STEP IN THIS WHOLE PROCESS!
Key points:
Make sure that it's inserted evenly. It's tempting to get one edge in, and then the other, but that approach will prevent it from
seating properly.
The cable goes all the way in. There is maybe 1/16" of the little grooves showing, but not much more.
Once the cable is properly seated, use a piece of tape to pull it all the way in, and keep the tension on the tape as you use a
sprudger to ip down the retaining ap.
It's a fragile connection, and if you break the cable it's a top-case or keyboard replacement, which is either expensive or a PITA, so
patience is key.

Kyle, October 4, 2014

It's very easy to do this step incorrectly. Make sure to use your ngernail and pry gently. This was the only step I felt didn't have a
great explanation and damaging the part could easily happen.

tgphotosales, January 26

Step 19 The metallic ap controlled by the plastic handle looks like it could easily break... a safer route is to grab the shielded cable after
rotating the metal ap out of socket and gently pry it out of the socket by applying force parallel to the logic board. It will probably
take a few minutes but you could save yourself some gray hairs.
This is the hardest step IMO

brbulic, October 1, 2012

Indeed this s the hardest step.its not clear from the instruction that there are two elements to this component. The connector and
also a metal retaining clip that needs to be rotated o the connector rst.

mail, October 11, 2012

this was the hardest part of the dismantling for me. it's not super obvious in the pictures that there is a hinge and the metal piece,
attached with tape, swings over and towards the DC-in.

shmianco, September 5, 2014

I found it easiest to grab the connector where the hinged metal piece connected to the body.
Replacing this connector was a bit ddly, as you have to make sure it's lined up exactly before pushing it in, and because pushing it
in requires a bit of force.

Kyle, October 4, 2014

Step 22 I had a little diculty pulling the motherboard before the battery. I'm not sure why you would want to do it in the order listed here,
but doing steps 23 and 24 rst helped the board come out easier.

maccentric, August 8, 2013

The thing that caught me on this step was that, at least on mine, the speaker box was glued/taped to the case, and so I got rather
nervous trying to remove the logic board as it wouldn't move until said adhesive was pried apart. Thank goodness I knew the
dierence between the sounds of "board breaking" and "adhesive separating", but this step was still rather harrowing for me.

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Joseph Sikorski, May 26, 2014

The microphone cable was easy to pry o the logic board for disassembly. For re-assembly, I was having a heck of a time getting
the connector to connect to the logic board. There just isn't enough room to get your hands and tools in there and still see what
you're doing (unless you're a dentist and you're used to that kind of thing). Anyway, I nally got brave and pulled the round,
rubberized microphone from the case. I connected the short cable to the logic board, set the microphone in the made-for-
the-microphone housing on the logic board, hoping it would stick itself back to the case once the logic board was in position, and I
was back in business. In this case, simply stating "reverse these steps for reassembly" wasn't very forthcoming.

robk64, September 13, 2014

When I did this step the microphone was REALLY STUCK to the upper case, it actually stayed stuck to it and disconnect "itself" from
the mother board while I was lifting up everything.
Finally, there was no damage : I separated the microphone from the upper case while reassembling, then connected it back to the
mother board and put it on its housing.

Greg, October 15, 2014

Step 23 I was trying to unplug the cord of the mega safe card and I broke two components near to that in the logic board I think are fuse,
but I really dont know what are, any body knows what kind of components are? and if I get that components it is possible to weld
it again to the logic board, the problems was when I plug the mega safe cord, the battery wont charge, I think that two
components its for make that working, any help, thank you all!!!
the two components are near to the thumb of the guy in the last picture step 23. thanks....

jpatinop, June 2, 2014

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