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Use the tip of a spudger to carefully flip up the retaining flap on the fan cable ZIF socket.

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

Remove the following three screws securing the fan to the upper case:

• Two 5.2 mm T5 Torx screws
• One 3.6 mm T5 Torx screw

Lift the fan out of the upper case and carefully pull the fan ribbon cable out of its socket as you remove it from the Air.

Remove the four 2.5 mm T5 Torx screws securing the heat sink to the logic board.

If the heat sink seems to be stuck to the logic board after removing all four screws, use a spudger to carefully separate the heat sink from the faces of the CPU and GPU.

Remove the heat sink from the logic board.

When reinstalling the heat sink, be sure to apply a new layer of thermal paste. If you have never applied thermal paste before, we have a guide that makes it easy.