Rep: 1
1
I used the iFixit instructions to change the battery on my early 2016 MacBook and when I got it started again the computer can no longer recognize the Wi-Fi or Bluetooth hardware. I took it to a repair person and they said it must be the logic board. Does anyone know how this could’ve happened? Or if possibly it is something else? Thank you.
Is this a good question?
Rep: 479.4k
35
329
971
More likely you forgot to connect the antenna cables. Review Steps 28 & 29
They may have gotten stuck underneath the logic board when you put the board back.
Was this answer helpful?
Ah, makes sense
The antennas are attached correctly. This is why I went to a repair shop ... to have them check all of my work ... and they confirmed that everything is attached correctly.
I went to apple repair first, not knowing their policy when you use 3rd party products... they refused to touch it and assumed it was the logic board. They said it likely happened because I used the laptop power cord to charge the battery after inastallation when I should have used a cell phone charger.
Then I went to a non apple repair shop that looked over everything, including the snap on antennas. He also concluded it must be the logic board but he balked at the power cord comment from apple. Ifixit instructions also didn’t say anything about using a lower voltage power cord.
I would like to learn from this and figure out what I did... so I wonder... the tools I used to work on it... my smudgers were plastic but my tweezers that I used to unsnap the antennas were metal... could the metal tweezers have been a no-no?
Lets correct the USB-C charger issue: The wattage of the charger can't be lower than what the device requires. You can always use a charger which is a higher wattage per the USB-C spec. So I don't know what these guys are talking about (likely FUD). The power regulation within the device limits the current draw for both charging and running. If that where the issue the logic board would have been more damaged than just the Bluetooth and WiFi.
As far as using metal twezzers lifting off the antenna cables. The logic board at that point would have been no longer powered (Power connector wedge engaged) and as long as you used proper ESD precautions then I can't see how that would have altered things.
So where does that leave us? The only thing I can think of is not following Step 5 properly Retina MacBook 2016 Battery Replacement
Just now, my cousin sent me an article she found online that says when WiFi hardware isn’t recognized after replacing the battery on a MacBook, to connect to Wi-Fi using an ethernet cord and then reboot... and it will fix itself. Have you heard of this? I’m thinking of giving it a try.
Past 24 Hours: 0
Past 7 Days: 0
Past 30 Days: 7
All Time: 655
1 Comment
@danj any thoughts? curious myself.
by Alex Robinson