I'm wondering how tight should I secure the screws holding the logic board and other components inside and how tight should I secure the bottom plate of my mac. Thanks!
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When tightening internal screws and the bottom plate on a MacBook, they should be snug but not overly tight. Use a proper precision screwdriver and turn the screw until it stops, then give it a very small additional turn. Avoid forcing it, as Apple’s small screws can easily strip or damage the threads in the aluminum body. For logic board and internal component screws, tighten them just enough to hold the parts firmly in place. For the bottom cover, tighten screws evenly in a cross pattern so pressure is distributed properly. Over-tightening can damage threads, warp the case, or make future repairs difficult.
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@rashmikandhil - Torque limiting screwdrivers are quite expensive! And are the only way to 'know' you've seated a screw at the correct tightness, really not needed.
You are over reaching with the bottom cover! It's not a tire mounted onto an axle! Or even a heatsink mounting to an old Intel/AMD chip in older desktop systems. The only trick is having a flat work surface so the system is properly supported as you screw the screws in any pattern you prefer. I go clockwise as a habit.
True! Proper threading of the screw is important! But it's quite simple, know the angle of the threaded surface, as an example the Older Unibody and Intel based Retina systems had a slight pitch on the bottom covers. The M series are all flat at 90 degrees. Then to prevent cross threading, just turn the screw outwards slowly until you feel the thud of the thread jumping over the edge, now stop and tighten. In all my years fixing I haven't messed up once!
Lastly, use the correct driver tip and don't use worn out or cheap tips!
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Apple now provides repair manuals for their systems MacBook Air (15-inch, M4, 2025) Repair Manual review the different sections to see what they say. I mostly just snug the screws as they do have thread lock on most so you don't really need to over do it. But what I find works maybe different from what you would do which is why I would review the manual.
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IF it has these tiny little black color screws that lock down the small plates they can easily break from just loosening them (I found that out the hard way) so gently snug for them ;)
by livfe