Tools
Parts
Introduction
Did your display assembly have an unfortunate encounter with a hard surface? Use this guide to replace it.
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Remove the following pentalobe screws securing the lower case to the MacBook Pro:
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Eight 3.0 mm
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Two 2.3 mm
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Lifting from the edge nearest the clutch cover, lift the lower case off the MacBook Pro.
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Set the lower case aside.
Does anyone noticed that the bottom cover and the bottom case is actually linked with the black plastic near the battery?! After the first time you open the cover, it will be impossible to put it back to the original place. Does the critical?! Thanks a lot for informing
I was able to simply push and click those clips back into place before I did the screwing.
Tim Peat -
I truly believe this is placebo and the 10*C difference is because in the process the dust was removed from the fan/heat sink rather then the thermal "magic" paste.
This is a "PC" habit.
On the other hand, all the cases and protections out there have a bad effect on cooling (not sleeves or pouches) because the whole aluminum body helps dissipate heat.
I've never had any problems with any mac regarding heat (they do get hot, but it is OK).
Whenever you feel heat from electronic device means the heat radiates away from it.. which means the cooling is doing a good job :).
Hey,
Writing about dust and dirt, do you know any cleaning products for the interior of the mac. i mean how do you clean your laptop, pc, etc..
Regards
This is untrue. Over time thermal paste will dry up and crack and not provide good coverage between the device and the cooler. The paste massively improves the thermal transfer between the chip and the heatsink. If you do not believe in the magic paste then you should wipe it all off and apply just a little bit or none at all and then compare temperatures. You will see the paste is responsible for a big reduction in temperature.
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Peel back the warning label covering the battery connector.
Have laptop charging issues after this. When fully charged and i plug in magsafe it starts with green, then turns red and stays red (like if it was charging). Status bar says NOT charging. If i use battery a little bit (down to 69%) magsafe does the same (green then stay red). Status bar says battery 69% NOT charging. and it seems to be true. Any suggestions?
Double check the connection from the battery to the logic board and the logic board socket itself... Might have damaged by disconnect/reconnect.
67b5ebab Good question !
Why is this necessary ?
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Using the flat end of a spudger, gently pry the battery connector straight up out of its socket on the logic board.
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Bend the battery cables back and out of the way, ensuring that the battery connector doesn't accidentally make contact with the logic board.
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Use the tip of a spudger to pry the three AirPort antenna cables straight up off of their sockets on the AirPort board.
will this procedure remove my warranty? I have applecare for another 2 years, Laptop was dropped on the side, there is a very small dent on the side of I/O.
Yes, this voids your warranty.
If I am facing the MacBook like I'm surfing or typing, this I/O board is referring to which side of the MacBook? Left or right side? How about replacing the other side of I/O board? The other side I/O port are part of LogicBoard? If I want to replace it, need to replace the whole LogicBoard? TQ.
These are notoriously difficult to remove. I actually damaged 2/3 of the connector pins during the process. Thankfully i was still able to fit them in place. This step should not be underestimated.
I damaged 1/3 of these litte guys, how did you get them back together?!
is there a way to replace the antenna?
unless you have really tiny fingers, a tweezer helps, just be careful not to damage the wires or the board as your holding each cable in place. Oh and take your time - this is like the most frustrating step in the process, imo.
Definitely the hardest step (when putting it back together). The three pins were on progressively longer plugs, so I put the shortest one on the left and so on. This helps with getting the right angle. I used my fingers and the spudger to guide them back in. It took me easily 10-15 minutes to do this. The pattern that worked eventually was to first adjust the angle of the pin head so that it's x/y/z axes would line up perfectly with the connection if you are able to bring it together just so. If you're off on any of these while you try to bring it together, you won't be able to just click it down at the end. Good luck!
Removing these 3 tiny cables is completely unnecessary. I removed my fan last week to clean and it slips by these cables. For some dumb reason i wanted to follow this "correct" procedure and now one of the gold connections detached from the wire like it was nothing. Seriously, dont do this. I used a spunger and was very delicate putting it back on... And look what happened. SKIP!
travismlive is right, you do not need to remove these cables or the airport card. Just remove the I/O board cable, undo the screws, and detach the antenna cables from the fan where they are glued with a spudger. Unlock the ZIF-socket and the you can wriggle the fan out. Probably saved my airport card, thanks travismlive!
I only successfully reattached 1 of the 3 AirPort cables, I just taped the other two. But the AirPort seems to work fine. Do these also have anything to do with Bluetooth though? I do seem to have trouble with Bluetooth after this operation. In any case, it was worth it... I replaced the screen with a new Apple screen for less than 1/2 the Apple Store wanted! Thanks!
Would soldering them back in place be better than taping? I certainly don't want spare solder on my motherboard, so I figure that'd be a last resort only if I lose AirPort connectivity.
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Use the tip of a spudger to push the camera cable connector out of its socket on the logic board.
Same for me too just take the socket from your broken screen and cut it off and solder it onto the new screen. It was really hard because it's so small but I did it.
Hi! Camera flex cable is from MBP Retina Mid 2012 & Early 2013. Not Late 2013 :) Edit it please.
the tip of the middle 3 wire was broken on the replacement screen. I didn't connect it and everything seems to work fine, mac hardware test says everything is fine... Is it possible?
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Insert the flat end of a spudger underneath the rubber heat sink cover on the right fan.
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Slide the spudger underneath the length of the cover, releasing the adhesive.
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Lift the cover and flip it back so that you can access the cables underneath.
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Use your fingers to pull the AirPort/Camera cables up off the fan.
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Carefully de-route the cables from the plastic cable guide.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to pry off the two rubber hinge covers, one from each end of the device.
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Remove the two 3.1 mm T5 Torx screws securing the aluminum hinge covers to the upper case.
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Remove the two aluminum hinge brackets from the MacBook Pro.
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Use the tip of a spudger to pry the display data cable lock and rotate it toward the DC-In side of the computer.
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Pull the display data cable straight out of its socket on the logic board.
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Remove four out of the six 5.3 mm T8 Torx screws securing the display to the upper case.
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Open the MacBook Pro approximately 110 degrees, and place it sideways on the table, as shown.
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While holding the display and upper case together with your left hand, remove the remaining T8 Torx screw from the lower (closer to the table) display bracket.
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While holding the display and upper case together with your left hand, remove the remaining T8 Torx screw from the upper display bracket.
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Grip both halves of the device, one in each hand.
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Gently push forward on the bottom half of the device to detach it from the display assembly.
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Carefully set each component aside, making sure to set down the lower half keyboard-side down.
The hinge on my replacement display is not open 110 degrees. It's completely closed. How do I open it to screw in the torx screws that connect the display to keyboard?
I had the same problem. Did you finds a solution for pulling back the hinges on the replacement screen to 110 degrees?
Pliers work! You can twist one hinge at a time with pliers. They should move surprisingly easily. (Fingers clearly aren't quite strong enough)
Use your screwdriver instead of pliers! :D
i replaced the lcd and now my backlight does not work on the new screen. I tried putting back the old screen and the backlight doesn't work on that one either. I forgot to disconnect the battery when changing the screen and i accidentally pressed the power button while the computer had no screen. Im pretty sure i damaged the backlight fuse but i cant seem to figure out where its at. If anyone could help that would be great.
Hello George,
Did you manage to solve the problem, because I also tested a good lcd to my mbp and when I put back the lcd to the original laptop it dosn't work anymore...
Dan -
Hello Georges, same here my backlight stop working?
did you reset the pram after the installation?
faocisco -
All went well, but the new screen now has a slightly greater distance from the body when the MacBook Pro is closed. I don't have any explanation for that, since the distance can't be influenced. A large distance would mean that the hinges are too close to the body, because they are screwed to the bottom of the body. Any ideas?
The little flange that holds the wires and fastens onto the hinge screws should go on top of the hinge and not below? Just a thought.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
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7 Comments
I found that this was a really easy project. even easier than replacing my iphone 5 screen. however the replacement screen I purchased from a third party did not have the wires for the webcam connected. they had been severed off. Also the antenna and connectors were not included either so I had to take them from the old broken screen. this was at first frustrating but then I thought about how often I use a webcam and quickly carried on with the project because I really don't need a webcam (and now the NSA can't see me hehe). also the plastic covering for the antenna which is talked about in the retina display teardown as easy to remove was in fact far more difficult for me to remove than anything. I ended up nearly breaking the plastic covering in half trying to remove it.
Overall, this was an easy and painless 2/10 difficulty to perform and had the cords for the webcam been present it would not have made it any more difficult. Piece of cake.
Very easy thank you,
Most difficult for me was step 15 (to put back the new screen) and step 5 (put back the little things) but very easy actually !
Hello! Thanks for the wonderful guide, it made the substitution super-easy.
However, the display doesn't work. A little bit of history: I changed the display assembly because it didn't turn on anymore, and I was using the MBPr in clamshell mode. I refused the repair from apple, bought an original part and replaced it. The new one, however, does not work anymore. Plus, the clock was totally out of phase when I turned the mac on, had to resync. I also resetted PRAM an SMC (10 boings the first and one led color change the second). No change.
Please, anybody has a clue? I'm discouraged...
To remove the back panel there are two different pentalobe screws 2.3mm and 3mm however on the tools list there is only one screwdriver. Will I be able to remove both screws with the same screwdriver?
lantzero - Reply
In my case it worked. Don't know if it was a 2,3 or 3 mm screwdriver
Christian Mohr -
The 2.0 and 2.3 mm measurements are screw lengths, the screw heads are the same sized P5 pentalobe heads. We include the screw lengths so you don't put the wrong screws in the wrong places and end up with screw heads poking out of your device. Hope that clears up some confusion =)
Sam Lionheart -
Yes the same screwdriver will remove both screws, the difference in screws I believe is the length and width but the head is the same.
michaelmohajer -
will this unit work with the Mid 2012 Macbook Pro Retina's as well?
drscottgreenwell - Reply
Same question...anyone know? Damaged my 2012 board and if possible would like to upgrade to this unit
cloughenough -
This works for rMBP 2012 late
iyeori -
Woohoo, much easier than I thought... Just got confused with the bottom case screw driver but after figure out it was P5 then everything went smooth.... One thing I wanted to upgrade was the wifi to ac and got one on ebay!
didierma - Reply
If you have 54 Bit Driver kit, please use Star 5 driver to remove screw for rMBP 2012 Late
iyeori - Reply
Where can I find the driver for the MacBook Pro Retina Display 15'4 i7 on your website iFixit please.
Epifanio - Reply
It took about 40 minutes due to an extreme measure of caution but I did it! The only real difficulty was reattaching the screen to the base (yes you have to pry the hinges open) and re-connecting the camera wires. After a few tries the camera wires finally came together. I'm hating Apple for all it's frailty and magical screws but I love ifixit!
floyd - Reply
Simple guide, but it solved my problem. Was wondering why the top two screws weren't going all the way down. Hadn't realized they were 0.7mm shorter.
Emilio Mejia - Reply
I have BootCamp running Win7 on my MBPwRetina15" 2013'Late. I run Visual Studio to build and run my Company's Application which is very CPU & NVidia (specific) intensive. So much so that during a build & run of app I was averaging about 85~95+Celcius!!! And every so often would reach 100Celcius!!! I could not take it anymore so I decided to delve into and re-apply Thermal Paste on the CPU/GPU. I ended up going with CooLaboratory Liquid Pro instead of the traditonal AS5. The original Thermal Paste was pure garbage,,, part of the CPU seemed like it was missing TP. I was scared to do this but it turned out easier than I had imagined. I am currently building the same application and can already observe that the temps average about 75~85 and once in a while will reach 90Celcius. So I am seeing about a 10~15 degree drop in Temps and that makes me very happy!
Alvaro Suarez - Reply
Nice to hear that, i was looking for that kind of information. I have a MBPwRetina 15 Mid 2012 and looking to obtain the best performance!
Jose David Valle -