MacBook Air 13" Mid 2011 Solid-State Drive Replacement

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Apr 09, 2019 - 04:57:33

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Introduction

Use this guide to upgrade or replace the solid-state drive in a MacBook Air 13” Mid 2011. This MacBook Air uses a proprietary storage drive connector, and is therefore not compatible with common M.2 drives without the use of an adapter.

Before you perform this repair, if at all possible, back up your existing SSD. Then, either familiarize yourself with internet recovery or create a bootable external drive so you’ll be ready to install macOS onto your new drive and migrate your data to the new SSD.

Finally, we strongly recommend installing macOS 10.13 High Sierra (or a later macOS) before replacing the original SSD from your MacBook Air. Most new SSDs require updated storage drivers not found in versions of macOS prior to High Sierra.

What you need

Step 1 Lower Case

MacBook Air 13" Mid 2011 Solid-State Drive Replacement, Lower Case: step 1, image 1 of 1

Tool used on this step:

P5 Pentalobe Screwdriver Retina MacBook Pro and Air

$5.99

Buy

Before proceeding, power down your MacBook. Close the display and lay it on a soft surface, top-side down.
Use a P5 Pentalobe driver to remove ten screws securing the lower case, of the following lengths:
Two 9 mm screws
Eight 2.6 mm screws

Step 2

Wedge your fingers between the display and the lower case and pull upward to pop the lower case off the Air.
Remove the lower case and set it aside.

Step 3 Battery Connector

MacBook Air 13" Mid 2011 Solid-State Drive Replacement, Battery Connector: step 3, image 1 of 2

MacBook Air 13" Mid 2011 Solid-State Drive Replacement, Battery Connector: step 3, image 2 of 2

As a precaution against accidental discharge or shock, disconnect the battery connector from the logic board.
Grab the clear plastic pull tab attached to the battery connector and pull it toward the front edge of the Air to disconnect the battery from the logic board.
Be sure to pull the connector horizontally toward the battery, and not straight up from the Air, or you may damage the socket on the logic board.

Step 4 Solid-State Drive

MacBook Air 13" Mid 2011 Solid-State Drive Replacement, Solid-State Drive: step 4, image 1 of 1

Remove the single 2.9 mm T5 Torx screw securing the SSD to the logic board.

Step 5

To avoid damaging its socket, do not lift the end of the SSD excessively.
Slightly lift up the end of the SSD and pull it straight out of its socket on the logic board.
When reinstalling the SSD, be sure it is properly seated before reinstalling its retaining screw.