MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Early 2011 Battery Replacement
Featured Guide
This guide has been found to be exceptionally cool by the iFixit staff.
Replace the battery in your Early 2011 MacBook Pro 13" Unibody.
- Author: Andrew Bookholt
- Difficulty: Moderate
Use this guide to replace a worn-out battery.
Sections
- Lower Case 2 steps
- Battery Connection 2 steps
- Battery 3 steps
Tools
Shop these parts and tools-
Remove the following ten screws:
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Three 14.4 mm Phillips #00 screws
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Three 3.5 mm Phillips #00 screws
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Four 3.5 mm shouldered Phillips #00 screws
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Use your fingers to pry the lower case away from the body of the MacBook near the vent.
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Remove the lower case.
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Use the edge of a spudger to pry the battery connector upwards from its socket on the logic board.
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Bend the battery cable slightly away from its socket on the logic board so it does not accidentally connect itself while you work.
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Remove the following two screws:
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One 5.6 mm Tri-wing screw
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One 13 mm Tri-wing screw
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Carefully peel the battery warning label off the upper case between the battery and the optical drive.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
Now that you've finished, share your repair story with others.
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56 Comments
Guide
Is this the same with the Late 2011 model?
JonJon - Reply
LOL!!! The close-up shots are not of the same woman's hands. The close-up shots have hands with bright yellow fingernail polish. What, they couldn't afford the same woman for close-up shots?!
Stacey Brown - Reply
Be careful with the four little "shouldered" screws on the bottom of the case towards the touchpad. They go back in at a slight angle. If you can't get the screws flush with the case, try tilting them a bit before screwing them in.
tim - Reply
GREAT service! I ordered my new battery on Friday and received it on Monday. The battery is charged at 90%. Im very satisfied
gpabis - Reply
for $119 you can just take to the apple store.
anthony means - Reply
Wheres the fun in that
Jimfixer -
Have you even ever gone to Apple Store outside the US?
Try some third-world countries, you'll understand how precious these ifixit guides will be.
IMI Comp -
After replacing the battery my macbook now runs hot (the upper 80's). Not sure if there is a connection? I believe I did everything correctly.
Evelynmarie31 - Reply
Just replaced the battery of MacBook Pro Early 2011. Shipment was blazing fast. I ordered on Saturday and received the battery on Monday morning. It took me just 15 minutes with the right tools to change the battery. iFixit's step by step guide helped me to accomplish the task perfectly in the right way.
naveednajam - Reply
don't take it to Apple for a $120 go on eBay and get a battery for. $20-$25. I had it in in 5 and it came with the 2 screwdrivers you need also
Tim Goodroe - Reply
Does anybody know what the connection is on the right hand side of the battery connector? My batt wasnt being recognised and then I plugged it out and now its working perfectly.
keithmfennell - Reply
Step 1
Does void the warranty?
jfondeur - Reply
No, it does not void the warranty. More specifically: http://eshop.macsales.com/Search/display...
oakdragon12 - Reply
How much weight can I save by removing the optical drive?
gunes314 - Reply
You can save a lot of weight if lets say your installing a solid state drive or putting in a second hard drive but if you know that you use the CD/DVD disc drive a lot then you might just want to leave the drive alone.
Marshall WahlstromHelgren -
Also wondering how much weight I'd save by just removing. My drive is broken for ages, but I have not needed it in ages. The HD was already replaced by a cheap SSD (second best thing after upgrading to 8GB), so I'd appreciate losing some weight. I mean, the computer. Although I could lose some too... erm... well, anyway, I guess the lack of the DVD would not interfere with anything, right? Opinions?
Carlos Duarte do Nascimento - Reply
Apple has meticulously balanced the MacBook's weight from left to right, and removing the optical drive may off-balance the Mac.
skimmilk05 -
I'm thinking you'd probably be OK losing the DVD drive without a problem. Just make sure the optical drive cable is secured or you might hear it rattling in there from time-to-time.
John Adam Wickliffe - Reply
Hey guys,
this website is amazing. I read it to guide me on fixing my mac book pro, but on the video, the girl gives a wrong information.. She says that is not possible replace just the keyboard... But I managed to replace only my keyboard. It is boring because I have to remove approximately 70 screws but it is possible. Thanks a lot! You guys helped me save about US$300 thats because in Brazil some technicians would charge me with that amount!
I posted some pictures on your facebook page..
renatumb - Reply
Tip: Use one of those weekday pill holders to have a cheep way to store screws you remove and each day of the week can be for different sizes or parts. It has been handy to have (much less expensive than the magnetic mat.
Robert Wacker - Reply
Great tutorial. I found that using a Phillips #0 in lieu of the #00 worked much better.
kschmesk - Reply
I tried the PH #00 for the 10 screws that hold the bottom case and it's too big, instead PH #000 works perfectly. Are you sure this screws are #00?
Alex - Reply
The likely problem with your wifi is not the card but the antenna leads that go into the plastic clutch
. Ifixit don't have a guide to change this as it it includes the isight camera so the screen has to be disassembled which is fairly hard
I got round it by using the camera cable from the old set and cutting off the new one
brian whittle - Reply
Hello MacWorld,
Just want to say that this site is a great resource for repairing or upgrading your Mac. I had a bad SATA cable in my MacBook Pro and after ordering a new one from the "IFIXIT" site I received the cable within two days, replaced it and was up and running again in no time. Thanks IFIXIT for you help!
wer 10/5/15
tayseer999 - Reply
I have found that my MacBook Pro 13 Late 2011 has five shouldered screws and not four. I am not sure exactly where it goes but I have put it in the top left corner of the picture as it is the odd one out.
GotMac - Reply
Hello, where can I buy the screws I need in case I lose one of them?
taylornya - Reply
iFixit sells a kit: Macbook Pro 13" and 15" Unibody (Mid 2009 through Mid 2012) Lower Case Screw Set
Darrell Johnson -
on my device the #00 screwdriver was a bit too small. a #0 was the perfect one
Maximilian Klotz - Reply
I found with mine that the shouldered and un-shouldered screws were reversed (the three un-shouldered screws going where the orange colour indicates). Also, I found that the front four screws went in at an angle.
gilded yak - Reply
I need to know why my party can't hear. Me on my android phone
Tina Porter - Reply
Because that party is inside your head Tino. Just close your eyes and enjoy the tunes
Snuf Box -
Step 3
Is this step of removing the battery connector required?
manodh - Reply
yes - as with disassembly of any electronic component you have to remove any power source. You don't want to accidentally turn the Mac on
khull -
This step is not really required. Apple does not recommend it.
Steven Layton - Reply
My Battery does not get recognized after i disconnected it, screw this site!
Diego Hernandes -
Rather than be careful of the corners of the connector i would say don't use the spudger anywhere near the corners. While the corner looks like the obvious place to begin to pry it up from, it will break. Levering from the sides as the instructions suggest works well.
ausmkv - Reply
wonder why apple does not recommend it?!
Peter - Reply
I would recommend it, one careless short and the whole board is dead......
John - Reply
simply remove the battery rather than disconnecting the cable
toiu - Reply
Don't know what the deal is with the battery, but this IS a necessary step to keep from frying the logic Board if you accidentally touch something and short it out. I did this step every time during my troubleshooting and The battery was ALWAYS recognized by the system the next time I turned the MBP on. So be safe and don't fry your logic board in the process...
fasthans - Reply
Prying the battery connector off does not take much force. I did exactly what the guide suggested (walked it off back and forth) with the spudger without any problems. Just be very gentle, much like with anything inside laptops, they are very fragile and need to be worked with carefully. A+ instructions, battery replacement was a success.
aekinaka - Reply
Installed/upgraded 4gb RAM to the system maximum 16gb and installed a 500 gb SSD today....DID NOT disconnect the battery cable....no issues at all when I powered back up. Then did a clean install of OSX Yosemite....next I used a time machine backup to put all my stuff back on the new HD. From start to finish it took about 4 hours. Macbook boots up right at 16 seconds now.
MacProUser - Reply
Easiest to use two spudgers, one on each short end, I found.
Simon Mundy - Reply
I took off th Airport /Bluetooth connectors but the number J3 connector is broken and so where can i buy J3 connecter for the Airport/bluetooth board
Zeerachen - Reply
Its a lot easier and safer (corner wise) to pry it using the flat side of the black spudger directly in front of the connector (don't go/use the corners) very easily you will be able to pry it further by inserting the spudger into a better and thicker plastic section of the connector
Ed Oliver - Reply
DON'T remove the Battery Cable, you risk the battery NOT being recognised when you start the Mac up again, or breaking it!! More to the point, APPLE DOES NOT RECOMMEND THIS, so don't do it! I Installed 2x 8GB ( 16Gb total) of Crucial Mac RAM at 1333Mhz for my Late 2011 MacBook Pro, and it works beautifully, fully recognised and working well. I followed these instructions, but as Apple didnt recommend disconnecting the battery, I skipped this step, and as well as taking less time, nothing was damaged or broken, and everything works perfectly!!! Just make sure that you DISCHARGE ALL STATIC ELECTRICITY FROM YOUR HANDS, by touching a metal surface in the Mac. Apple recommends the edge of the Optical Disk Drive ( Big silver thing ) before touching any parts. Also, Take care removing the RAM out of its packet, DO NOT touch the Gold connectors, and hold the RAM by the edges. Finally, be PATIENT, GENTLE and it should all go perfectly. I managed it first time, with no technical ability, so follow my advice. Good luck!
Bradley Marks - Reply
Followed the tuto Step by step. Disconnected the battery (quite easily).
No problem when I lit the Mac on again. Battery's here, date's right.
nichoferr - Reply
Step 4
What are the changes of it broke when i bend it?, after i disconect it does not work anymore
Diego Hernandes - Reply
The guide worked perfectly, as it has in the past (our family has three Mid-2012 Macbook Pros that have been separately upgraded with RAM and SSD).
The PH00 screwdriver fit perfectly.
One note on getting the screws to seat easily and thread perfectly...always turn them gently a couple turns to the left (CCW or Anti-Clockwise) until you hear a small click. That's where the threads will grab. Works with any screw, but when threads are fine, this will help ensure that the screw is at the correct angle and will grab and seat perfectly.
Great guides. Thanks!
timgunkel - Reply
Got RAM in but only one slot is working and now I can't remove! The RAM won't pop up like before and tabs don't seem to do anything. Please advise.
Sal Ergrapes - Reply
Step 5
Tri-wings are quite sensitive to which size driver to use. I found Pro'sKit brand size 0 seems to fit these very well.
James - Reply
can i just take out my dead battery without replacing it,
and solely run my mbp on power supply to save weight and money?
Tosh - Reply
I assume that REPLACING a new battery is the same steps but in reverse? Nothing special we need to look out for?
Also, please add some comments about watching out for STATIC ELECTRICITY. Other videos and websites make it seem frighteningly dangerous and recommend other tools to prevent static electricity discharge. If you could address this issue, I would greatly appreciate it.
erictwo - Reply
Are the screws tri-wing or tri-point? There is a difference, but ifixit uses the terms as if they're interchangable. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives#Tri-point
rodmanc - Reply
Step 6
What is the reasoning behind not removing the label from the (old) battery?
tom - Reply
Probably to help you remove it? Not sure, but I used it along with the clear tab to pull the battery out. Worked pretty good.
aitorrecalde -