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MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Late 2011 MagSafe DC-In Board Replacement

Written By: Phillip Takahashi (and 5 other contributors)
  • Comments: 171
  • Favorites: 25
  • Completions: 45

Difficulty

Difficult

Steps

20

Time Required

45 minutes - 1 hour

Sections

5

Flags

0

Introduction

Use this guide to replace a broken MagSafe DC-In board.

Tools

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Parts

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  1. Remove the following ten screws:

    • Remove the following ten screws:

      • Three 14.4 mm Phillips #00 screws

      • Three 3.5 mm Phillips #00 screws

      • Four 3.5 mm shouldered Phillips #00 screws

      • When replacing the small screws, align them perpendicular to the slight curvature of the case (they don't go straight down).

    Edit

  2. Use your fingers to pry the lower case away from the body of the MacBook near the vent. Remove the lower case.

    • Use your fingers to pry the lower case away from the body of the MacBook near the vent.

    • Remove the lower case.

    Edit

  3. Use the edge of a spudger to pry the battery connector upwards from its socket on the logic board. It is useful to pry upward on both short sides of the connector to "walk" it out of its socket. Be careful with the corners of the connectors, they can be easily broken off.

    • Use the edge of a spudger to pry the battery connector upwards from its socket on the logic board.

    • It is useful to pry upward on both short sides of the connector to "walk" it out of its socket. Be careful with the corners of the connectors, they can be easily broken off.

    Edit

  4. Bend the battery cable slightly away from its socket on the logic board so it does not accidentally connect itself while you work.

    • Bend the battery cable slightly away from its socket on the logic board so it does not accidentally connect itself while you work.

    Edit

  5. Use the edge of a spudger to gently pry the fan connector up and out of its socket on the logic board. It is useful to twist the spudger axially from beneath the fan cable wires to release the connector. The fan socket and the fan connector can be seen in the second and third pictures. Be careful not to break the plastic fan socket off the logic board as you use your spudger to lift the fan connector straight up and out of its socket. The layout of the logic board shown in the second picture may look slightly different than your machine but the fan socket is the same.

    • Use the edge of a spudger to gently pry the fan connector up and out of its socket on the logic board.

    • It is useful to twist the spudger axially from beneath the fan cable wires to release the connector.

    • The fan socket and the fan connector can be seen in the second and third pictures. Be careful not to break the plastic fan socket off the logic board as you use your spudger to lift the fan connector straight up and out of its socket. The layout of the logic board shown in the second picture may look slightly different than your machine but the fan socket is the same.

    Edit

  6. Remove the following three screws securing the fan to the logic board:

    • Remove the following three screws securing the fan to the logic board:

      • One 7.2 mm T6 Torx screw

      • Two 5.3 mm T6 Torx screws

    Edit

  7. Lift the fan out of its recess in the logic board, minding its cable that may get caught.

    • Lift the fan out of its recess in the logic board, minding its cable that may get caught.

    Edit

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  9. Use the tip of a spudger to pull the right speaker/subwoofer cable out from under the retaining finger molded into the upper case. Pull the right speaker/subwoofer cable upward to lift the connector out of its socket on the logic board.

    • Use the tip of a spudger to pull the right speaker/subwoofer cable out from under the retaining finger molded into the upper case.

    • Pull the right speaker/subwoofer cable upward to lift the connector out of its socket on the logic board.

    Edit

  10. Disconnect the camera cable from the logic board.

    • Disconnect the camera cable from the logic board.

    • Pull the cable parallel to the face of the logic board. Pulling the cable upward may damage the logic board or the cable itself.

    Edit

  11. Disconnect the following four cables: AirPort/Bluetooth cable

    • Disconnect the following four cables:

      • AirPort/Bluetooth cable

      • Optical drive cable

      • Hard drive cable

      • Trackpad cable

    • To disconnect the cables, use the flat end of a spudger to pry their connectors up from the sockets on the logic board.

    Edit

  12. Use your fingernail to flip up the retaining flap on the keyboard ribbon cable ZIF socket. Be sure you are prying up on the hinged retaining flap, not the socket itself. Use the tip of a spudger to pull the keyboard ribbon cable out of its socket.

    • Use your fingernail to flip up the retaining flap on the keyboard ribbon cable ZIF socket.

    • Be sure you are prying up on the hinged retaining flap, not the socket itself.

    • Use the tip of a spudger to pull the keyboard ribbon cable out of its socket.

    Edit

  13. If present, remove the small strip of black tape covering the keyboard backlight cable socket.

    • If present, remove the small strip of black tape covering the keyboard backlight cable socket.

    Edit

  14. Use the tip of a spudger or your fingernail to flip up the retaining flap on the keyboard backlight ribbon cable ZIF socket. Be sure you are prying up on the hinged retaining flap, not the socket itself. Pull the keyboard backlight ribbon cable out of its socket.

    • Use the tip of a spudger or your fingernail to flip up the retaining flap on the keyboard backlight ribbon cable ZIF socket.

    • Be sure you are prying up on the hinged retaining flap, not the socket itself.

    • Pull the keyboard backlight ribbon cable out of its socket.

    Edit

  15. Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the sleep sensor/battery indicator connector up from its socket on the logic board.

    • Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the sleep sensor/battery indicator connector up from its socket on the logic board.

    Edit

  16. Grab the plastic pull tab secured to the display data cable lock and rotate it toward the DC-In side of the computer. Pull the display data cable straight out of its socket on the logic board. Do not lift up on the display data cable, as its socket is very fragile. Pull the cable parallel to the face of the logic board.

    • Grab the plastic pull tab secured to the display data cable lock and rotate it toward the DC-In side of the computer.

    • Pull the display data cable straight out of its socket on the logic board.

    • Do not lift up on the display data cable, as its socket is very fragile. Pull the cable parallel to the face of the logic board.

    Edit

  17. Remove the following nine screws:

    • Remove the following nine screws:

      • Five 3.6 mm T6 Torx screws

      • Two 4.3 mm T6 Torx screws

      • Two 7.2 mm T6 Torx screws

    • In some models the screws may be slightly shorter as follows:

      • Five 3.0 mm T6 screws

      • Two 3.6 mm T6 screws

      • Two 6.7 mm T6 screws

    Edit

  18. Remove the following two screws: One 8.6 mm Phillips screw

    • Remove the following two screws:

      • One 8.6 mm Phillips screw

      • One 5.5 mm Phillips screw

    • Remove the display data cable retainer from the upper case.

    Edit

  19. Use the tip of a spudger to gently peel the microphone off the adhesive securing it to the upper case.

    • Use the tip of a spudger to gently peel the microphone off the adhesive securing it to the upper case.

    Edit

  20. Minding the many connectors near its edges, lift the logic board from the end nearest the optical drive.

    • Minding the many connectors near its edges, lift the logic board from the end nearest the optical drive.

    • Without flexing the board, maneuver it out of the upper case, minding the flexible connection to the DC-In board that may get caught in the upper case.

    • Remove the logic board.

    Edit

  21. Pull the MagSafe DC-In board cable toward the heat sink to disconnect it from the logic board.

    • Pull the MagSafe DC-In board cable toward the heat sink to disconnect it from the logic board.

    • Do not pull upwards. Pulling the connector upwards may break the socket from the logic board.

    • Remove the MagSafe DC-In board.

    Edit
Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

45 other people completed this guide.

Author

with 5 other contributors

Phillip Takahashi

Member since: 08/22/2011

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7 Comments

Add a comment

Everything ok, only now my screen won`t turn off when I close the lid... Any theories?

Francisco Hood - Reply

I put everything back together and now my Macbook won't even respond to the power button. Not turning on at all. Is this normal? What can I do?

J cantu - Reply

I just performed this repair. Everything went smoothly and it is working great.

jazcrek - Reply

My problem started when the charger wasn't green or orange, it was dim. I replaced the battery and the computer worked, it just wouldn't charge still. So I bought the mag connector and did this whole repair and the light is still dim! Please help me and give me the next thing I should do and call, five one eight, four seven eight, four one four two!

David Monkell - Reply

I have the same problem, did my battery replacement and now is not charging at all, only the dim light of the mag. Did you solved this?

Tito Cairo -

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