Difficulty
Moderate
Steps
32
Time Required
1 - 2 hours
- Disable Auto Boot 1 step
- Lower Case 7 steps
- Battery Connector 6 steps
- Screen 18 steps
Featured Guide
This guide has been found to be exceptionally cool by the iFixit staff.
Introduction
Use this guide to replace the entire display assembly on your MacBook Pro, in order to fix a cracked or faulty screen. This assembly also includes the integrated ribbon cables that are known to fail as part of the “FlexGate” defect, so replacing it will also resolve the “stage lights” effect and other issues resulting from ribbon cable damage.
For your safety, discharge your MacBook Pro's battery below 25% before you begin. A charged lithium-ion battery can create a dangerous and uncontrollable fire if accidentally punctured.
Tools
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Power on your Mac and launch Terminal.
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Copy and paste the following command (or type it exactly) into Terminal:
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sudo nvram AutoBoot=%00
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Press [return]. If prompted, enter your administrator password and press [return] again. Note: Your return key may also be labeled ⏎ or "enter."
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sudo nvram AutoBoot=%03
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Use a P5 Pentalobe driver to remove six screws securing the lower case, of the following lengths:
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Four 4.7 mm screws
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Two 6.6 mm screws
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Pull the lower case firmly towards the front of the MacBook (away from the hinge area) to separate the last of the clips securing the lower case.
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Pull first at one corner, then the other.
I found it easier to insert a screwdriver through the hole (not too far down), and use that to pull sideways, as it was hard to get a strong grip with my fingers.
If you have a black stick, or a nylon probe tool, you can insert it at the back at the point closest to the screw holes, and use that to push the lower case forward. I’ve seen this help me quite a few times, and it makes it quite easier.
I like adrianbrown's suggestion. Spot on!
Its difficult if the side catches arent released properly, check them again if it seems too much.
I snapped one of the spring loaded logic board grounding pins. Take your time. Leverage from the back in order to push it out versus pulling on it.
Take the opening pick and stick the edge down behind the hinge all the way to one side, so it is perpendicular to the case, and give it a twist. That end should pop free. Do the same on the other side and there you go.
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Remove the lower case.
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Set it in place and align the sliding clips near the display hinge. Press down and slide the cover toward the hinge. It should stop sliding as the clips engage.
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When the sliding clips are fully engaged and the lower case looks correctly aligned, press down firmly on the lower case to engage the four hidden clips. You should feel and hear them click into place.
I am doing a battery replacement for a client on this model. The battery has swollen more than I have ever seen before on a Mac! Roughly a ½” higher, once cover removed. Cover was so tight that one screw stripped and had to drill out one screw after trying everything else! Fortunately, I’m an exmechanic/machinist and I own a full size drill press! None of the screw extraction tools sold by ifixit worked or were applicable until I finally got the cover off. Then the small screw pliers from Japan were easier to use than anything else I own. My tools are mostly for larger nuts, bolts and screw extraction. Possibly a mini hammer driver screwdriver would work if one could be made small enough for tiny screws! Ross
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Peel up and remove the large rectangular battery board cover, on the edge of the logic board nearest the battery.
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If the cover doesn't peel up easily, apply mild heat with an iOpener, hair dryer, or heat gun to soften the adhesive underneath, and try again.
What is the though behind this step? I have replace my trackpad before, and I did not do this step. At the time, there was no guide. As a result, I’m wondering how this changes/or if it is necessary for the repair process.
It’s necessary in order to disconnect the battery. Always disconnect the battery before making repairs.
I found my one of my fan making some noise, when open the bottom of my Mac I see this piece floating over the fan. Trying to put it back where it goes but don’t seem to stick anymore and move around. Does this piece is really necessary or I can simply remove it or order a new one from you?
It should be pretty easy to reattach. Put a dab of rubber cement or a bit of double-sided tape on top of each of the screws underneath the cover, press the cover down, and close up your MacBook. It should stay put. Don’t use superglue or anything else that will harden over the screw heads and make it impossible to fit a driver in there later.
Do you know if this piece is necessary. I lost mine.
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Peel back the tape covering the battery board data cable connector.
The replacement battery did not come with the “tape” in this cable so it was very difficult to reinsert the cable into the zif socket. Now I can’t get the replacement battery to charge.
I have the same issue, My battery is not charging. Did you figure out how to get your battery to charge?
In my case, the original replacement was faulty. iFixIt sent an RMA without hesitation, and I am happy to report that the new one works fine. But also recheck this step and steps 13/14.
J D -
I was able to reinsert the cable easily a number of times with the nice Ifixit angled tweezers as the ziff connectors tiny latch came off! I ended up using a bit of Pliobond 25, contact cement to mke sure the data cable doesn’t move. A future repair will just pull off or at most need an xacato blade knife to slit the rubbery cement. Ross
REALLY important. You need to really pull this back in snug for things to work when you reassemble.
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Use a spudger to gently pry up the locking flap on the ZIF connector for the battery board data cable.
Mein Sicherungsbügel ist abgebrochen, oder zumindest nicht mehr auf dem ZIF-Stecker. Ist dieser Sicherungsbügel sehr wichtig, oder kann ich das Kabel dennoch zurück stecken?
Hallo Fabio, wahrscheinlich wird das Kabel ohne den Bügel nicht mehr halten. Das Zurückstecken geht, aber es bleibt nur sehr fragil drin.
My zif connector was already open. It apparently never got closed during manufacture. Being so tiny this made it difficult to see why there was nothing to pry up with the spudger. Once I put my finger on top of it I realized the flap was already verticle.
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Disconnect the battery board data cable by sliding it out from its socket.
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Slide parallel to the logic board, in the direction of the cable.
If this breaks, what’s the risk to the computer?
I tried powering mine on after my zif connector socket broke. It made bad electrical noises. I had water damage at one point and cleaned the unit very well but never replaced the battery. Through excesive, a hot and bad battery, or water damaged weakening the area mine came right off with the tape when i peeled it up. Im working on finding the part and will attempt to solder it back. Of course i still need a battery which ours was swollen. After water damage it worked great for over a year though.
Mine broke and now the Macbook will not power on, this was after a battery replacement, the Macbook powered up afterwards, but after transporting it, it would not power up. I removed the back cover and noticed the battery board cover was missing and the zif gate for the battery data connector was half off.
Same here, I broke the cable which was soldered on the mainboard. I tried to hold it on place with a tape, but I couldn‘t charge my macbook though. Then I tried to solder it and I also failed. I wish I had read the comments before :/
I couldn‘t find the fpc 6 pin connector with 0,5 mm grid. However I managed to connect the flex cable directly on the mother board with 0,3 mm isolation filament! It was tough but I‘m so happy that it works again :)
Would you be able to give a little instruction on how you were able to make this work? I’m super curious and need a solution to the same issue.
Tim -
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Use a spudger to gently lift the battery power connector, disconnecting the battery.
wondering if i didn’t heed this warning close enough. mac not powering on. only black screen with battery and lightning bolt beneath it. What happens if this connector makes contact?
im in the exact same boat right now.
Was everything okay in your case?
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Use a T3 Torx driver to remove the two 3.5 mm screws securing the cover on the display board flex cable.
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Remove the display board flex cable cover.
Its a t4! Not a t3!
Which one is the back light? Anybody know?
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Use a T3 Torx driver to remove the two 1.7 mm screws securing the bracket for the display board cable connector.
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Remove the bracket from the display board cable connector.
I had a problem with the display and I managed to solve it by disconnecting the display board flex cable and connecting it back. It worked for a while, until the first restart of the laptop, again display became inoperable.
When I tried to do the same thing, I realized that this bracket is missing. Most likely I lost it when I first worked on it.
Could be this piece the reason why the display stopped working after the restart?
I ask because I try to eliminate every step in finding the source that is causing this problem at the moment.
Thank you!
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Use a T3 Torx driver to remove the two 2.0 mm screws securing each hinge cover (four screws total).
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Use a T5 Torx driver to remove the four 3.3 mm screws securing the display board.
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Make sure the display board flex cable lies on top of the board, not trapped underneath.
My model uses T3 screws here, not T5. FYI if this is a typo. Thanks for the great guide!
IF when you are putting your new screen in, and it looks different than this picture, make sure you routed the cable properly, with respect to the antenna you just reinstalled. Its very easy to route the display cable around the antenna the wrong way and have a bit of extra cable flapping around when you are done. It should look nice and tight like this pic shows.
Make sure you pay attention to which screws you remove here! I removed the 2 next to these 2 that hold in that metal plate and then couldn’t figure out why my antenna would not come out!
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Use a P2 Pentalobe driver to remove the sixteen 1.5 mm screws securing the antenna assembly.
FYI the right side screws came up without a problem. the right side ones…only half could be loosened without stripping. I had to drip WD40 on the screws and use a hand drill with a brass bit to bore out the pentalobe heads… and get it nice and flat, so I could use a screw extractor kit + sacrificial 1.4mm flathead screwdriver and tweezers to drive and pull out the rest. Anybody know where to buy spare 1mm P2 screws, or the Philips equivalent? Otherwise I will distribute the good screws between the two antenna arrays. Hit me up at enrico.limcaco@gmail.com if you have any leads :)
Same problem. All but the very last one. Which now makes me think I should’ve left a few of the other ones in and taking it out first. Maybe it’s causing too much torque on that last screw. ?
I had to be VERY careful with these. More than any other screws. The first 4 wanted to strip out on my. Started to be WAY more careful, and apply way more pressure and was able to get them all out. A combination of not being careful enough on the first ones and having a cheap toolkit almost got me in big trouble!
The secret to these is to lightly twist the P2 to make sure it’s fully engaged. Once it is, then push straight down (very very) firmly on the screw as you turn it counter clockwise and it will come right out.
Do the same but clockwise when you reinstall and you won’t strip a thing.
The secret to this is, don’t buy the iFixIt toolkit. Most of it’s alright but the P2 bit is too brittle and stripped itself after removing only two screws. Borrowed my brother’s Tekton set and had ZERO issues.
Sorry to hear this—for whatever it’s worth, this is the exception rather than the rule! iFixit bits carry a lifetime warranty. Reach out to customer service and they can ship you a replacement bit, free of charge. I’ve done hundreds of repairs with the same set of bits; haven’t yet had any of them strip or break. Better luck on your next repair!
I had a problem using the ifixit tool kit to remove the 16 antenna screws (striped one badly) so i ordered the Wiha drivers from Germany and found the ONLY bit that would fit and thus remove (press down firmly while rotating driver) the pentalobe screws was the 1PLx40 driver, not the 2PL as many have said here. 2PL was just too big to even fit in the screw head.
Robert DiIorio
I had some real issues with these screws. It was because the P2 bit was stripped somehow. iFixit was super helpful!!! They replaced the bit and the new bit worked perfectly. Only stripped one screw. Thanks iFixit!
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Use an opening pick to pry up the antenna assembly and separate it from the MacBook Pro.
This did not need much prying for me. Could almost lift it out by hand once all the proper screws were removed. Make sure to remove the correct 4 middle screws from step 22 or you will be prying trying to figure out why it wont come out!
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Carefully remove the antenna assembly, while simultaneously feeding the antenna cable bundle out from underneath the heat sink.
Watch out when re-assembling to get the ribbon cables back under the antenna.
PLEASE Consider Tonygreenfield’s comment. I ended up having to take the whole computer a part because I reassembled the laptop with cables on the wrong side of the antenna!
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Remove the screen.
Hi, great guide! I followed along to replace the screen assembly on my orange stained MBP!
Only one minor correction, on step 16, the screws inside my unit (owned since new) were T4, not T3.
Thanks!
È possibile cambiare solo la scocca in alluminio?
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Compare your new replacement part to the original part—you may need to transfer remaining components or remove adhesive backings from the new part before installing.
To reassemble your device, follow the above steps in reverse order.
Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.
Repair didn’t go as planned? Check out our Answers community for troubleshooting help.
Compare your new replacement part to the original part—you may need to transfer remaining components or remove adhesive backings from the new part before installing.
To reassemble your device, follow the above steps in reverse order.
Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.
Repair didn’t go as planned? Check out our Answers community for troubleshooting help.
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26 other people completed this guide.
12 Comments
Many thanks for this excellent guide, Jeff.
I completed this two months ago and it went very well - fitted a new screen to replace a smashed one and it worked perfectly… until this week. Now I need some advice please!
The new screen has developed strange ghosting and freezing and vertical lines. It started gradually and has become unusable now. I know the installation was good because it worked. I’ve checked the connections and ribbon cables - all is well, undamaged and correctly-routed. The video chip & logic board seem good because an exrternal monitor displays fine and allows me to carry on working even when the MacBook screen is frozen.
Anyone ever come across this before? I suspect it’s a faulty screen, but the sypmtoms are strange so before sending it back and finding the replacement does the same thing, I want to explore any avenues I may have missed.
Many thanks,
Mousematt
Ouch! Your troubleshooting steps sound right to me—bad display would be my guess as well. Best of luck getting it sorted out!
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Great Guide! Thanks!!!
I completed the replacement by following this amazing guide about two months ago. The new display has been working great since then. However, last week I realised that my keyboard doesn’t have backlight anymore! Trying to adjust the backlight brightness gives the icon that there is no backlight.
Is there any possibility I disconnected something relating to the keyboard backlight during this display replacement?
Thanks!
A breeze until you get to the display cables and sliding them through the tiny hole that leads the cables under the heat sink and onto the logic board. We gently pry the heat sink up (be careful not to bend too far as it could cause heat sink issues) then use iFixit tweezers to pull the 3 cables through the tiny hole and onto the logic board.
Thanks for this excellent guide. I would never have believed I could do something this complicated, but your clear pictures and instructions guided me through it. There was just one problem - I had to stop and send off for a T3 screwdriver in the middle of the job. I should have checked the list of tools against what I had more carefully!
I just replace on 2016 15” screen from another MBP 2016 with motherboard damage, the computer starts well but after introducing a password ask for an update on software, and it will not finish the update and it will not start up completely. if I reattach the old one the computer starts normally. I have talked to apple and nothing. I have installed the system form cero, I have done all the pram, etc. I have started from an external hard drive and still the same ask me for internet connection and it will try to download something but without any luck.
I have to reattach the old one and stay with the broken screen.
I believe it is the serial number of the screen, so I am going to actively read the serial number and paste it on the other screen. I am waiting for the device to do it.
if anyone has any insight let me know.
Thank you so much for this excellent guide. It feels like I have a brand new laptop now. Buying the iFixit Pro tool kit was worth every penny too.
Great guide; thanks Jeff.
I have not yet begun the replacement of the screen for my MBP as I would like to explore other options than the “nuclear'“ one.
In my case the hinges on my MBP are loose and the screen won’t stay upright unless I use a foreign object to keep it in place.
Recently Apple replaced the faulty keyboard on my MBP. While they did so, I asked them to look at the hinges and tighten them if possible. When I got the MBP back, Apple told me that the hinges were tightened but defective because of wear and tear.
So here my question: do you know if it is possible to replace the screen hinges only or is the only option to replace the entire screen? Do you know of (or can you think of) any other ‘elegant’ solution to provide resistance to the screen for it to remain in place when open?
Any and all insight/ guidance is much appreciated.
- G
Thank you so very much for the guide! You guys are Awesome! I would ask that you mention something about those 16 1mm P2 screws ahead of step 23. My P2 bit was stripped and it stopped me dead in my tracks for the repair. Thank you again!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! And to anyone who's wondering if they can do it - you can! These instructions made it so easy and saved me several hundred dollars!
Is this step necessary? I can’t perform this step as I am attempting to repair water damage and need to remove logic board & most likely replace the battery.
lamajr - Reply
@mac_medic You definitely don’t want the power coming on while the board is wet. In your case, I think powering on the machine to disable Auto Boot would do more damage than it prevents. I agree, skip this step and be prepared to disconnect the battery quickly if the laptop automatically powers on. Good luck!
Jeff Suovanen -
This did not work when running High Sierra.
Kyle B - Reply
Tried this on a 2018 MBP 13” Touchbar (there’s no iFixit guide for this model yet). Need to replace a broken screen.
Luckily I managed to connect to an external screen (Cmd-Down Brightness to switch displays) and enter above command. Seems to work, but there’s another problem with this model - it powers up as soon as any key is pressed……. ffs <gnashes teeth>
Cool_Breeze - Reply
I unscrew the battery first and wrap electrical tape over the logic board battery connector before attempting any repairs to the board. Haven’t had any problems yet and I’ve worked on about 10 of these models already. Also when you open the bottom case use a suction cup at the bottom and pull up then run a plastic spudger along the edges to disconnect the clips. Also only use a plastic spudger on the board. Saw a youtube video from a repair shop and he did not disconnect the power and used all metal tools during the entire process of removing the board. His last step was to disconnect the battery terminal.
Brian - Reply
Is this step necessary if my mac can turn on? Battery fully dead(
Nursat b - Reply
BEFORE YOU START: The included torx head stripped off before I was done (and you might need an additional T4) so stop now and go buy a good one. Also they fail to warn you above to get some blue threadlocker ahead of time.
Jason Sherron - Reply
This command did not work for me and I read that sometime in later 2020 Apple stopped this command from working…any ideas on a work around?
Patrick Machacek - Reply
Not able to do that with damaged screen
richardjgreen - Reply
Hi. This does not work on 2018 13” MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. I did exactly this to disable auto boot. But when I check by using nvram -p it says: auto-boot true. Am I doing something incorrectly? I did everything step by step. Copied and pasted the sudo command, pressed enter and then entered my password. I have Big Sur 11.1 installed. Is there any other way since I need to replace the screen. Thank you. Adrian
Adrian Vizik - Reply
Hi everyone. This is also a little pointless if you can’t see anything on the screen, and you don’t have a display adapter to USB C to display it. I agree with Brian about removing the back and disconnecting the battery cable before you even think about opening the lid of the MacBook. Applying the insulation tape is also a handy little tip that just makes sure there is no way to discharge from either the board or battery.
Roberto Enrieu - Reply