Introduction
Removing the display on an iMac Intel 27" Retina 5K requires cutting through the adhesive around the perimeter of the screen. After the adhesive is cut, it cannot be used to re-seal the display in place, so you'll need to apply a new set of adhesive strips.
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If you are re-using your existing display, you must also remove the old adhesive from the back of the display.
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Peel off the adhesive strips using tweezers or your fingers. Start at the bottom and peel upward towards the top of the device.
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After all the old adhesive is removed, carefully clean the surface with 90% (or greater) isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free cloth. Wipe in one direction, not back and forth.
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Lay out the adhesives strips beforehand so you won't accidentally install a strip in the wrong place:
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Strip 22 on the top left
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Strip 23 on the top right
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Strip 21 on the right vertical
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Strip 25 on the bottom right, dark side facing up
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Strip 26 on the bottom left, dark side facing up
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Strip 16 on the left vertical
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Start with strip 21, which goes on the right vertical edge of the iMac frame.
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Peel the short piece of backing off the back of the strip.
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With the spudger still poking through the hole in the adhesive strip, push the spudger tip into the corresponding hole in the frame of the iMac.
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Using the hole and spudger to anchor the position of the adhesive strip, line the strip up against the right edge, gently pull down against the spudger to ensure the strip is taut, and stick it onto the frame.
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Work your way counter-clockwise around the perimeter of the iMac, adding three more adhesive strips in the same manner:
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Strip 23 on the top right
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Strip 22 on the top left
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Strip 16 on the vertical left
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On the iMac Intel 27" Retina 5K Display, the top-right strip's blue tabs will not line up with the top antenna in the same way as the non-5K model. This is perfectly acceptable and won't impact the performance of the strips or antenna.
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Grasp the red pull tab on strip 25 and pull to separate about 2 inches (5 cm) of white backing from the strip.
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Align the adhesive strip to the bottom edge by positioning the microphone notch over the microphone hole.
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If your iMac does not have a microphone hole, align the right end of the strip such that the L-bend sits next to the right vertical adhesive. The L-bend should not overlap the right vertical adhesive.
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Once you have aligned the strip, carefully set the left exposed edge onto the iMac to secure the alignment.
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Gently set the display in place over the iMac and align it carefully.
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If you've already verified that your iMac is working correctly and are ready to seal it up, skip to step 22.
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Gently insert the display data connector into its socket on the logic board. Be sure to press it straight into the socket, and insert it completely.
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Flip the display data connector lock down onto the socket.
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Insert the display power connector into its socket on the logic board.
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After confirming that your iMac functions properly, disconnect the display cables and carefully lean the display forward.
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Remove the film from the two bottom strips by reaching in from above with a pair of tweezers and pulling the blue tabs straight up from the bottom edge of the display.
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22 Comments
yes .it works
Does this work with iMac 27 2017?
Used these guides to replace the cpu and ssd’s in my 2015 iMac 27”. Super easy! And yes with a late 2015 model, the cpu is replaceable with a regular Skylake cpu. I bought a 3.2 i5 model and replaced with a 6700K ! And yes these also take 64GB of DDR3. For the PCIE SSD you can get an adapter off of ebay…look for m.2 to iMac adapter…since they’re cheap I recommend getting like 2-3 and figuring out which one works best with your m.2 ssd. So yeah, you can get a 1TB m.2 AND a 1TB 2.5” ssd in this and have a nice little box for peanuts.
Friends! This manual and accessories are compatible with the iMac 27 5K 2017?
Hi,
I done all of the above on my 2017 27inch iMac and now my microphone won’t work, when I tap the enclosure it reacts but it doesn’t hear my voice commands. Maybe the adhesive tape got stuck on the microphone somehow. where is the microphone located exactly? Help please……
Best regards, Henk
I have the same problem. Were you able to fix it?
I know this is an old question, but I wanted to post a followup so hopefully, no one else makes this mistake. The microphone is located on the lower edge. Here’s the thread that covers this better. Microphone very muffled after sealing up iMac
veenenen -
ottimo complimenti per i dettagli
guida superlativa e precisa grazie del vostro aiuto
I did it! Be very careful when you place the tape at the bottom of the screen. The screen can fall off! Also important to keep the imac standing and not laying on it’s back because it will make it hard to remove the bottom adhesives.
After following to the letter, the screen came off and went back on just fine. 5 days later (while setting in a cool environment) the screen just came unstuck and fell out sometime during the night, Of course it tore the two cables badly in addition to the antenna wires that must have gotten in the way somehow. Took most all day, but was able to the wifi and bluetooth wires back in place and the power cable (4 connector) plug back in. The hardest part was the ribbon cable. With high magnification hood on, was finally able to get it back in it’s socket. Had to tape it down to the rest of the board so it would stay. Used new sealant strips, then CLAMPED with spring clamps (around 12 of um) then laid it flat, screen up, then put it near a baseboard heater for two hours. Temp gun was around 100* all around it. Hopefully that won’t happen again!!
Excellent write up. Also, the detailed photos were super helpful in seeing the alignment.
The only hiccup I had was trying to remove the final tabs from strip 15 and 14 while the glass was blue taped down. I had to lift the weight of the glass panel off of the tab strips before they came off. Aside from that, a very smooth install, and very quality product. Thanks!
Make sure you totally clean both surfaces. The back of the display can be a real pain. I know someone who told me he replaced the PCI SSD and it all went smooth (same thing I did plus a SATA SSD and new thermal paste) but a few weeks later to his HORROR the 5k display was smashed on his office floor. Make sure to really clean and press on all sides. Keeping some painters tape on the top corners wouldn’t hurt either for a few weeks to make sure it seats well.
Thank you! Just completed this after an SSD upgrade to my 2015 iMac. Much appreciated Sam!
would be REALLY nice to have this linked on every single repair page. there was NO MENTION of replacing the adhesive strips at the end of the hard drive replacement guide, and i am now staring at a smashed LCD display that will set me back $600 to replace. very frustrating as I usually love ifixit guides. please consider adding a heavily red-flagged link to this guide and information to every guide that requires removing the display.
This was a super useful guide that formed the closing stage of repairing my old iMac 27” (late 2012). I replaced the power supply and upgraded to an SSD. Thank you so much for taking the time to prepare and improve these guides. They are invaluable and enabling.
Se me acaba de despegar a las 4 semanas de haberlo utilizado.