MacBook Unibody (A1342) Lower Case

My Problem

A few weeks ago the rubber coating released it self, caused by the heat, from the lowercase of our Macbook, end 2009 version. Because the Apple replacement program was not applied on this Macbook, I decided to repair it my self. The Macbook is in perfect state, including 4GB memory and running Yosemite, 10.10 OS X.

My Fix

The repair was easy to do. The order (the lowercase and screws) from iFixit arrived very quickly, within four days to the Netherlands, well done! The Macbook lost some screws by the time, so I replaced them as well.

My Advice

Use a proper screw-tool that fits exactly to the small screws on the lowercase. I placed small feet, 3 mm in height, on each corner on the lowercase. So the heat can flow under the lowercase in the air.

My Problem

My partners late 2009 Macbook started to fall apart all at once. The rubberised bottom peeled off, the batter stopped holding a charge and the fan failed.

I replaced the laptop with a new macbook and kept the old one until it failed completely which was the day after it was replaced.

A year later and I was going through all my old gear and found the Macbook and thought it would be a good exercise to fix it.

My Fix

The repair took all of 35 mins with the new toolkit I purchased with the replacement parts.

Once everything was is place the Macbook, to my surprise, booted like it was brand new and is now my main 'nix box.

My Advice

Just because it is broken it doesn't mean it can't be fixed ...and get the pro toolkit for the repair!!

My Problem

Bottom was missing screws, and rubber was coming off the metal. Was not affecting operation of the laptop. More cosmetic than anything.

My Fix

Got the new bottom and screws in the mail a few days after I ordered them, removed the old bottom, and installed the new bottom within minutes. Very easy to do.

My Advice

No advice, except that a lot of repairs can be done by yourself. Saves you money. IFIXIT is an excellent website. Very convenient.

My Problem

Heavy-duty processing warms up the underside of my MacBook, and eventually the rubber layer on the base-plate released itself from the metal where the heat is most intense and created a large bubble. The computer couldn't sit flat on a tabletop anymore, so a replacement base-plate was required.

My Fix

The new one arrived from iFixIt much faster than I had expected, and it was very safely packaged. Installation took less than two minutes... one minute to remove the screws and take off the old one, and one more to fasten the new one.

My Advice

Although I suffered a little sticker-shock when I saw the price, I knew that it was necessary that I replace it myself as the cost would only double if I took it to a repair-shop. Replacement was easy, and iFixIt provided the part in record time (and I even used the cheap shipping).

My Problem

My wife's Macbook stopped charging. After a short troubleshooting I figured out that the Magsafe connector was at fault. Also, as the laptop was mostly used on soft covered surfaces, cooling was poor, causing some overheating of the lower case, hence causing bubbling of the non slippery rubberized surface underneath. A quick pass by iMachines made me understand that I might need to do the job as the parts weren't available and they needed 2 months to get them (!)

Having discovered your site and the amazing service and advices you provide, I decided to have it go: the spare parts arrived to the Arabian Gulf in a matter of days and they were a perfect fit.

My Fix

Having some mechanical repair experience as a backup, and referring to the outstanding explanatory images that you provide online, I cruised through the whole dismantling process. Not that it was a totally smooth cruise as I got stuck at the keyboard ribbon cable removal, as I could not make the connection between the small flap that had to be lifted and the ribbon connection itself. I re-read the advices on the relevant dismantling section and I understood that ideally a small rod had to be sneaked underneath the ribbon and just pulled out. To plug it back in, I used successfully the trick with the self adhesive tape.

The repair was an absolute success in a fraction of time and money the workshop would have used.

Unfortunately, for some reason I am unable to upload all of the pictures of my venture ...

My Advice

I love your site. So accurate and useful that I wouldn't dread undertaking a more complicated repair as long as your advices are at hand. I will definitely be back to you for more parts in the future and I will strongly recommend your site for anyone stuck or not with electronics repair and maintenance. For anyone reluctant to do repairs on all sorts of electronics, with no second thought, I 'd give two thumbs up to go ahead and do it .

ifixit, probably the best site I came across in recent years.