Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

14

Time Required

                          15 minutes

Sections

4

  • Bottom Cover
  • 3 steps
  • Antenna Plate
  • 6 steps
  • Fan Assembly
  • 4 steps
  • Fan
  • 1 step

Flags

0

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Introduction

What you need

Step 1

              Bottom Cover
  • The bottom cover is clipped onto three screw posts.
  • Pry near, but not right on the screw posts.

The bottom cover is clipped onto three screw posts.

Pry near, but not right on the screw posts.

1024

Step 2

  • Use the plastic opening tool to pry the bottom cover up off of the Mac mini.

Use the plastic opening tool to pry the bottom cover up off of the Mac mini.

Step 3

  • Lift and remove the bottom cover.

Lift and remove the bottom cover.

Step 4

              Antenna Plate
  • Remove the following TR6 screws from the antenna plate:
  • Three 4.1 mm screws
  • Three 1.9 mm screws

Remove the following TR6 screws from the antenna plate:

Three 4.1 mm screws

Three 1.9 mm screws

Step 5

  • Do not completely remove the antenna plate; it is still connected to the Mac mini by an antenna cable.
  • With the I/O ports facing you, flip the antenna plate to the right to allow access to the antenna cable connector.

Do not completely remove the antenna plate; it is still connected to the Mac mini by an antenna cable.

With the I/O ports facing you, flip the antenna plate to the right to allow access to the antenna cable connector.

Step 6

  • Remove the single 3.4 mm T6 screw and washer from the antenna cable.
  • Be careful not to lose the washer when removing the screw.

Remove the single 3.4 mm T6 screw and washer from the antenna cable.

Be careful not to lose the washer when removing the screw.

Step 7

  • Use the point of a spudger to lift the antenna connector straight up off its socket on the airport card.

Use the point of a spudger to lift the antenna connector straight up off its socket on the airport card.

Step 8

  • Carefully pull the antenna cable out from the gap between the power supply and case.

Carefully pull the antenna cable out from the gap between the power supply and case.

Step 9

  • Remove the antenna plate from the Mac mini.

Remove the antenna plate from the Mac mini.

Step 10

              Fan Assembly
  • Remove the two 12 mm T6 screws from the fan.
  • Loosen the 27 mm T6 captive screw–it will get removed with the fan assembly.

Remove the two 12 mm T6 screws from the fan.

Loosen the 27 mm T6 captive screw–it will get removed with the fan assembly.

Step 11

  • The fan connector is trapped under the edge of the fan and cannot be disconnected until the fan is moved.
  • Do not attempt to remove the fan entirely.
  • Lift the fan straight up to free the captive screw from its hole in the logic board.
  • Pull the fan away from the SSD until you can easily access the fan connector.

The fan connector is trapped under the edge of the fan and cannot be disconnected until the fan is moved.

Do not attempt to remove the fan entirely.

Lift the fan straight up to free the captive screw from its hole in the logic board.

Pull the fan away from the SSD until you can easily access the fan connector.

Step 12

  • Use the point of a spudger to lift the fan connector straight up out of its socket on the logic board.

Use the point of a spudger to lift the fan connector straight up out of its socket on the logic board.

Step 13

  • Remove the fan from the Mac mini.

Remove the fan from the Mac mini.

Step 14

              Fan
  • Remove the captive screw from the rubber grommet in the fan screw hole.

Remove the captive screw from the rubber grommet in the fan screw hole.

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

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                    Sam Goldheart

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Syahmie Ramley - Dec 24, 2017

Reply

Had a problem with a noisy fan. Apparently the blades were scratching its housing, so i just bend the aluminium housing a bit and spin the fan to see if its still had a contact. It works like a charm.

Jacob Begley - Jun 30, 2022

Reply

Just got my first ever Mac yesterday, used it all day without realizing the fan wasn’t working. Opened it up this morning to find the fan completely unplugged from the board. Plugged it back in and now it’s working great! Thanks so much!

M. Hanke - Nov 2, 2022

Reply

good instruction, thanks. But: the replacement fan from iFixit is lots more louder than the orig from Apple - sad.