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Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

5

Time Required

                          15 minutes

Sections

2

  • Lower Case
  • 2 steps
  • Battery
  • 3 steps

Flags

1

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  • BackMacBook Air 11" Mid 2011

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Introduction

Note: If there is a thin plastic film on your replacement battery, do not attempt to remove it. It is glued on and protects the battery pack while it is inside the MacBook.

What you need

Step 1

              Lower Case
  • Shut down and close your computer. Lay it on a soft surface top-side down.
  • Remove the following ten screws:
  • Two 8 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws
  • Eight 2.5 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws
  • The special screwdriver needed to remove the 5-point Pentalobe screws can be found here.

Shut down and close your computer. Lay it on a soft surface top-side down.

Remove the following ten screws:

Two 8 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws

Eight 2.5 mm 5-point Pentalobe screws

The special screwdriver needed to remove the 5-point Pentalobe screws can be found here.

1024

Step 2

  • Wedge your fingers between the display and the lower case and pull upward to pop the lower case off the Air.

Wedge your fingers between the display and the lower case and pull upward to pop the lower case off the Air.

Step 3

              Battery
  • Use the flat end of a spudger to pry both short sides of the battery connector upward to disconnect it from its socket on the logic board.
  • Bend the battery cable slightly away from the logic board so the connector will not accidentally contact its socket.

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry both short sides of the battery connector upward to disconnect it from its socket on the logic board.

Bend the battery cable slightly away from the logic board so the connector will not accidentally contact its socket.

Step 4

  • Remove the following five screws securing the battery to the upper case:
  • Two 5.2 mm T5 Torx screws
  • One 6 mm T5 Torx screw
  • Two 2.6 mm T5 Torx screws

Remove the following five screws securing the battery to the upper case:

Two 5.2 mm T5 Torx screws

One 6 mm T5 Torx screw

Two 2.6 mm T5 Torx screws

Step 5

  • When handling the battery, avoid squeezing or touching the six exposed lithium polymer cells.
  • Lift the battery from its edge nearest the logic board and remove it from the upper case.
  • If you’re installing a new battery, you should calibrate it after installation:
  • Charge it to 100%, and then keep charging it for at least 2 more hours. Next, unplug and use it normally to drain the battery. When you see the low battery warning, save your work, and keep your laptop on until it goes to sleep due to low battery. Wait at least 5 hours, then charge your laptop uninterrupted to 100%.
  • If you notice any unusual behavior or problems after installing your new battery, you may need to reset your MacBook’s SMC.

When handling the battery, avoid squeezing or touching the six exposed lithium polymer cells.

Lift the battery from its edge nearest the logic board and remove it from the upper case.

If you’re installing a new battery, you should calibrate it after installation:

Charge it to 100%, and then keep charging it for at least 2 more hours. Next, unplug and use it normally to drain the battery. When you see the low battery warning, save your work, and keep your laptop on until it goes to sleep due to low battery. Wait at least 5 hours, then charge your laptop uninterrupted to 100%.

If you notice any unusual behavior or problems after installing your new battery, you may need to reset your MacBook’s SMC.

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

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                    Walter Galan

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andreaspall - Jan 19, 2015

Reply

Arrived with 52% charge, capacity 4593 mAh of 4680 mAh. 98% health, manufacture date of the iFixit replacement battery is Feb 4 2012 (2.9 years), with 0 charge cycles. My order arrived extremely fast, and replacing the battery itself was easier than expected. Overall speed of my MBA seems to have improved somewhat as well. Despite my MBA mid-11 being almost 3.5 years old, the internals, fan included, were all fairly free from dust. So far, so good.

Joey - Feb 2, 2015

Reply

I removed a battery pack from a mid-2011 MBA. Two of the lithium polymer cells had expanded so much that the upper case was bulging out about 0.5cm. The bulge un-bulged itself as soon as I loosened the screws on the lower case. There doesn’t seem to be any significant damage to the hardware. Pretty wild. Also, despite this repair being listed as “Difficulty: Moderate”, it’s about the easiest thing you can do that involves opening the bottom cover.

tiffmariepaul - Jul 25, 2015

Reply

THIS IS FANTASTIC!! I ordered it on a Thursday & received it on a Saturday! Came very protected in the box. It took me only 40 min to replace the battery & these instructions were excellent to follow! I highly recommend!

craig - Oct 14, 2015

Reply

Very easy, and I normally have little patience for this sort of task. Took me about 20 minutes. Replacement battery was 90% charged and has 101% (!?) health.

Leona Eden - Jan 28, 2016

Reply

I would like to agree: the difficulty is even less than easy