Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

11

Time Required

                          20 - 40 minutes

Sections

4

  • Lower Case
  • 2 steps
  • Battery
  • 4 steps
  • Hard Drive
  • 4 steps
  • Hard Drive
  • 1 step

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0

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Introduction

What you need

Step 1

              Lower Case
  • Remove the following ten screws securing the lower case to the upper case:
  • Three 13.5 mm (14.1 mm) Phillips screws.
  • Seven 3 mm Phillips screws.
  • When removing these screws, note how they come out at a slight angle. They must be reinstalled the same way.

Remove the following ten screws securing the lower case to the upper case:

Three 13.5 mm (14.1 mm) Phillips screws.

Seven 3 mm Phillips screws.

When removing these screws, note how they come out at a slight angle. They must be reinstalled the same way.

1024

Step 2

  • Using both hands, lift the lower case near the vent to pop it off two clips securing it to the upper case.
  • Remove the lower case and set it aside.

Using both hands, lift the lower case near the vent to pop it off two clips securing it to the upper case.

Remove the lower case and set it aside.

Step 3

              Battery
  • Remove the two 7.4 mm Tri-point screws securing the battery to the upper case.
  • Note: For certain repairs (e.g. hard drive), removing the battery is not necessary but it prevents any accidental shorting of electronics on the motherboard. If you do not remove the battery, please be careful as parts of the motherboard might be electrified.
  • You do not necessarily have to follow steps 3-6 to remove the battery in order to replace the hard drive. However it is recommended to remove all power sources from electronics before working on them.

Remove the two 7.4 mm Tri-point screws securing the battery to the upper case.

Note: For certain repairs (e.g. hard drive), removing the battery is not necessary but it prevents any accidental shorting of electronics on the motherboard. If you do not remove the battery, please be careful as parts of the motherboard might be electrified.

You do not necessarily have to follow steps 3-6 to remove the battery in order to replace the hard drive. However it is recommended to remove all power sources from electronics before working on them.

Step 4

  • Use the tip of your finger to carefully peel back the corner of the warning label to reveal a hidden Tri-point screw.
  • Remove the last 7.4 mm Tri-point screw securing the battery to the upper case.

Use the tip of your finger to carefully peel back the corner of the warning label to reveal a hidden Tri-point screw.

Remove the last 7.4 mm Tri-point screw securing the battery to the upper case.

Step 5

  • Lift the battery by its plastic pull tab and slide it away from the long edge of the upper case.
  • Do not try to completely remove the battery just yet.

Lift the battery by its plastic pull tab and slide it away from the long edge of the upper case.

Do not try to completely remove the battery just yet.

Step 6

  • Tilt the battery away from the logic board enough to access the battery cable connector.
  • Pull the battery cable connector away from its socket on the logic board and remove the battery from the upper case.
  • Pull the battery cable connector away from the center of the logic board.
  • 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.

Tilt the battery away from the logic board enough to access the battery cable connector.

Pull the battery cable connector away from its socket on the logic board and remove the battery from the upper case.

Pull the battery cable connector away from the center of the logic board.

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.

Step 7

              Hard Drive
  • Remove two Phillips screws securing the hard drive bracket to the upper case.
  • These screws are captive to the hard drive bracket.

Remove two Phillips screws securing the hard drive bracket to the upper case.

These screws are captive to the hard drive bracket.

Step 8

  • Lift the the retaining bracket out of the upper case.

Lift the the retaining bracket out of the upper case.

Step 9

  • Lift the hard drive by its pull tab and pull it out of the chassis, minding the cable attaching it to the computer.

Lift the hard drive by its pull tab and pull it out of the chassis, minding the cable attaching it to the computer.

Step 10

  • Remove the hard drive cable by pulling its connector straight away from the hard drive.

Remove the hard drive cable by pulling its connector straight away from the hard drive.

Step 11

              Hard Drive
  • Remove two T6 Torx screws from each side of the hard drive (four screws total).
  • You’ll need to transfer these screws to your new hard drive if you’re changing drives.
  • If desired, peel the pull tab off your old hard drive and transfer it to the side of your new drive.
  • If you are installing a new hard drive, we have an OS X install guide to get you up and running. Many recent Macs may be able to use OS X Internet Recovery.

Remove two T6 Torx screws from each side of the hard drive (four screws total).

You’ll need to transfer these screws to your new hard drive if you’re changing drives.

If desired, peel the pull tab off your old hard drive and transfer it to the side of your new drive.

If you are installing a new hard drive, we have an OS X install guide to get you up and running. Many recent Macs may be able to use OS X Internet Recovery.

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

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Author

                                      with 10 other contributors 


                    Walter Galan

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Richard Vera - Aug 4, 2010

Reply

I went all over the place trying to find that stupid 7.4 mm Tri-Wing bit or driver to remove the battery per your instructions then I took a harder look and realized there was no need for all that SMFH!

Andrew Bookholt - Aug 5, 2010

We have you remove the battery because as long as it is connected, certain components on the logic board are electrified. If you accidentally drop something metallic on the board or touch the wrong part with a screwdriver, you could fry the board be out another $700+.

josephpass - Jul 26, 2013

Reply

I bought the 1TB and the tool kit. Got it today. The step by step directions made it a piece of cake. Afterwards I booted up my MacBook Pro off of my system software cd. The new hard drive didn’t show up so I called iFixit and talked to Scott. He told me how to format my drive and had me up and running in about 2 minutes. You guys are awesome! My computer works great and I went from a maxed out 500 GB hard drive to a full 1 TB Hybrid hard drive. Thanks for the new lease on life.

Nico Sauer - Dec 8, 2013

Reply

So, SSD´s can replace an the original HDD without any sort of fitting?

Roffe - Dec 15, 2013

Reply

My original harddrive crashed and I bought a new ssd. How do I install the latest OS (Maverick) on it? I had it on the former HDD and I downloaded it through App Store.