Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

9

Time Required

                          20 - 30 minutes

Sections

4

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

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  • BackMacBook Pro 15" Unibody Mid 2012

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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 Connector
  • For certain repairs (e.g. hard drive), disconnecting the battery connector is not necessary but is recommended as it prevents any accidental shorting of electronics on the motherboard. If you do not disconnect the battery connector, please be careful as parts of the motherboard might be electrified.
  • Use the edge of a spudger to pry the battery connector upwards from its socket on the logic board.
  • It is useful to pry upward on both short sides of the connector to “walk” it out of its socket.

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

Use the edge of a spudger to pry the battery connector upwards from its socket on the logic board.

It is useful to pry upward on both short sides of the connector to “walk” it out of its socket.

Step 4

  • Bend the battery cable slightly away from its socket on the logic board so it does not accidentally connect itself while you work.

Bend the battery cable slightly away from its socket on the logic board so it does not accidentally connect itself while you work.

Step 5

              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 6

  • Lift the retaining bracket out of the upper case.

Lift the retaining bracket out of the upper case.

Step 7

  • 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 8

  • 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 9

              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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                    Andrew Optimus Goldheart

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djsnooze831 - May 25, 2016

Reply

This made me feel like techie instead of a newbie!

Jamie - Aug 13, 2016

Reply

Hi, Im going to replace my mac hard drive. Looking at this guide it seems that I wont have too much difficulty in doing so, but do i need to format the new hard drive before I replace the old one? or can I just replace it and then format it when I boot it up for the first time?

Arfan Ali - Oct 9, 2016

Reply

U don’t need to format the hdd before you replace it with the ssd

mshawn600 - Nov 3, 2016

Reply

will this fix my hard drive corruption.. i received a mac from ebay with no disk utility aswell

Francisco Moreno - Dec 3, 2016

Reply

I have the MacBook Pro mid-2012 15" and I have installed Samsung SSD 840 EVO 2.5" form factor drive and it fits fine. Really makes the MacBook fast.