Mac Repair Guides for Apple Macbook, iPad, Powerbook iPhone & iPod

Comments

Powerbook Medic 7 years ago	@Andy - No, they've changed a bit since this 2008 model.
Andy 7 years ago	Would the LCD and Hinges instructions work for the 11" 2012 Macbook Air?
Young 7 years ago	My mid 2013 MacBook Air had water damage which messed up the I/o board. I cleaned it out really well and purchased an I/o board from you guys previously. Maybe a month or so ago my MacBook died and won't cut back on. I have two MagSafe chargers and neither of them lights up when plugged in nor charges the MacBook. Sometimes I thought I could see a very faint light but it has stopped altogether. Is there a chance that the I/o board is damaged again?? I bought a back up battery from you guys as well just to make sure it wasn't a battery issue. I know it has something to do with getting the power thru the I/o to the battery. What could it be??? Please respond whenever you get a chance.
Tariq Naeem 8 years ago	A1237 MacBook air ... when power on ... beeps every 5 sec and no display ... what is the reason ... plz guide for solution.
Habir 10 years ago	To long info untuk service tombol keyboard MacBook Air, (notasi = commando), patah
Andy Kopac 10 years ago	Some things I have found that make this much easier are to use a credit card instead of a blade to separate the bezel from the screan so you don't damage the rubber trim. Also put a piece of cardboard over the screen and heat the bezel with a hair drier before attempting to remove it. Heat away from the screen.
Juan 10 years ago	Hi I am working on a MacBook Air (late 2008, A-1304). I need to remove the audio cable which is a flat ribbon cable. Have unplugged it at both ends. It appears to be glued (?) in place on the upper case (metal) and the back of the keyboard (flexible plastic). How do I remove without damaging ribbon cable and the back of keyboard? Hair dryer to heat up? Use a spudge? with heat? Thanks
Kevin 10 years ago	Do you sell just the hinge clutch (lower half) side of the hinge? Would that make repair easier by not having to remove the lcd bezel? It looks like you could just slide the lower half of the hinge onto the upper hinge post while the upper hinge is still attached to the lcd.
Powerbook Medic 10 years ago	@linda - once you get the display off, the clutch cover should slide off sideways.
linda 10 years ago	how do i remove and replace the long grey cover over the hinges thanks
Powerbook Medic 10 years ago	@Douglas - it should stick back on if there is enough adhesive and the bezel was not bent too badly during removal. sometimes additional adhesive may need to be added.
Douglas 10 years ago	How do you put the bezel back on?
Powerbook Medic 10 years ago	@Peter - once you take one of the hinges off, it should come off pretty easily.
Peter 10 years ago	Is there a video about removing the hinge cover part? I now have seperated my display from the case (not using your video), but in the video of the hinges, the mid cover is gone, and I can't find a video that shows how that is done?
Powerbook Medic 11 years ago	@Pierre - sounds like the microphone cable. It should be in the part list to the right.
Pierre 11 years ago	There's a cable that is attached to the Logic board, travels parallel to the heat sink, fan and HD then u-turns below the USB port and seem to go through the hinge. Could you tell me what cable that is and is it available to purchase?
Pierre 11 years ago	There is a broken wire that look like it was going through the right hinge, near the power on/off switch, running parallel to the HD and possibly to the function keys. What is that wire? Can it be replaced?
Pierre 11 years ago	Thank you for the info. Much appreciated.
Powerbook Medic 11 years ago	@Pierre - the last video in the series says Torx T7, so I'd go with that.
Pierre 11 years ago	What is the necessary screwdriver to remove the hinges on MacBook air original A1237. Is it a torx and what size?
PBJ 11 years ago	Once I have the hard drive removed and remove the black tape, how to I disconnect the drive cable ?
Powerbook Medic 11 years ago	@franklynb - in the front right corner is the audio board and speaker, so that might be what I'd look at first. definitely a strange issue though, which we'd really need to see in shop to give a good diagnosis.
franklynb 11 years ago	correction: "behavior continues until reset with crtl-command-powerdown for 3 seconds". this action repeatedly shuts light off. Powerup starts white LED and a clicking sound from the right front corner, like a solid state relay tripping once a second.
franklynb 11 years ago	A1237 just slowly flashes the white LED after poweron, but never boots. this behavior will continue until fn?-ctrl-opt-command-powerdown reset; then resume at next powerup. Applestore shrugs and says "logic board?". It DID try to boot ONCE after SMC reset; but not again in dozens of attempts. Can you hazard a second opinion or diagnostic method?
Powerbook Medic 11 years ago	@Ivan - you should be able to get to it by just taking off the bottom pan. In most cases with this model though, its the hinges going bad instead of just being loose.
Ivan 11 years ago	The hinges on m Mac air are lose. Is there a way to tighten then by just removing the bottom case? Or do I have to open up the LCD piece?
Powerbook Medic 11 years ago	@Ernesto - it should be in the part list to the right. If we are sold out you can sign up for an in-stock notification and you'll be emailed as soon as it comes back in stock.
Ernesto Albite 11 years ago	How can i order Macbook Air Display LVDS Display and iSight Cable?
Powerbook Medic 11 years ago	@Naidu - you can see the price of the LCD in the part list to the right. If you are wanting us to repair it, you can view pricing at the Send-in Mac Repair link at the top.
Naidu 11 years ago	Model no A1237. My LCD is broken as book case fallen on the laptop. Only LCD to be placed or entire back case pull. please advise. What would be the price.
Powerbook Medic 11 years ago	@alex - 3 beeps is typically a RAM issue, but with the RAM being built onto the logic board on macbook airs, you'll probably have to replace the board.
alex 11 years ago	i have a macbook air and one day the when i turn it on there was a white screen follow by 3 beeps whats wrong with it
Powerbook Medic 11 years ago	@tony - you'll probably want to talk with our techs if you are looking to have it repaired. It is difficult to see the extent of water damage without opening up the machine. You may need a new top case and logic board.
tony tran 11 years ago	mac book air 13" later 2010 has water dammage
Powerbook Medic 11 years ago	@Damien - the hinge is what usually needs replacing.
Damien 11 years ago	The listings on ebay have the clutch as being part of the hinge, rather than the whole part. It shows the smaller bracket (female part) and is all that is included. I didn't know if that is the part that wears down, or if it was the whole hinge assembly that needs replacing. Thanks for your response!
Powerbook Medic 11 years ago	@ Damien - hinges and clutches are generally the same part.
Damien 11 years ago	I purchased a MB Air with loose hinges. I'm looking to get replacements on eBay. Do I need to buy the whole hinge, or just the hinge clutch? I see a lot of listings for just the clutch sets.
Powerbook Medic 11 years ago	@Slowman - I can't think of anything at the hinge that would cause that behavior, so it is most likely an issue with the onboard RAM which may require a new logic board.
Slowman 11 years ago	Great videos. Thanks much. I have an MBA 1237 which I openned in a hurry last week and cracked my right hinge. The hinge mostly works, but doesn't close properly and slips a few degrees. Oddly enough, since then I have had I/O problems. Running disk utilities the first time fixed things, but a couple of days ago, something changed and the disk's been unusable. Still works but in safeboot (verbose mode) I get millions of i/o errors and things are agonizingly slow (mouse clicks register after 5 - 6minutes). Is this because of the hinge? Like some cable there that got cut. Or is just a failing HD that happended to co-incide?
Powerbook Medic 11 years ago	@Agi - we sell a 120GB SSD drive for the MacBook Air, but it is for the 2nd generation. You can see more details on that product page.
Agi 11 years ago	HI there, I need to buy 128 GB SSD drive for A1237. What is the compatible model that would fit the Air? Many thanks in advance.
Powerbook Medic 11 years ago	@Marcin - defintely sounds like you need a new top case. best way to find out is to use our Parts By Serial page above and put in your machine's serial number.
Marcin 11 years ago	I experience very weird trackpad behaviour in my A1304. Trackpad gets stucked on single click. When i turn my machine and i do not touch trackpad and operate only with external mouse everything is fine, but if i just once touch trackpad it is like operating with constantly depressed left click. I have tried may different solutions: hard drive and permissions repair, SMC and PRAM resets, clean Mac OS install, cleaning the connectors, etc. It brings me to the conclusion that I need to replace the topcase, unless you may have any other idea how to deal with this problem. I also looked for a definite answer if A1237 topcase will fit my A1304. I have 1,6 processor so maybe that helps to get final knowledge! Does anyone have experience on this one? How can I identify my top case verison? Where can i find its part number? Thank you very much for your help!
cody 12 years ago	I was looking at a touchscreen kit, with a thickness of 2mm (mac compatible). But i'm not sure if the display has the space for an additional 2mm
Powerbook Medic 12 years ago	@cody - no idea. I've never heard of anyone trying.
cody 12 years ago	can a touchscreen kit fit on the macmook air
Alexandros 12 years ago	Thanks!! as I push the cable toward to the lcd plastic i get different artifacts so I will replace the cacble and see.
Powerbook Medic 12 years ago	@Alexnadros - typically if you tilt the display and the issue gets better or worse it is more likely to be the cable. If the problem is consistent, however, it is usually the LCD.
Powerbook Medic 12 years ago	@Ari - you should be able to boot up into the OS X installer and run disk utility to see if the drive is reporting any errors, and it will tell you if it is repairable or not. If it is not, we sell drives here in the part list to the right.
Alexnadros Z 12 years ago	Would it be a sign of a bad lvds cable or the lcd itself? img846.imageshack.us/img846/2218/macairlcdproblem.jpg THANK you for your time...
Ari Wirawan 12 years ago	How come the HDD Flash Drive on my New Mac Book Air can not Read my application,,,I can't turn it on,,,And Mechanic told me to Buy the new HDD drive. How much it will cost for a new HDD Flash drive,and How can i order it?
francis from ghana 12 years ago	pls how do i get the screen connector for my mac book
Powerbook Medic 12 years ago	@Richard - it's almost a complete disassembly so not real easy.
Richard 12 years ago	How easy is it to change the complete top case with key board
tina 12 years ago	my hingers are fine, I have a giant thumb print on my display from an aggressive grab - do you have video of just replacing the LCD?
Powerbook Medic 12 years ago	@Dan - I would say it is probably a damaged display cable. The hinges would probably need to be replaced.
Dan 12 years ago	something hit my screen how it's a white screen, is that a sign of a bad lvds cable? lcd panel now folds all the way back, flat! What part of the hinges do you think are broken?
Powerbook Medic 12 years ago	@Charley - it sounds like you are describing the clutch cover. We sell it in the part list to the right.
Powerbook Medic 12 years ago	@Dan - We don't have a separate video for that, but you'll need to get to the point where you can disconnect all the cables that go up to the display and all hinge screws.
Charley 12 years ago	my plastic divider is crack--the grey thing in the middle that divides the keyboard and screen--what do you call it. Im looking for parts to replace it or does it come with the key board or the screen--need help please
Dan 12 years ago	How do you remove the cover/lcd/bezel whole unit from the base? Which video is that?
Powerbook Medic 12 years ago	@MicKinney - the last video in this series shows the webcam. It doesn't mention it, but you should be able to replace it following that video.
D McKinney 12 years ago	Can you show a video of how to get to webcam please???
Nataly (Russia) 12 years ago	I appreciate this video. It was very helpful for me. Thank you very much.
Powerbook Medic 12 years ago	@Terry - yes, the OS is on the hard drive. You'll need a backup disc or some way to copy the data over which is tricky on these drives.
Terry 12 years ago	if I change the Mac book air hard drive do I lose the operating system? I dont have back up disc
Powerbook Medic 12 years ago	@Michael - ya logic board or a damaged cable.
Michael 12 years ago	Have a MacBook Air 13", reports "No Airport Card Installed". Have replaced the Airport Card, still not recognised. Likely problem? (Logic board?) Thanks.
Fabio 12 years ago	My macbook air powers on but freezes on the gray screen with the clock turning. Is it possible to recover data at least?
bad luck johnny 12 years ago	Apple MacBook Air (Late 2010) Replacement Screens I see you offer one ,used, is there warranty to ensure that this will work? As well I don`t see replacement vid as the one mentioned is for a earlier version...
Powerbook Medic 12 years ago	@Phil - you can replace just the LVDS cable. We sell it in the product list to the right.
Phil 12 years ago	Can I replace only the LVDS broken cable from my macbook air A1237 or if that piece is broken I have to replaced the LCD screen with its own LVDS cable to make it work again?
Powerbook Medic 12 years ago	@Unlucky - with liquid spills it can affect a lot of things. Most likely your logic board is partially damaged, but it could just be the battery. I would have it professionally diagnosed or open it yourself to check for corrosion.
Unlucky man 12 years ago	Can you help me ? Someone tilt a cup of coffe over my MacBook air, i can turn it on but it Will not charge at all
Leigh 12 years ago	My macbook air powers on but freezes on the gray screen with the clock turning. I'm told by apple store that data recovery may be possible, but I def need hard drive replacement. And that I can upgrade to a 120 GB from the 80 GB in the machine. Once I get the new hard drive, must I re install all additional programming or is it possible to transfer software from old hard drive?
Powerbook Medic 12 years ago	@Mitesh - 5 flashes typically signifies a bad battery that needs to be replaced. It usually will still turn on with just the power adapter but there may be something more severe with the power management. I would take it to Apple to have checked out.
Mitesh M 12 years ago	I am having a problem with my mac A1237 when i plug the power cable on the mag safe board the led light blinks 5 times then turns the computer on it does not turn when i push the power button. Can u help me
wes mantooth 12 years ago	@Leaik - The hinge does not come apart. My right hinge had the same problem... I ended up having to remove the LCD and follow this procedure. PS: Be careful not to cut the LVDS cable on the bottom side of the screen just inside the left hinge.
Warren L 12 years ago	Yes well after removing a slew of screws and disconnecting more cables the LCD finally did com free from the keyboard top assembly. However it is still not intuitive how you remove the clutch so it is easy to run the razor blade under the bottom of the bezel. It really is a dis-service that you completely skip over these parts.
Powerbook Medic 12 years ago	@John and mark - Once you finish with the logic board, it should be fairly easy. There should be some screws for the hinges and once you have those out, the display should separate.
John 12 years ago	Could you kindly tell us how do you separate the screen from the macbook air? Thanks
unclemarkmark 12 years ago	just curious, why post a video about removing the lcd but not a video on how to separate LCD from the macbook?
Leaik 12 years ago	The left side hinge on my MBA A1237 is broken. The half of the hinge that is attached to the screen seems intact. Is it possible to separate a new hinge, so that the bottom part of the new hinge can unite with screen part of the old hinge? It would be great not having to remove the LCD panel.
Powerbook Medic 12 years ago	@Jeremy - there should be a small black or grey locking bar that you need to gently flip up then the cable should go in and out fairly easily.
Jeremy K 12 years ago	How do you remove the ZIF cable from the hard drive? I'm afraid I'm going to break it! :(
Powerbook Medic 13 years ago	@yel0sub - hard to do a printable video. our site works fine on ipads and iphones though if you have one of those.
yel0sub 13 years ago	Wish you had a printable copy. Using this means I have to have two macs -- one I work on, one I watch on.
Sky 13 years ago	Excellent job of the video work, One thing im missing is do you have a video on Seperating the Screen holder from the body?
Powerbook Medic 13 years ago	@giorgitaly - there are three different types of screws, 2 long, 2 medium, and 6 short I believe
giorgitaly 13 years ago	in the bottom case, are screws all identical or different?? sorry for my bad english.
Powerbook Medic 13 years ago	@mhar - yes they use the same screen.
mhar 13 years ago	just another question...are two different models of macbook air (e.g. a1237 & A1304) have the same size and part number of the LCD that they use? if i have to replace one of the model can i substitute the lcd of the other model?
Powerbook Medic 13 years ago	@mhar - the hinges were not available separately at the time this video was made so we didn't bother covering it. we don't have an ETA on when we'll get it filmed.
mhar 13 years ago	very nice video though cant you show us how to remove the hinges or replace it?
carlos 13 years ago	just realized there is a "view all comments" link. pratik murarka asked my question much more simply then i did. so it looks like i am going to have to remove the entire lcd panel to replace the lcd back case. i guess i can do it, thank you.
carlos 13 years ago	I have a macbook air (2,1) with hinges about to break. apple will fix your hinges for FREE even out of warranty.... AS LONG AS THERE IS NO PHYSICAL DAMAGE ON THE LAPTOP (the hinges are a known defect). my air has one small ding and so they want to charge me $600 to replace the hinges. i figure i can just replace the metal lcd case (the part with the lit apple logo) my self for under $50 bucks. then go back to apple and they will do the hinges for free since the ding will be gone. Now here is my question, can i take the metal case off of the lcd without having to remove the entire LCD panel from the rest of the laptop? i have watched the video, and it seems like all these steps could be done while the screen is still connected to the laptop base. is this possible/advisable. i just want the quickest way to replace it, while doing it safely. thank you.
Powerbook Medic 13 years ago	@pratik - you'll need to remove the display and then take the display apart all the way.
pratik murarka 13 years ago	how to remove back case
PRATik Murarka 13 years ago	NICE VIDEO HELPED ME A LOT . SAVED MY 200$ THNX...
Powerbook Medic 13 years ago	@Kythe - you shouldn't have to. There are some small screws on the clutch cover, so don't forget about those.
Kythe 13 years ago	I am still trying to replace my broken hinge there seems t be some info missing because I cannot figure out how to disconnect the two parts of the computer or how to access the hinges. Do I need to dismantle the entire computer.? Magboard, fan battery etc?
Harrie Meijers 13 years ago	Very clear video. Thanks it was a great help.
Powerbook Medic 13 years ago	@kythe - its usually just cosmetic, but it can get to the point if it gets too lose where it starts rubbing up against the casing when you open and close it. It is mainly just there to hide the cables going up into the display and to hide the wifi stuff.
kythe 13 years ago	Thanks Doctor. Would the cracked cover be ok to reuse once I replace the hinges? ( if you follow) Its still in one piece.
Powerbook Medic 13 years ago	@kythe - that's typically called the clutch cover. it is unfortunately not available for sale separately and only comes with a new display from Apple. You may can find one used somewhere though.
kythe 13 years ago	I plan to replace the broken hinges on my Macbook Air. What about the slim grey cylindrical plastic piece that sits between the hinges ( hinge cover? ) It is cracked . Should this be replaced, what is it called and can I obtain one?
Powerbook Medic 13 years ago	@Stas - we don't have a video of that, but it should be fairly easy. There are screws in the bottom part at the hinges. just remove the screws and it should lift out.
Stas 13 years ago	Can you please show how to separate the LCD part and the bottom part of MacBook Air - this is not shown in your video, and I am stuck there (I do not want to break plastic hinge cover!!!). Thanks :)
johnmalc 13 years ago	Update re my earlier question. NO dismantling needs to be done to replace only the screen, just carefully remove the screen bezel. I used a smaller craft knife, for flexibility, and did no damage to the rubber or (broken) LCD. The hardest part is re-attaching the screen cable, patience is required... From start to finish about one hour. Hope this helps someone out there.
Chris 13 years ago	How can I replaced touch pad mechanism on MacBook Air. It doesn't respond sometimes.
johnmalc 13 years ago	Like JaXon I only need to replace the screen and would appreciate knowing the minimum teardown to achieve this. Thanks in advance.
Powerbook Medic 13 years ago	@JaXon - it is recommended but not required.
JaXon 13 years ago	Do i need to disassemble the whole bottom part to replace the LCD ?
Rick 13 years ago	Thank you for these instructions. They gave me the confidence to disassemble my MacBook Air and install a new top case and keyboard. In the comment below I asked about the interconnect board. It turns out that this long narrow board that acts as a junction between the logic board on one side and the keyboard and trackpad on the other was supplied with the top case/keyboard assembly, which I purchased from Powerbook Medic via this site. Thanks again - I've proven that it takes more than a glass of lemonade to kill a MacBook Air after all. :-) Rick.
Rick 13 years ago	The interconnect board I'm referring to is a long narrow board that a number of ribbon cables connect to, included cables from the keyboard and trackpad. Larger ribbon cables then connect from this board to the logic board. I've seen it called the interconnect board at step 19 of iFixit MacBook Air teardown pages. (sorry, link not permitted!) Is this interconnect board just a part of the logic board? Thanks! :-) Rick.
Powerbook Medic 13 years ago	@Rick - what interconnect board are you referring to? The logic board?
Rick 13 years ago	Liquid was spilled into a MacBook Air I use. I need to replace the top case/keyboard assembly and the interconnect board. Any clues as to where I can source an interconnect board? I'm assuming it's not included with the top case/keyboard assembly. Thanks.
Powerbook Medic 14 years ago	@Jason - These are just take-apart guides. Reassembly is just following the video in reverse.
Jason 14 years ago	Where is the reassembly instructions
Schwarz 14 years ago	some feedback: you may wish to zoom into the detailed parts (if u hv another person who holds the videocam)?
Schwarz 14 years ago	u even teach how we repair it!!! very great stuff indeed!!! i'd be very happy to buy from you!!! can you make and post a video of how you can get the display out from the top case/keyboard (i.e procedures before this video)? my MBA has one of its hinges broken atm and the screen now whites out. i'm not sure if i need just that broken hinge, both hinges, the LVD cable, or even the LCD until i separate the two apart i guess? any advice from you about how we diagnose faulty parts would be highly appreciated!!! cheers.
Powerbook Medic 14 years ago	@nickel - unfortunately unless you can find a used one, the only way to replace display parts is to buy a complete display.
nickel8781@comcast.net 14 years ago	backstrap that holds hinges, is brokeing on one side.where can i get a new one
Powerbook Medic 14 years ago	To change the top case /keyboard, you have to disassemble the entire unit by following each video in order.
Tux 14 years ago	Any update on instructions for changing the top cover/keyboard? This is especially helpful for multi-language users.
Powerbook Medic 14 years ago	There is also the iSight cable. We currently don't provide the internal display screws.
hassan 14 years ago	Great stuff. I have to fix my son's air book. Its split into two and the cables are ripped apart(the screen + keyboard) I know I need hinges and cables LVDS display and Microphone Cables. Any other cables that run from the display to the CPU? I am also missing some screws do you supply screws as well? Thanks
sayed 14 years ago	please just i want to change LVDS cable because i think my mac book air need to change this cable
Kariya 14 years ago	Would like to know how do you get the plastic cover that breaks before the hinges. Does this come with the hinges or a separate part. I love this video and i am going to attempt this soon.
Powerbook Medic 14 years ago	The LCD and Hinge replacement video is now up and is the last video in the playlist.
Max 14 years ago	Can you give a video on how to replace the macbook air hinges?
rohanl 14 years ago	+1 for LCD replacement video
Pete 14 years ago	Great video.
PK 14 years ago	Yes, I bought a top cover weeks ago as well and need instructions...help!
Powerbook Medic 14 years ago	We'll have one soon. Check back for updates.
Ray 14 years ago	I need to echange the top cover too! Help!
Tomas Gonzalez 14 years ago	please post a video on how-to remove the MacBook Air LCD screen.