Retina MacBook 2015 Lower Case Assembly Replacement

If, like me, you didn’t have a P5 Pentalope screwdriver but did have one that fits an iPhone.

You can sand down the tip until it’s the right size.

Hello,

where do I plug the USB-C to USB-A cable on MacBook MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)

I can’t any port suitable for USB-c !??

My MacBook had P4 pentalobe screws, notP5

This step at the suggested height tears the ribbon cable. do step 7 first. carefully

Hi what will happen if i skip this step, coz i did tried to power down the battery by pressing small gold button, but no avail. the LED light still there even after more than 5 times press (5-10secs or more) each press.

Mi laptop doesn’t turn it on doing that ):

Before the IPD flex cable can be removed the battery disconnect button has be held down for up to 10 seconds. If the LED near the battery connector is switched on it shows that there is power going through the logic board from the battery, once the button is pressed and this light goes off the machine is safe to be worked on.

This is very tricky indeed - at least on my computer. I failed at this point - having skipped to it as sugested above so as not to stress the ribbons on the other side. The ZIF was not as I expected. They had opened when I pulled up the stick cover and I found I was working on the socket itself. The top edge came adrift after almost no pressure being put on it. The ribon did not come free with gentle pulling though. At that point I put the back on again… waited until the battery recharged a bit and found I had not nroken it after all. I doubt I shall try again. It is much harder to replace than the 15 inch - much…

I’ve just found that I have broken it after all. No keyboard. Bluetooth still works so I can use the machine.

All in all, an expensive mistake. BTW - I did NOT get the kit from IFIXIT - not sold here.

I found “Recognizing & Disconnecting Cable Connectors”

Reconnaître et débrancher les connecteurs

useful, esp. for someone who has not used ZIF connectors and retaining flaps before. There are several retaining flaps that need to be opened. The first time is tricky as you need a sense of how much force to apply. I used the flat end of the provided spudger. Apply progressively firmer upward pressure until the retaining flap pops open. The first time is tricky, but straightforward thereafter.

You can open the laptop screen all the way open with it flat in the table (screen facing up) and the keyboard should stay up.

the moment you opening macbook case and before any tinkering with connections, you MUST press little yellow button on logicboard, located on the right from battery connector - this will disable all power to the board. You can check by looking at the small led on left side of the battery connector - if there is very faint light, it means that power is still there. After pressing button light should go off. Removing screw is not necessary at all, and like I said - you MUST disable power before any touching to connections etc.

Where it says

“2015 models have a silver grounding clip with two foam pads directly under this screw“

I have a 2015 MacBook & the grounding clip is not there!

I’m using this guide to investigate why there are lines on screen or darker screen at certain angles of opening it. Also a background ghosting effect on screen too.

No obvious damage or loose connectors so wondered if the lack of grounding clip can cause these symptoms?

Anybody out there know?

I HAD TO DO THIS TWICE. After replacing the battery while following this guide to a 'T', the battery was not being recognized by the logic board. Strangely, with the power unplugged it would still light up the screen and tell me the battery was at a critical level, but it would not boot. Resetting the SMC had no effect. I thought I killed my computer or got a bad battery, so as a last ditch effort I re-opened the case, pressed the battery disconnect button, removed the screw and inserted the battery separation tool again to Physically Disconnect the battery from the mainboard. After about 5 minutes I then removed the tool and reassembled everything, plugged in via 5v iphone charger and USBA-C cable again and LO, the battery is now reporting correctly, charging correctly and allowing me to boot on its power .

This was oddly the hardest part. That Tri-Point screw just wouldn’t budge! I had to sand the end of the only Tri-point screwdriver I had in the end to get it to fit.

Be sure to get the metal plate under the chip near where the PT5 screw is before tightening

I should have read the comments before using the provided 1.1 mm Tri-point Y00 bit. I almost stripped the screw but was able to use a small flat head bit to open the screw.

Ifixit: you may want to update this part in the instructions. Not everyone reads the comment section, esp. when it comes to specification of bits which is basic and must be accurate. This is one of the more critical ones in the procedure that can easily go south. The rest of the instructions are excellent.

early 2015 model here. I’ve used a Y1.5 with cautiously applied down force.

My 2015 had a 2.5mm Y screw not a Y000.

Adding to the helpful comments above, on replacing the 1.1mm tripoint screw, I found the the magnetism of the nearby speaker coil overcame that of the driver and would draw the screw away or the combo of forces would fling it out of the work area! After fiddling with it for too long, I used some of the battery adhesive removed earlier to attached the screw to the driver. Wax would probably work better if I’d had some.

I used the PH00 head to unscrew what they call the “1.1 mm Tri-point Y00 screw”, NOT the Y00 head, and it unscrewed perfectly fine.

hey my macbook do not have sound after replacing the topcase, i did connect everything like here you did, also I did the reset of PR and NVRAM. What Can I check more? simply when I open the OS, there is no audio device at all

A step was skipped. You have to flip up the metal locking tab on the socket before the cable can be removed. See the photo.

And be careful when re-inserting the connector. One end of the two indentations got a little bent (I did not notice) which resulted in a black screen when powering up. I used a heat gun (low setting) to separate the cable from the labtop housing. When re-assembling, first insert the connector (after closing the metal flap as instructed), verify that it’s properly seated, then re-attach the rest of the cable to the laptop housing. In the first try, I first re-attached the cable to the housing, then tried to insert the cable connected into the metal socket. Because of a lack of slack, the cable connector at one end got bent slightly. After identifying the problem, I had to straighten it/unbend out using my fingers. Hence it is easier to insert the connector first, then attach the rest of the cable to the laptop housing.

Removing the logicboard must be safer way, but battery replacement can be accomplished if you skip here to step 32, and omit 36.

The supplied tweezer is no good. You need one with grooves as shown in the picture. When re-inserting the antenna connectors, make sure that they are seated properly before pushing down. If you have magnifying equipment, use that to get visual confirmation. I used tactile feedback from my fingers to discern proper alignment. Try not to force it.

I used the tweezers provided by iFixit. I struggled with both connectors and finally managed to disconnect both, but when I came back to reconnect them, I realized that both connectors on the logic board were loose. Long story short, it turns out that my little exciting adventure changing the battery cost me $530 to send it for repair at Apple Care. I am quite good at troubleshooting Mac and used to work for Apple for many years. This one step is more dangerous than it seems, because you can end up like me, without wifi on your mac. Honestly, for those who think they can do it, think twice. You can thank me later…

For me this step was the only point where I had a bit of trouble. The supplied tweezers were not the best for disconnecting the antenna connectors as Ki Park points out already. In my case the outer ring of one of the connectors on the logic board bended slightly. It bended back in place during assembly and the wifi works as normal again after the repair. It is very tricky though, really be careful in this step and use other tools as necessary.

BY FAR THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF THE JOB!. I broked one connector and spent an hour with high powered magnifiers to try a repair. Wasted an hour on this. Id suggest leaving the logic board in place if possible

I had no problem with this. The key is to come toward the connectors from the opposite direction from that shown in the photo. Easier to grip the connector.

I broke one. Looking back, it may have been safer to detach the motherboard from the case before disconnecting the antenna, as it allows more angles to access them. 😢

Broke a connector. Now what?

Once the logic board has been replaced, when following these instructions in the reverse order it should be pointed out that the all the flaps are flipped down. A distracted person might try to force in the flat connector before realising that he has to flip up the flap of the new logic board.

“Reattach the tape securely during reassembly.”

In my case the tape did not stick properly to the lower case anymore and also came a bit loose from the logic board. Nonetheless my macbook works fine after the repair, so I'm not sure how important the EMI tape is. If I experience problems in the future I might open the macbook up again and check the tape and perhaps reattach it better with some new glue. There is probably special glue needed, so I'll look into that when it becomes an issue.