Retina MacBook 2015 Upper 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.

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

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”

Reconocimiento y desconexión de conectores de cable

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.

On the 2016 model the tri-point Y00 is actually a Phillips screw, so need of that special tool.

The 2015 model has the Phillips—PH000

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.

On my 2015 model, I needed PH000 for the screw marked in red, and T5 (as described) for the screw marked in orange

The 2015 model has the Phillips—PH000

-jay

Confirmation as well, 2015 model does not have a tri-tip, but actually a Phillips head.

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.

Emphasis on aligning the bracket correctly. What the pictures do not show is that underneath the flat part of the metal bracket (the area between the two screw holes) is a connector that needs to be accurately aligned. Aligning the two screw holes does not imply that the connector is seated correctly.

After I re-assembled my 2015 MacBook power would not come on. I thought I had damaged the logic board despite being careful and following instructions. Diagnosing the problem took a while. Retracing the steps and focusing on power supply I was able to determine that the metal flap which hides the connector underneath had not made proper contact.

What I did was to use a finger to get a tactile feel for the connector underneath the metal bracket aligning properly and then press down vertically when it seemed to be aligned. It’s a subtle tactile feel. After re-doing this step, I got power back. Be careful not to damage the connector as noted in the instructions.

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.

I broke the microphone assembly ribbon cable, from step twenty five. Is there anyway to fix this, soldering kit, or can I order a new cable online?

On your way back during reassembly, as long as you are VERY careful with the ribbon once you do it, it is easier to reattach the ribbon in the connector before reseating the audio jack board.

If you are replacing the case upper case check to see if your replacement case has a microphone assembly included. If it does you can skip 28-30

very difficult to remove, even with heat. Can be purchased on eBay for ~ $10

The upper case sold by iFixit comes with the dual mic

So this was very hard to take off. I probably didn’t allow enough time for the adhesive to heat up and loosen. But I noticed that my new upper case assembly already came with a new dual microphone assembly attached. I’m assuming that all new upper assemplies will come with a microphone preinstalled. If that’s the case this part is not necessary and can be skipped in my opinion.

On the 2016 model the USB-C is actually one whole part and can be removed once the display is removed, unfortuanatelly.

There is a small metal part that falls off once the display cable screws are removed and you try to separate the display from the top cover. Just make sure you put it back correctly.

this was a 00 philips on my 1.1ghz 2015 gold macbook.

Be careful not to lose the rubber grommet!

Great guide!!! Thank you!!! It is not very difficult to replace the keyboard / top cover. However, for some reason the computer didn’t immediately started, I had to reset and connect to power supply and then it started and works fine.