This is very nicely put, and thank you for putting together this guide. However, I was wondering where to acquire a spare motherboard that has good chances to work. We are based in the EU but occasionally buy from stores elsewhere . Thank you.

I have managed to separate the connector with quite a lot of patience and perseverance. Although there is no sign of physical damage on either side (button end, button-cable/plate end) the Touch ID functionality was lot. Assuming that the damaged side is that of the button cable/plate, this item is not sold on the EU store.

Well done with this guide, which I had next to me as I replaced my 500 Gb HDD (WD5000AAKS SATA) for a 500 Gb SDD unit (Samsung 850 EVO).

However, I now have a fan spinning like mad, trying to cool a disk that is believed to be too hot, and that is due to the fact that my former HDD had a 8 pin port (4 per row), right next to the power and the SATA connectors, in which the HDD temperature sensor wire end of was plugged. That is, the HDD had a built-in temperature sensor. Since I could not connect this to the new SSD drive, leaving it open might be signaling my OS to keep the fan always on.

I would not want to disable the fan completely, however, nor I believe a third party software is really necessary. Ideally I'd disable a "fan on" signal in response to a "hot hard drive" signal. Is there anyone here who tried such a solution ?

It this is impossible, then I wonder what type of probe should I obtain and attach to what is now the loose end of the HDD temperature cable. Is this a thermistor?

Cheers, Max