DIY Guide to Replace MacBook Pro 13 Unibody Early 2011 Optical Drive
Duration: 45 minutes
Steps: 16 Steps
Heads up! While you tackle this repair, remember to keep your workspace tidy and take your time. If you hit a snag, don’t sweat it—just take a breather and remember, help is just a click away. If you need assistance, you can always schedule a repair!
Follow this guide to swap out that pesky broken optical drive with ease! If you find yourself needing a helping hand, feel free to schedule a repair.
Step 1
– Time to get those screws out! Let’s tackle the task of removing the ten screws listed below:
Step 2
– Gently use your fingers to pop the lower case off the body of your MacBook, especially around the vent area. It’s like a little dance, just be careful!
– Now, go ahead and remove that lower case. You’re doing great!
Step 3
Gently nudge both short sides of the connector upward to help it ease out of its socket. Just a heads up, be cautious around the corners of the connectors—they’re a bit delicate and can break off easily!
– Gently nudge the battery connector upwards from its cozy spot on the logic board using the edge of a spudger. You’ve got this!
Tools Used
Step 4
– Gently nudge the battery cable a little away from its socket on the logic board. This way, it won’t sneakily reconnect while you’re in the zone working on your device.
Step 5
– Gently use the flat end of a spudger to lift the AirPort/Bluetooth ribbon cable connector out of its cozy spot on the logic board. You’ve got this!
Tools Used
Step 6
Gently pull the cable straight out, keeping it parallel to the logic board. Tugging it upwards might put a damper on your logic board or the cable itself.
While iFixit staff might raise an eyebrow at this one, some adventurous users choose to skip this step entirely. If you’re curious about their thoughts, be sure to check out the comments for more insights.
– Gently wiggle that camera cable out of its cozy spot on the logic board. You’ve got this!
Step 7
– Gently nudge the AirPort/Bluetooth ribbon cable aside while you peel the camera cable off the sticky stuff keeping it attached to the subwoofer and the AirPort/Bluetooth bracket.
– Guide the camera cable out from beneath the little retaining finger shaped into the AirPort/Bluetooth bracket.
Step 8
– Grab your trusty spudger and gently nudge the antenna connector nearest to the logic board, lifting it out of its cozy spot on the AirPort/Bluetooth board.
– Now, carefully guide the antenna cable away from under the finger molded into the AirPort/Bluetooth bracket.
Tools Used
Step 9
– Grab your trusty Phillips #00 screwdriver and get ready to unscrew! You’ll want to pop off these five screws to keep things moving along.
Tools Used
Step 10
– Gently lift the AirPort/Bluetooth assembly and the Subwoofer up near the center of the optical drive until they clear each other. No need to rush, take your time!
– Carefully slide the AirPort/Bluetooth assembly and the subwoofer away from the top of the optical drive. You’ve got this!
Step 11
– Gently coax the right speaker/subwoofer cable out from its snug spot beneath the retaining finger, just by the optical drive.
– Now, give that right speaker/subwoofer cable a little lift to gracefully disconnect it from the logic board.
Step 12
– Grab your trusty spudger and gently nudge that hard drive cable connector up from its cozy spot on the logic board. It’s like a little cable yoga session!
– Now, give that hard drive cable a gentle bend away from the optical drive. You got this!
Tools Used
Step 13
– Gently use the flat end of a spudger to lift the optical drive connector out of its cozy little home on the logic board. You’ve got this!
Tools Used
Step 14
– Let’s get those three 2.7 mm Phillips screws out of the way that are holding the optical drive to the upper case! Grab your trusty screwdriver and let’s make some progress.
Step 15
– Gently lift the optical drive from the edge nearest to the display and slide it out of the upper case.
Step 16
Make sure to grab the connector, not the cable itself. You’ve got this!
– Gently pull the optical drive cable away from its cozy home in the optical drive.
– Unscrew those two black Phillips #0 screws holding the small metal mounting bracket in place. Don’t forget to transfer this trusty bracket to your shiny new optical drive or hard drive enclosure!
