MacBook Unibody Model A1342 Trackpad Replacement

The screws on the Late 2009 are identical. The blue lock compound might make tightening some require a little more effort.

Gregoire is right. The 8 screws are absolutely NOT identical, I’m looking at them right now, weeowey weeowey.

Rather than running your fingernail down the sides to free up the retaining clips, I found that using an old credit card, inserted about 1/4”, to run along the left and right side popped those end retaining clips right off with no problem. You may need to twist the card slightly when in the middle area to help pop those off.

Hi,

for error I did step 3 as last one. The battery now is no more recognized by my macbook.

Did I make such a tremendous mistake that cause the battery to fail ??

5mm tri-wing screw??

Its hardly that big. It certainly requires a tri-wing screwdriver much smaller than a 5mm tri-wing screwdriver - "Y1" is probably 1mm. The smallest I had was a 2mm tri-wing screwdriver and it just worked ok.

I think this and step 5 should be edited with better information.

The original iFixit guide described the step 4 screws as "tri-wing" but that is incorrect, it should say "tri-point" or "Y", and the required screwdriver diameter is 2 mm, not 5 mm. See this image:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scr...

The top row is tri-wing, the bottom row is tri-point, as found in this MacBook.

My tri-wing screws were black, 2mm and totally seized up. I had to break the plastic around the screw holes in the battery, remove it and then un screw them with long nose pliers. Needless to say they are now replaced with Philips screws.

A Y1 screwdriver emphatically did not fit mine - so in case it saves others buying a useless set of security bits like I did, you need a Y0, like this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/tri-wing-y0-tri...

A small ~2mm flat-head screwdriver will fit across two of the points and have enough leverage to do the trick as well.

When I re-installed the battery, I inadvertently ripped the ribbon between the Trackad ribbon and the battery ribbon. Be Careful!

"Remove three 3.1 mm Phillips screws securing the battery near the edge of the upper case".

Using the tools I bought from iFixit, I have got this far, no worries :)

The channels underneath/around these screws appear damaged and will not allow the screw to unwind and come out, therefore, the screws are "stuck". (This is by no means an indictment of the mini screwdrivers.) Any suggestions to help, because the replacement battery will not fit with these screws in place. Thanks.

These last 3 screws were a bit** to get off. One of them actually would not come out but I managed to slip the battery out anyways. Maybe it nudged just enough. Getting it back in was okay, just slid it under. Fit was snug, had to be careful not to break or crimp the ribbon in front of the battery connector, as Joel stated. Simply snipped a piece of the plastic tab from the old battery and stood it up in this spot and slid the battery down, this kept the ribbon from crimping. Only one of these last 3 screws that I did get out, did I put back in. Not sure why they are there as the tabs that hold them are enough to hold the battery. All other screws and battery connector worked like a charm. Replaced the cover, turn it on and Whala!!! Only got a message that said I needed to reset the Date & Time. Got it on the charger now, as new battery only had 75% charge, so fingers crossed it will recharge at a 100% and last longer than the old battery before it's next charge. Good luck everyone!!

I did this a while ago and I just wanted to add that my trackpad wouldn't click. As soon as I had the battery out I was stuck by how loose the set screw was (big flat torx head screw at the bottom center of the track pad). I had to play with the tension a little bit to get it an acceptable level of play but now my track pad works like new. Thanks iFixit and everyone who contributes to these guides!

Can Absolutely confirm weeowey weeowey's comment. Put your hand under the trackpad and really give the screwdriver some pressure. You might end up damaging a screw, but every replacement trackpad I've ever bought has come with replacement screws.

When remounting the trackpad, ensure you support it from the keyboard side when tightening the screws to ensure it's not crooked.

Highly recommend adjusting the T6 torx screw to ensure correct operation of the trackpad. Have the battery connected but not installed (so as to have access to the screw). Start up the computer. Test the click function at any time. Using very minor adjustments, turn the screw until you can see that the computer responds to clicks. When you are satisfied that it is working correctly, go ahead and shut down the computer and proceed with reassembly. It doesn’t hurt to give the unit a good clean while you are in there as this will avoid problems later, eg overheating due to dust blocking airflow etc. use an artists paintbrush and a vacuum cleaner or (gently) blow it away with (clean) compressed air. Some compressors have oil spray or water from condensation in the air, so use a filter in the line to avoid contamination.