iMac Intel 27" EMC 2546 Logic Board Replacement

Didn’t need the cardboard wedge to remove the display. Waste of money. Lay your Mac on its back.

Die verlinkte Karton-Reparaturhilfe ist für den 21"-iMac. Passt sie auch 1:1 für das 27"-Modell?

Before you start this process, please check if your Mac has a Fusion Drive. If so, ensure that you have a full backup onto an external drive (maybe via 'Restore' from the old to new drive with the Disk Utility) so you can later migrate the data into the new computer. Otherwise this process causes the Fusion Drive to be split, and you lose all the data that was on the old drive. Most of my files were on iCloud but I did lose the local data and it apparently cannot be recovered once the Fusion Drive is split.

Removing the original adhesive is easier than removing newly applied adhesive (e.g., if you have to reopen iMac).  If you should happen to need to reopen the iMac, please use extreme caution and highly consider my suggestions below.

When using the pizza cutter tool, do the first few steps in reverse starting with step 8.  Starting on the left side is better since this is where the adhesive is narrowest.  The right side has two antennas and the top right has one, see the pictures for step 18-21, they are the brass colored metal rectangles near the edges.  The adhesive on these pieces are wider and therefore have more holding power.  The thickness of the pizza cutter tool is enough to crack the glass.

I would highly, highly, highly recommend AGAINST doing this at home. I followed these instructions to a T, and still somehow managed to have the screen not be able to turn on after the hard drive replacement. Then, once you’ve opened your Mac yourself, Apple will refuse to fix anything on the computer, and even other third party, Apple-authorized repair facility will refuse to repair it for you, and you will have to locate a non-authorized Apple repair facility. There, I am having to pay ~$600 to fix things that got screwed up, even though I followed the instructions here to a T, step by step, and did everything slowly and methodically.

Beware, if you’ve never done this before, that be locked out of ever being able to use an Apple repair facility, or Apple-authorized repair facility, if you mess things up here now.

First impressions so far: yes it can be a bit nerve wrecking if it is your first time doing this sort of thing and even with lots of experience with a 2011 model it’s still a bit unsettling haha (nervous laughter).

What I recommend: use a guitar pick to start cutting the glue. You’ll need a bit of pressure so do just the tip.

Once you’ve done the whole perimeter (minus bottom) do it again but now it should be easier to go deeper so go very slow and careful. Then get the old suction cups used to open older models and start lifting the display very carefully to see where it’s still glued and cut those as well.

Then you should be done and now the real fun begins! :D

It’s ridiculous. Apple should pay for doing this. Like glue parts together to block a repair / make difficult. I smashed my iMac. FU Apple. Seriously, every product I owned had hardware issues. For example, bad solder joints. Never again Apple. I’m happy with Windows and in 2018 / 2019 there are many other manufacturers with high quality stuff. Apple is dying, if they do not change …

NOTE: I followed every step word for word, but the adhesive strips supplied are as bad as double sided tape. Within 48hours the screen had slipped off and cracked. Now I need to fork out for a new screen and try again.

Not sure what to try next time with strips? Perhaps a bit of glue to help hold it??

After disconnecting the power cord and before cutting the panel adhesive, push and hold the power button for 10 seconds. This will discharge the power supply capacitors. In case you accidentally touch the solder joints on the board, you won't be shocked and drop the panel.

Just completed the Core i5 to i7 CPU upgrade and can strongly recommend getting the “pizza tool” to cut the display adhesive. It worked flawlessly and was done in less than 5 minutes. No inadvertent cables cut. No display problems.

Thank you very much for the tutorial. You are the best!

After reading all the post here I almost gave up doing this on my own. But I did it anyway and was succesful. I would recommend everyone to use the rollcutter. There is no risk of harming the screen if you use it. And in my case it was enough to open the imac. If you do not harm the screen connector or the screen the biggest part is done. It gets easier once you`ve stacked your screen somewhere safe. The parts inside are mostely not as delicate as the heavy and expensive screen!

Take your time and work carefully. It is definitely doable!

I think Dan is right as I decided it best to complete the process with the adhesive tapes to secure the screen. I just took some time to do a complete clean of the interior before sealing the display.

Ordered the full kit to replace my busted 3TB disc hard drive. All the tools work and are excellent. These pictorial and instructional install videos are complete, easy to use, and have good imagery. The 2TB SSD installed exactly as depicted. I used some 3M double sided automotive emblem tape to stick adapter to iMac case, no probs there. The adhesive strips also worked fine and stick firmly. Screen is solidly mounted, no falling out here. IFixit is awesome and this kit saved my over $1200 in getting another iMac. Highly recommended.

I found the 'pizza cutter' surprisingly smooth at cutting through four-year-old adhesive.

In my experience the cutter also worked very well for cutting the original adhesive. Unfortunately when I was reinstalling the display with the new adhesive strips, somehow the display power connector came loose. I had to open the display a second time and the cutter was not as effective against the new adhesive. I managed to break the cutter tool plastic wheel and cause a few small cracks in the edge of the displays glass as I worked! Be careful and go slowly!

The cutting tool worked great until I accidentally twisted it a bit while rounding a corner. A chunk of the wheel snapped off, making the rest of the job quite a bit more challenging. Just make sure you are keeping the tool directly parallel with the screen.

I concur, opening the screen a 2nd time is considerably more difficult because the adhesive strips are thinner than the original, which makes getting the cutting tool inserted much more difficult….as a result unknowingly I elongated a small crack to a much longer crack and somehow, the LCD now has a wide grey strip from top to bottom….The first time opening was easy, second time resulted in a ruined screen.. The cost of. a replacement LCD is the same has replacing the entire computer….I would recommend anyone attempting to remove the screen for any reason, do not use the aftermarket adhesive strips if you ever intend to open it up; again, or cut the strips much shorter, or possibly use a few pieces of scotch tape or similar to hold the screen in place….since the screen tilts back, this should not be a problem…Good luck…

The pizza cutter will sink in all the way to the tool handle when the adhesive is full cut, but don’t feel you have to do this in one motion. Some parts cut easier and some require a lot (like 20x) of gentle back and forth.

what about the part where the camera is though? do I just treat it like the rest of the screen?

yes. the tool can’t go too deep

I measured a depth several positions.

- About 6 centimeters near iSight Camera center, you must no use iMac opening tool, because iSight element exists.

- iMac opening tool has a 9mm radius, so it may break iSight camera element.

- Making a plastic card stacking 2 or 3 to 3mm, under the iMac opening tool, that makes inserting a gap 5~6mm like below.

@. iMac opening tool

====== plastic card3 (credit card 1mm)

====== plastic card2 (1mm)

====== platic card1. (1mm)

———————————————— isight camera element (total 5~6cm) ————

In my case, i got a display problem where lcd display yellow connector was torn without care.

Be helpful.

I actually DESTROYED my display (black vertical strips) by pushing the card in a bit TOO DEEP. So it is REALLY important to insert the card only a bit (1-2mm) more than the cutter wheel, in particular at the top side, where many flat cables connect the panel with the PCB. These can be damaged very easily!

Same thing with me…. Pushed cards to far…. new panel needed…€600…..

i think ifixit needs to place a bigger caveat, as I have missed it the first time

i successfully upgraded two imacs. one opened with ifixit pizza knife and another with a regular paper knife. however, when i had to open the first one once again i broke its screen glass. it seems ifixit adhesive strips are too strong. next time i’ll try to use heater to weaken glue tension.

I broke one too. And even if you think you did it correctly, you’ll not be able to see where you might have gone too far. You would think it’s very protected behind that metal plate, but no. Take special care with this offence to “right to repair” This should have been designed WAY better. I mean replacing a hardrive that is very likely to fail over the course of time, or even a simple desire to upgrade to an ssd!.

Bummer

I’m thinking I might just use vinyl tape to keep the screen in place for at least a little while after an upgrade. The extra strength of the replacement tape sounds scary.

Umm.. I’m not sure that I’d recommend using a repurposed credit card to open the display - I found that using the “pizza tool” to cut the old adhesive then using a pair of suction cups to gently pull the display up worked perfectly well.

The pizza roller tool is enough to cut through the adhesive. You dont need to cut in a lot further. So the cards are really not necessary.

No problems. I used two old credit cards and marked out a line using permanent marker so it was at the same depth as stipulated on this page. I even pushed it in a little deeper and no issues.

Go very slowly when doing these steps.

My children tend to collect cards like this from hotels, Disneyland, old IDs, iTunes cards, gift cards etc. They came in handy for this step. After wedging in the first card into the left corner, I wedged the left corner, then added cards along the bottom edge. Finally I continued to push in additional cards to existing cards and found that this created a smooth even pressure along the display top. At 2-3 card-thickness the last of the adhesive let go, gentle as a baby.

was denn jetzt? Vor der Kamera aufhören, oder in Richtung Bildschirmmitte schieben, um DEN REST zu entfernen? Wenn ich vor der Kamera aufhöre, kann ich nicht alles an Kleber entfernen.

I would recommend using suction cups at this stage to lift the display.

I would strongly recommend using suction cups

Agreed about the suction cups. An extra pair of hands might be good here as well.

I agree, I’m using iFixit suction cups right now.

Go very slowly when lifting the display – give time for the adhesive at the bottom edge to stretch and flow. If you lift too fast, the glass can crack. That’s what happened for me.

The stickiest location on my iMac was the mid-to-lower section of the right side. There are a couple of thicker areas that needed attention from the plastic cards.

WARNING!!! This is where you can crack you screen. TAKE YOUR TIME! Everything work fine for me because I took my time. I was very shocked at how fragile the screen is. It does have a small amount of flex but don’t push your luck. There were two things that made this easy for me #1 Once you have used the cutting wheel to your best judgement to cut the adhesive, start using the iFixIt plastic cards as spacers and space them evenly around the screen. I used 10 individual cards of and gently moved them up and down at each section two at a time. Once I started having less resistance, I combined 2(i.e. 5 sets total) cards evenly space to allow for move rigid and stronger movement to separate the screen. This really helped me to free up more adhesive. #2 before lifting the screen up fully, use tweezers to pull the adhesive like a string from around the entire monitor. This will make lifting the screen much easier since all adhesive will be removed. Finally when lifting the screen use the cards with your hands under them.

If not for iFixit tuts and tools, no way I could do this. iMac 27" takes the prize as the worst design ever for upgrades/maintenance, what were they smoking when they designed it like this?

I have always believed that a properly placed screw can be a beautiful thing. A few decorative, but functional, screws placed in the back of the iMac case to attach the screen would be awesome, but this method is anything but beautiful and borders on insane.

Mark all cable connectors with a spot of white correction fluid before removal. This will remove the risk, when reinserting them later, of getting them the wrong way round. Yes - I know they will only plug in one way round, but it does make life easier if you are not in perfect lighting!

The display cable, the wider one, has a lock on it , usually a plastic tape lift tab to release it, once thats flipped it should come out fairly easily, if your experiencing resistance and the cable isn’t coming out then check for this lock/latch, the power cable just pulls out, just don’t rush it everything should go fine, fairly easy to do with the end result a working iMac

Is it possible to replace the power cable if its damaged? I can’t seem to find anything about this.

After finishing my hard drive replacement I reconnected these connectors to test my display before using new adhesive. Everything was working beautifully. But then when I applied the new adhesive and went to seal the display on for good - the display power cable somehow became disconnected! I had to reopen the Mac for a second time which was far more difficult with new adhesive. When reinstalling double and triple check that the cables are securely inserted before the final seal. Sounds obvious but it’s quite the annoyance if something goes wrong at this point.

Very difficult to work with these connectors.

Power cable very difficult to unplug - data cable veeeeery difficult to plug in.

I noticed that working with the iMac positioned vertically (and with a proper support for inclination) makes this step slightly easier…

Interesting comments.. personally, I didn’t find the cables particularly difficult to detach and reattach. You do have to be patient and gentle. Personally, I found that a rolled up beach towel gently wedged between the unit and back of the display helped keep the glass up. Also, a small flashlight can be helpful to see the cables and connectors if you’re lighting isn’t perfect.

I’d agree to John - not overly difficult. My workaround was to prep the screen for re-installation and then place it in front of the standing machine. The cables are long and flexible enough to be put in place even in this state. You can easily attach the cables and continue with fixing the screen to the housing.

I would not recommend doing this step as pictured. The cable you are removing has little tabs on the wide side that can be depressed inwards towards the center of the connector, releasing the cable. If you just grab the cable as pictured and yank it out, without depressing the side tabs, you are likely to damage something. Don’t pull on the wires, use your fingernails at the connector to squeeze the very small little tabs inward to release the cable from the connector.

The removal of the LCD power cable does require the left and right sides to be squeezed inwards towards each other first before removing, why this isn’t mentioned in the take apart can lead to damaging the iMac.

I agree with maccentric. DO NOT just pull the power cable. Use your fingernail or spudger and gently press the tiny notch inward and towards you gently and one side will disengage. Do the same for the other side and it will slide right out. The notches just have enough edge to catch your nail or spudger. Using your nail is better as you can better feel when you have caught the edge and can feel the cable move.

I lifted the display a few inches up and propped it open in the middle using my iPhone in portrait mode with its torch on. Did the job nicely:

At this step, if you mess up anything with these 2 cables, especially when plugging them back in, even if you think you’re following the instructions here to a T, then you’re screwed.

I would highly, highly, highly recommend AGAINST doing this at home. I followed these instructions to a T, and still somehow managed to have the screen not be able to turn on after the hard drive replacement. Then, once you’ve opened your Mac yourself, Apple will refuse to fix anything on the computer, and even other third party, Apple-authorized repair facility will refuse to repair it for you, and you will have to locate a non-authorized Apple repair facility. There, I am having to pay ~$600 to fix things that got screwed up, even though I followed the instructions here to a T, step by step, and did everything slowly and methodically.

Beware, if you’ve never done this before, that be locked out of ever being able to use an Apple repair facility, or Apple-authorized repair facility, if you mess things up here now.

Can anybody upload an image of how the display can get damaged from removing it? I find it hard to believe (though I’m reading the horror stories here) that a whole display can get damaged. Especially when many of us were following to a T and being VERY CAREFUL.

Thanks.

First: During reassembly, I highly recommend you connect these cables and do a test boot BEFORE you remove the protective tape on the adhesive strips. That way you can fix any issues(like a damaged cable) if something is not right and you have not re-glued the screen back down which will cause a problem. If you have a second person and everything is working after test boot, you can just leave the cables connected, lift the bottom of the screen and have 2nd person pull the protective tape on the adhesive strips and you can set the screen in place. Second I damaged the video data cable during reassembly on my late 2015 iMac- I did not get the connector straight and I damaged the wires on the cable. I recommend you have someone else hold the screen while you attach the cables - they are fragile. Luckily, the data cable was easily replaced for only about $20. If you must do this by yourself, just be careful I highly recommend have 2 people at this step during reassembly.

At least on my “late 2013” model, the smaller display cable connector has tiny, tiny clips on the outside edges. These must be squeezed to unlatch it. Don't pull on the cable itself or the wires can be pulled out. Even with my small fingers, it was hard to grip the clips. When reconnecting, the connector will lightly snap into place.

I managed this step without any problems, but I had my wife hold the screen up while I disconnected/connected the cables. I STRONGLY encourage another pair of hands here so you can focus your full attention on being ultra careful with the cables.

does anybody know how the Display Cabel pin assignment is? I want to try if I can attach the Panel to another grafic card

That display cable connector is common to many Macs of the 2012 era. I’ve destroyed 2 in 38 years of servicing all types of computer equipment.

As stated, there is a latch on this connector. If you put any incorrect force on the cable or connector during disassembly or reassembly, you will break the cable and possibly the connector. The cables can be purchased online and the video connector on the display is exactly the same.

I repeat, if you pull out on the video cable after it has been unlatched instead of parallel to the logic board, YOU WILL BREAK IT.

The second time I reconnected the display the backlight and the display stayed dark and only 3 out of 4 leds lit up. I chose to bring it to a repair store to investigate whether only a cable needs replacement or just to recycle the whole machine. The boy who took in the iMac Mid2015 told me he didn't risk this internal replacement SSD himself at home, but had plugged in an external thunderbolt SSD instead to run the OS from. If I had thought of that before...

I asked some repair shop to look at the issue of the screen staying dark. With a flashlight they saw the LCD was getting data.

There were two issues, one caused by the other: A gold pin of a cable was bent. Levels on the mainboard were questionable, caused buy the shortcut made by the bent cable.

They bent the tiny gold pin on the cable back. I don't know if the shortcut solved itself that way.

They stated: Apple tells the power cable is never the issue, mostly something on the mainboard.

At the time of putting the datacable in the second time it was a bad lighting situation and someone working on my nerves in the room. It didn't go completely smooth, I had put it a bit towards one side.

So if that happens, draw back, try to look at the tiny pins and retry before continuïng.

This repair has cost me €118,20

Thank you Stef, that's what i will do next time, i cracked the lower part of the screen went opening very slowly, that's probably why those "tabs are for !!

Thanks Stef, this has saved me! Simple yet very effective.

Yep, I cracked the lower corner of the display as well. I failed to work the adhesive enough to loosen it sufficiently. Be careful, I just had to buy my customer another screen!

The adhesive strip along the bottom is designed with a pull tab on each outer end. Rather than lever and pull the screen simply carefully pull the tab which removes that half of the lower adhesive strip and frees up the screen.

Niemals den unteren Klebestreifen mit einem scharfen Gegenstand wie Rasierklinge oder so versuchen zu trennen, davon geht die Beschichtung des Displays kaputt und man hat hässliche Streifen unten hinter dem Glas. Stattdessen lieber versuchen, das Display nach oben zu klappen und abzuziehen.

translation from Bas Ti because this is very important:

Never try to separate the bottom adhesive strip with a sharp object such as a razor blade or something, the coating on the display will break and you will have ugly strips at the bottom behind the glass. Instead, try to flip up and pull off the display.

As mentioned before you can pull out the lower adhesive strip. Dont cut it or move the display up and down. This is even more dangerous. On the lower side of mac where the display glass ends is a offset. When moving the display up and down you might crack it over that offset.

When removing the adhesive from the top of the screen, be sure to start at the iSight camera location (= in the middle). If you start at an upper egde of the glass (side doesn’t matter) towards the middle, you risk removing the black background foil from the screen, which will result in ugly stripes behind the glass.

I have pizza cutter. Cut top and sides no problem. Did 2x 21.5" without problem. 27" bottom long strip is the risky area. I have pro supply distributor tape + adhesive promotor + fully clean the tape surfaces so don't use glue / wrong tape. I put a safety fishing line on the 21.5 although that wasn't necessary judging by the fairly secured assembly. Maybe more necessary on the 21s.

And yes, I didn't dare to do heat with LCD diffuser sheets so nearby.

My note is just the bottom long strip on the 27". Didn't dare to tilt screen vertically after reading these comments and outlined my method to cut the bottom strip.

Would have been helpful to box the same red area when using the plastic card to separate the glue. Since the red blocked picture is inverted, if someone doesn't pay close attention it may not be obvious that the area of concern is at the right top of the graphic pictures in which the plastic card use is being demonstrated..

you don't need to cut the bottom part as the bottom tape is stuck on each side and you can easily pull it out

What is the twisted wire taped to the back of the display that can bee seen in the upper right of the first two pictures? I have an 27” iMac without a screen an my replacement does not have this wire. I think it is a temperature sensor but do not know where it connects to.

Please update the picture to include the RED BOXED IN AREA that you refer to on all three pictures in this step. I have had a few zaps from these supplies and it is not pleasant.

J’ai réussi à intervenir dans l’iMac sans décoller l’ensemble de l’écran. Je l’ai ouvert en laissant la dernière partie collée (vers le logo Apple) et qui sert comme une charnière. Bien calé et assuré l’écran n’a pas bougé et j’ai pu changer mon disque dur facilement. Le grand avantage et d’avoir l’écran toute suite juste quand on le recolle par la suite.

Well, I of course touched a soldering point in the red area as my hand slipped. I heard and felt a tiny “click” and after replacing the HDD with SSD etc I can not power the iMac up anymore. Not a sign of life :-( I suppose I broke the power supply. Can someone confirm? Or could something else have broken too?

I took my time and pulled both tabs slowly gently. Easily removed and glass came right off.

Before removing any circuit boards or speakers remove the 4mm bar that runs the width of the case, behind the bottom edge of where the screen sits.

It is amazing how much easier you will find it to remove the speakers and circuit boards with this bar removed.

However, before you remove the bar insert a sheet of paper between it and the circuit boards to prevent a short circuit.

The bar is held in by 5 small Phillips head screws (first pictured in step 22).

Once you remove the bar bend the sheet of paper over the front of the case to keep it in place and then remove your circuit board(s).

You really should be using film handling or surgical type gloves to handle the screen to minimise finger grease on any of it. Even if it’s possible to clean most of it off, it can be corrosive over time.

Use a large suction cup and latex gloves for this:

https://www.amazon.com/FCHO-Suction-Alum...

Thank you so much ifixit! You're instructions are so very clear! Thank you again!

hey Simon, I used 2-sided tape….this is assuming the new sensor doesn’t already come with an adhesive surface already applied.

a roll of kapton tape for your own peace of mind will make sure nothing detaches from thermally-induced adhesive crystallization

make sure you position it in such a way that you can easily plug the lead back into the mobo….not a lot of length to that wire

Howdy folks,

Thanks for all the tips, LCD sensor fitted and iMac back in action.

Never again!

Simon

Hello all. So I’m trying to pinpoint my backlight issue on my 2015 retina 5k - I noticed I’m missing my thermal sensor on the LCD. Would this help with the backlight? I’m sure it will keep my fans from going crazy. Any help would be appreciated! Note: I have LEDs except the 4th one. Thanks!

Be careful when removing the adhesive residue!

I didn’t know it, but I ended up leaving slight scratch marks that can be seen from the front side.

I found i didn’t need to remove the speaker nor the hard drive. In fact I managed to remove the old PSU without even removing the chin strap. However, to install the replacement PSU, I had to remove the chin strap. So I would say, remove the chin strap, but you can optionally leave the speaker and hard drive in.

While you do not need to fully remove the screws as once you loosen them a few turns the speaker becomes free. I found that after the removal of the speaker, I turned it over and popped the screws out as this made it easier to replace it later as I could see the alignment before putting the screws back in. If not you may be off a little and you do not want to force the screw back in.

I used a pill container that I got from Walgreens to hold all of the fasteners I removed during the disassembly process. The container has 14 compartments (individual compartments for each morning and evening of the week). I put a small piece of paper in the compartment with the fasteners to note the name and step of the procedure and the size of the tool I used. Hopefully this will be useful when I go to put it back together again.

I didn’t unplug and de-route this cable. Later, Step 29, has you remove the left speaker. This isn’t necessary. If you can just move the speaker over to expose the hard drive mounting screws, so if you’re not going to remove the speaker, you don’t need to unplug it.

on the 2019 iMac, it is horizontal not vertical so pull it horizontally out.

there is no need to disconnect the speaker, just unscrew it and move aside slightly to reach the HDD screws (about 5mm) - if you want to replace just the main HDD

make sure you’ve actually unplugged the mac when running this cable, and not had it plugged in to test the diagnostic LEDs, because one of those wee silver spots is carrying 230v, and its 6mm away from the place the cable runs, So if you have fat fingers like mine, that’s a free wake up zap

I don't understand how people can say that you don't need to remove the speaker, unless all they were doing was replacing the SATA drive with a 2.5-inch SSD. If you're using this guide to replace the SSD on the back side of the logic board, you definitely need to remove all the components.

This is MUCH easier to do if the support bracket along the bottom is removed first. See iMac Intel 21.5" Retina 4K Display (2017) Logic Board Replacement step 25.

Use a P00.

To replace it, introduce it like in the photo at the link to be able to hold the right most holes of the chassis and bracket. Replace the first screw, align the bracket to the horizontal and add the screws from right to left. Each one will bring up the next hole in the bracket close enough to screw through. Reverse those directions if you are a leftie.

Pay attention: if pulling out the loudspeaker tear off the wire of the power button, Apple have not any service parts except for the whole rear housing!

This is MUCH easier to do if the support bracket along the bottom is removed first. See iMac Intel 21.5" Retina 4K Display (2017) Logic Board Replacement step 25.

Use a P00.

To replace it, introduce it like in the photo at the link to be able to hold the right most holes of the chassis and bracket. Replace the first screw, align the bracket to the horizontal and add the screws from right to left. Each one will bring up the next hole in the bracket close enough to screw through. Reverse those directions if you are a leftie.

It is difficult to remove the bottom of the speaker because it bends into the frame. Be careful to remove the power button cable, which also routes in a channel in the bottom of the speaker.

The trick with removing the left speaker is that you have to slide it up toward the top of the iMac (continuing to de-route the power button cable carefully as you go) to get it out from under the chin before you lift it up to remove it.

Is the WD hard drive an Apple Special with some internal rom or other thing? Planning to put in a Seagate Firecuda 2TB. Is there some special plug or temperature sensor requirement? Seems like there is only the SATA connector. Will I encounter fast fans? (can load the software to stop that). Think it’s a swap and is “easy”.

Depuis quand un disque dur est soudé sur la carte mère...au dire d'un dépanneur il semblerai depuis 2019...pourriez vous le vérifier???

If you have the iMac sitting upright, there is a potential risk of dropping the screws into the iMac casing. Be cautious or lay it down flat.

Been there done that. Had to flip it and shake the heck out of it to get that srew to fall out!

Left hard drive bracket screws are T8!! Had to remove HD first before derouting left speaker cable.

Thank you iFixit for sending a T10 with magnetic tip. You saved me!

mine were T8s

Bracket to iMac case screws,T8.

Which is fine.

Just as in the next step, T8 or T10.

Full removal of the speaker is unnecessary - just very carefully unplug the two-conductor power button cable, which is routed through the groove along the edge of the speaker enclosure. Next, unfasten the two large torx screws holding the speaker enclosure to the chassis. Now you can easily scoot the speaker away from the drive mount - move it over just enough to reach the drive mount’s 2 torx fasteners beneath the edge of the speaker (a CM or two). There’s now enough room to easily remove and replace the drive assembly .

Just wondering if the HDD 3.5 (3TB) in my 2015 27’ 5K iMac case are the ones with the temp control firmware onboard. Just got quote from Auhorised repair centre for 2x the normal price of a 3TB drive. They say I can drop in one i source myself if I like but I don’t want to get it back and have the fans run all the time. Thanks in advance :)

This step is unnecessary. Just leave the bracket in place and set the assembly aside.

On Late 2015 27” iMac I found that after removing this speaker, and the Right side one, I could reach under the motherboard and squeeze and disconnect the SATA data connector with a needle-nose and then remove the SATA power connector and slide the cable out from under the logic board without removing the board. The new cable slid in from the hard drive side with little effort.

If switching to an SSD, the posts on the drive can be removed and used on the 2.5” to 3.5” adapter tray.

I found this cable very difficult to disconnect, be very careful because the cable is between a black tape and it's stuck very hard to the logic board and the cable is very short and you don't have space to move and separate it from the connection! Be patient and take the time you need

I found than putting the flat end of the spudger at the center of the cable, and tilting it got the cable out without an issue.

I was able to use the flat end of the spudger on the sides. You can see a tiny little clip on each side. Be very gentle!

I simultaneously used the fingernails on my 2 index fingers to dislodge the tabs and continue to pull the cable out. It took a couple seconds.

ultimately the trick for me was to just pull hard enough, but that part is the scariest part. any tips welcome

These connectors seem pretty tough to remove until one understands the latch. Each side of the plug are two little sprung tabs (the tab is part of the spring clip which runs down the side of the plug on each side - makes sense once you see the removed plug!). Squeeze them in towards each other and then gently pull the plug from the socket. No great force, or even the spudger, needed once that is done.

One more tip, has worked on other cables for me. Fish the skinniest spudger tip you have under the cable, and with a finger of your other hand put opposite pressure on the cable against the spudger and gently work it out

If u are right handed, i can recomend to use your index left nail to press de bottom sprung, and a flat spudger on the right hand, came off so easy

Davo Montiel's tip worked for me. Use the fingernail on your left index finger to press in the tab on the bottom side of the connector and with the right hand use a flat spudger to press in the tab on the top side of the connector.

If you have a insulated long nose pliers along with a splugger and can get underneath the cable WITH the long nose pliers on the RIGHT side of the cable, towards the logic board, with the splugger on the LEFT Side of the cable doing the same, you can get the leverage to GENTLY pull this cable out very easily.

This is MUCH easier to do if the support bracket along the bottom is removed first. See iMac Intel 21.5" Retina 4K Display (2017) Logic Board Replacement step 25.

Use a P00.

To replace it, introduce it like in the photo at the link to be able to hold the right most holes of the chassis and bracket. Replace the first screw, align the bracket to the horizontal and add the screws from right to left. Each one will bring up the next hole in the bracket close enough to screw through. Reverse those directions if you are a leftie.

The top right screw on the power supply actually screws into a stand-off screw connected to the back of the iMac case. Once you have removed the 4 x Torx 8 or 10 screws you can move the power supply enough to see the upper face of it.

It has a Torx 25 slot in it and comes out easily. This will give you a lot more room for your fingers in Step 40, depressing the tab on the DC power cable connector to pull it out, and when replacing it on reassembly. You may find it won’t require you removing the support bracket as in the suggestion above.

Remember to push in the disconnect tab on the large connector. Carefully insert your finger and push on the tab before you pull on the connector.

Thank you Manuel, this was a tricky one.

Yes, I pulled the whole socket out because I didn’t know about the tab. Fortunately I was able to place it back in. Not sure if it was glued or how it was anchored but it seems to have a solid connection and I can’t easily pull it out by hand. Once I plug the power cable back in should be ok.

This connector was very difficult for me to remove (even after pushing the disconnect tab). Eventually I had to use a pair of needle nose pliers to wiggle it back and forth out of the socket. A lot of the cables on the my late 2015 model were very tight and a struggle to get out.

I'm struggling with this step. I presume that the tab to which you are referring is behind the connector. I can see a plastic protrusion there but it does not move when I push it. Just to get my finger behind it requires the power board to be moved quite a bit btw.

Pressing on the release on the back with my finger and at the same time using a needle nose pliers to wiggle the connector with my other hand worked for me.

i could not get it out by the force of my fingers, so what i did was slightly turn the imac 90 degrees so i could reach the area better, push up (so, vertically) the power control board, push in the tab on the bottom of the connector with my right hand, and slightly wiggle the connector out of its socket with a plier

removing the chin strap (the front bit of metal running along the bottom of where the screen was) makes this much easier as you can rotate the board and get to the underside

Needle nose and wiggling worked for us too. We were stuggling like heck with it when just using hands!

This is MUCH easier to do if the support bracket along the bottom is removed first - more space to angle the board upwards. See iMac Intel 21.5" Retina 4K Display (2017) Logic Board Replacement step 25.

Use a P00.

To replace it, introduce it like in the photo at the link to be able to hold the right most holes of the chassis and bracket. Replace the first screw, align the bracket to the horizontal and add the screws from right to left. Each one will bring up the next hole in the bracket close enough to screw through. Reverse those directions if you are a leftie.

I did as Andrew Gough did, per other videos reviewed. Removed it right away. Just makes things easier, more space for just a few screws :)

The tab is a pain in the a$$$ to get your finger in there. I was so horrified at the size of the capacitors that I put on gloves to reduce any amount of shock :-) . To get it loose I would pull out carefully the power board as far as I could than I wedge my index finger under and press the tab and slowly pull until I saw a slight gap between the end of the socket and the plug. I than place the flat part of the black spudger or blue one into the gap and use as it as a wedge to help move the plug forward as I kept the tab pressed.

To reassemble, do the same in reverse but keep power supply board more upright than slanted down when re-inserting it in to the lower right corner. The lower right screw post has an protrusion under/behind it and the Power Supply's small 2 wire plug must fit between the front of your Mac and the obstruction. Then it just slides right in and then screw it down.

There is a small release tab on the cable.

Wear gloves when doing this to reduce any shock. The size of those capacitors are very unnerving and scary. Also those solder joints.

During reassemble, route the speaker cable behind the two protrusions under the logic board. I am not sure if this makes a huge difference but that’s was the configuration during disassembly.

As with the left speaker, you need to slide the speaker toward the top of the iMac to get it out from under the chin before lifting up.

For reassembly I had to undo the screws again, then plug in the cable with the speaker module slightly out of its final position and after that insert the module and fasten the screws.

Use a piece of tape around the antenna cables to keep them in the same order, makes reassembly a little easier.

On reassembly, start the fan power connector into its socket while you slide the fan in.

I left the antennas attached to the wifi card and removed the wifi card with wires attached. I accidentally broke one of the connectors on the wifi card and had to replace the entire card....

My iMac has a slightly different assembly. There are 2 - T5 torx screws holding little clamps for each cable (2 clamps per screw). Certainly more secure but another size screw to deal with…

My iMac also same with Greg mentioned. need to T5 torx driver. A1419. Late 2015, Korean Version.

My 2017 has long WI-Fi card, It’s It’s a M.2, cuz no remove antenna. Undo WI-Fi card fix screws and pull out card. Easy one.

Before I disconnect the cables, I use different color sharpies and draw a different color on each one’s head & then I take a picture of the cables connected to the board. Pic is my reference of which cable goes to what connector.

I have a 2017 and I agree with Tanya. There are 2 T4 screws fastening the airport card to the motherboard. It’s easier to remove these and gently pull the airport card straight up out of the motherboard while leaving the 4 antenna wires fastened. You can’t see the connector or the airport card as it’s on the back side of the motherboard but just wiggle it side to side while pulling straight up and you’ll have no problem. I’ve broken off those tiny airport connectors in the past and it’s no fun replacing them.

same as Greg, did with the torx t5

I have a 2019 iMac and we needed to use a T4 screw

My late 2015 has a Airport/Bluetooth card secured with two T5 screws. After removing them you can just wiggle and unplug it from the logic board, without needing to fiddle with the antenna connectors.

Same as the other comments, in my iMac 27” retina 2015, the WiFi/Bluetooth board is a bit longer and the 4 coax cables are fixed by 2 T5 screws…

When reassembling a removed WiFi card keep 4 antenna leads attached as mentioned by poster (tanya et al) when reassembling as you replace logic board keeping it tilted forward helps in aligning the notch on card for easy reassembly and T3 screws replacingonce card is firmly seated.

When reassembling a removed WiFi card keep 4 antenna leads attached as mentioned by poster (tanya et al) when reassembling as you replace logic board keeping it tilted forward helps in aligning the notch on card for easy reassembly and T3 screws replacingonce card is firmly seated.

Can also confirm it for a Late 2015 iMac, there’s just 2 T3 screws to remove, simple move out the WiFi/Bluetooth board and let cable on place.

During disassembly, I taped the cable up and out of the way, as it tends to get in front of things.

I recall comments here about this being particularly sensitive. I had an issue with no iSight on rebuild, however taking to bits again and seating and reseating this connector a few times resulted in the iSight camera working again (phew).

On my 2017 iMac there is a tiny little cable and connector on the motherboard that is approximately half way along the motherboard and is connected down towards the base of the case. It came free easily when I removed my motherboard but just wanted to remind people to reconnect!

It’s the microphone cable!

This pulls straight up, towards you.

I broke mine…when inserted the speaker… How do I replace the headphone jack and cable?

Lift upwards with the spudger/fingernail, rocking it up back and forth.

(For those who have not seen this style of connector.)

+1 Missing the step on this 2019 iMac 27” guide to remove mic cable. It’s in other guides, just not here.

I cannot determine how to reconnect the headphone jack cable to the logic board. Are there better pictures anywhere that I could access?

The central screw is very difficult to reach! Use a long and very thin T10 screw driver

On my late 2015 there is another T10 (approx 16 mm long) on the lower edge slightly left of the hole in the logic board giving a total of 4 screws along the bottom edge.

I’ve also found an extra T10 in my late 2015 iMac

My 2017 has small flat cable and connector on logic board. And all screws are changed to T 9

Note: the T25 spacer is behind and to the left of the logic board and below the HDD bracket.

My 2017 had all T8’s, including the captive screw beneath the motherboard

My 2017 had 4 T8 screws along the bottom of the logic board, not 3

2017 here.

IMPORTANT - note Tanya’s comment. The narrow flat cable in the middle - it’s the mic cable on a *tiny* ZIF. See iMac Intel 21.5" Retina 4K Display (2017) Logic Board Replacement

Also has the extra bolt middle lower edge.

All T8 except the yellow T25.

In my iMac 27” retina 2015 all screws are T8.

There is also an another T8 screw between the left and central “orange” on bottom of the CPU board

Just completed and removed logic board. All my screws were T6. The screw beneath is a captive screw, stays retained in the fixture after unscrewing.

If I change the logic card on an imac 27’ 2020, will the computer's memory be affected?

There is a 25T stand off that is not listed. It is not on the board but beside or underneath the yellow/red on power supply side.

Anyone know if models that shipped with only a bladed SSD have the SATA cable still inside? I’m guessing probably not, but haven’t been able to confirm anywhere.

The cable was so stiff, I didn’t try to pull it through the bracket. Instead I removed the upper screw holding the right HDD bracket in place. Then I rotated it counter clockwise enough to just move the cable behind it and out of the way. Once I did that, I screwed the bracket back into place. I reversed the process when I put the machine back together. It’s a Torx-10 BTW.

Excellent tip, Kenneth! I did the same, made things easier.

Jesse, no SATA cable inside. My iMac came only with the blade SSD and an empty HDD bay, so I have to buy the SATA cable separately.

the card drive cable is affixed to the heat sink with some sort of adhesive. If it is not placed back similarly, the system cannot sense the heat sink temperature, and the fan will run at full speed continuously. I used double sided tape and pushed it back in adhered position after re-attaching logic board.

the above should read “the hard drive cable” , not card drive (typo)!