MacBook Unibody Model A1278 Hard Drive Cable Replacement

This is not a a1278 unibody MacBook Pro. A1278 MacBooks backs are one solid metal piece not two separate pieces. This guide is for a different MacBook Pro.

Great tutorial ! great step !

On my model, it seemed the top-left was 3.5mm and the bottom 4 were 3 mm.

Make sure you have a good quality Phillips screwdriver. Mine had removable tips and had a small play at the connection. As a result I didn't have a good feel and damaged my screws (those securing the fan and the top left in step 23). Game over for me installing new thermal paste...

Be very carefull with your screws! Especially those on the inside.

You can get away with a Phillips #00 for many of the screws involved but the 4 at the bottom case split are likely to strip if you don’t use a JIS #00 or, in a pinch, a Phillips #000.

Me, too, broke the subwoofer connector from the motherboard. I'd suggest removing the padding first so that you can see what kind of connector it is, then pry it loose (insert spudger where the cables enter the connector).

DO NOT REMOVE THE SUBWOOFER CONNECTION. Step 6 IS NOT NESCESSARY.

You can complete this guide without doing step 6 just BE CAREFUL as you already should be.

The subwoofer cable is NOT removable on some models, attempting to remove it, brakes it off the circuit board and them you are @@%#$$, like me. Thanks iFixit. Also it is not necessary to remove it to replace the optical drive.

Oops, I followed Step-6 and my subwoofer connector came off from the motherboard!!! Please suggest me what needs to be done now?

Happened the same to me ... step 6 is a @%#$$. You should put now a way to repair the damage done. I just have four small tin marks on the board ...

Happened the same problem to me ... step 6 is a @%#$$**%%#. You should put now a way to repair the damage done. I just have four small tin marks on the board ... and looking to sky for help

Just “4 small tin marks” is what the the motherboard half of the subwoofer connector looks like.

There are two variants of this connector. In one, there are pins that come up from the motherboard and the connector can be pried directly up without damage.

The other variant of the connector that everyone commenting here has is soldered to the motherboard. To repair this type, first pull off the small square of foam padding on top of the connector. Then gently pull out the four black and red wires, leaving the soldered connector attached to the logic board. After you have installed the new speaker and subwoofer, you will remove the connector on the replacement component and carefully feed the red and black wires into the connector that is still attached to the motherboard (paying careful attention to their correct order). Then replace the square of black foam.

If you have removed the soldered on the connector, your two options are to solder it on yourself or to find a repair shop that can do that for you. There are instructables online for soldering tiny components that can help you.

This step is not necessary. Drive can be released without removing the screws.

If you’re replacing the subwoofer, you DO need to remove the left screw but not the right screw. This is fortunate, because if you are stuck with a Phillips #00 instead of a JIS #00 screwdriver, you may well strip the heads of these screws.