MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2010 Battery Replacement

The 10 screws that hold tha bottom case take a #00 Phillips driver, if yours doesnt fit it's probably because it's cheaply made & not precise enough. The only thing that I needed a #000 driver for was the keyboard screws. They're so small they look like specks of dirt or sand. I stripped out 4 of them & now will need to grind the heads off with a Dremel/rotary tool. The other thing that sucks is iFixit doesn't have a tutorial for keyboard replacement!

A true Phillips head screw's slots are rounded at their inner corners, to allow the screwdriver to "cam out" (pop out) of the screw head before you apply too much torque and strip the threads in the part that you're torqueing the screw into. However, the screws used in the Macbook don't have those rounded inner corners, so they're not Phillips. Instead, they may be a Japanese standard known as JIS B 1012, or a Frearson (also known as a Reed & Prince), but that's a less common design. Maybe technically these non-Phillips screws should be used with a screwdriver that was specifically designed for them, but they can be properly removed and reinstalled using a truly precision-made Phillips #00 (some people find a #000 sometimes works even better) whose tip comes to a sharp point--not the lousy fake "precision" screwdrivers that are sold in too many places. See my next comment for more.

Many screwdriver manufacturers get away with marketing fake "precision" screwdrivers because, in the words of the Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sc...: "Most heads come in a range of sizes, typically distinguished by a number, such as "Phillips #00" or "Torx T5." These sizes do not necessarily describe a particular dimension of the drive shape, but are often arbitrary designations in the same sense as a "Size 8" dress."

In other words, the quality of many "precision" screwdrivers is poor. In my experience, one of the biggest problems with many fake "precision" Phillips screwdrivers is that the four blades at the tip are often too wide, and their width may even vary on the same screwdriver (they're not supposed to). So just because a screwdriver is marketed as a "precision screwdriver", it may not be, and many that are labeled as #00, or even #000, will not work for a Macbook's screws. See my next comment for still more.

One of the best manufacturers of precision screwdrivers is Wiha (http://www.wihatools.com/tech-tools/prec... cost more, but they're worth it. Or buy screwdrivers from iFixit, who seem to be selling JIS screwdrivers.

Another article with some good info on screw and screwdriver types:

http://www.instructables.com/id/When-a-P...

Also keep in mind that some screws are tougher to remove and reinstall because they have a thread-locking compound on them, which is usually blue.

Phillips #00 is the correct screwdriver for the lower case. Maybe the one you have is worn or badly made.

thanks twisk, I wish i would have read your tip before I finished putting the bottom of my laptop back together. I managed to get all screws in somehow, but one was in fact too-tight.

BTW, big big thanks to the Author: Andrew Bookholt. Just used this guide and my trackpad now works again.

I use a similar technique: I print out the iFixit manual for the job, and Scotch-tape down the screws/brackets/cables I remove at each step next to the component descriptions. That way, when I'm reassembling, the bits are taped right next to the photo of where they came from.

That's exactly what I do for all my repairs! It's the best way to keep track of all of the parts ' original location and to make sure that you don't miss any parts during reassembly.

Great idea and one I use often

Excellent idea! Thanks for sharing it here.

Squares, Circles, Triangles (you get the idea) would work as well to distinguish the different screws.

The Mid 2010 MacBook Pro 13" does support 16 GB RAM, but it is very picky about the type of RAM. OWC sells a 16 GB kit (2x 8 GB). I think it's got to be 1066 (aka 1067) MHz RAM. A lot of 8 GB modules on the market now are faster than 1066 MHz, and reports I've read say people start getting kernel panics if they use the wrong RAM.

Some info here:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/ma...

"1066 MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM"

"*Originally, both the official and actual maximum RAM was 8 GB. However, as confirmed by site sponsor OWC, if running OS X 10.7.5 or higher, updated with the latest EFI, and equipped with proper specification memory modules, this model can support up to 16 GB of RAM."

Our Mid 2010 already had "the latest EFI" (i.e. Boot ROM version in System Profiler), so the reference to updating it may not be relevant.

What was your solution? I'm using 10.11.3 OS X. I may need a battery replacement very soon too.

I have the same question? Where can you buy new screws. Apple put in these rediculous tri-screws.... The short one went in crooked and jammed. I couldn't get the long one back in at all, not sure why, but it's not catching a single thread.

My 2nd question is, what the alternative if you can't get the screws back in (e.g. some kind of tape). With only one screw only half way in and jammed, the battery doesn't seem to be moving around, so I think I'm ok, at least for now.

similar issue here, I'd like to buy these bolts new. and it would be even better to buy new ones but with a philips head, not a triwing head. please let us know. thanks.

i have a triwing y1 and it doesn't work with my battery it seems to be too big, the triwings sold on ifixit are the same when it is written y1 ?

The Y1-Three wing screwdriver from iFixit is too big!

pentalobe. its an apple specific driver to keep you out. The bottoms of the airs use this as well. You can fid one on eBay

sure enough mine has the 5 star torx as well.. this drove me crazy today.....i had to buy a set of 5 stars from amazon....i thought i was losing my mind trying to make the tri wing fit....i finally opened my wife's 2010 macbook pro to find tri wings....then i knew. steve jobs was messing with me from the grave....lol

You're right and there was some inconsistent terminology in the guide. It should be fixed now. The term "tri-wing" doesn't apply here but I believe generic "tri-point" Y0 or Y1 drivers correspond to the Microstix driver you mention.

I am answering a 2 year old post but this is for those who may have the same or similar issue in the future.

When I was putting the battery connector back on that it didn't sit flat against the board before I put pressure on the top of the connecter to press it back into its socket. I then took time to examine the battery connector socket and saw it consisted of long thin vertical pins. I deduced that if the battery connector was not aligned correctly to the pins on the motherboard then it may be very easy to bend one or more of the pins in a way that they wouldn't mate up with the opposing female part on the connector. That sure would cause a battery charging issue. If you feel too much resistance when pressing the connector back into the socket then stop and make sure it is all aligned correctly. I know, not easy with the size, the black connector and black socket. A spudger can be used on the battery side of the connector to raise it to a level position prior to applying pressure to the top of it.

I have the same problem as Oliver. Replaced the battery, it Works, but don't charge. I don't see any comment on this page that answer his question.