I just completed this repair, and my computer is now charging up. I waited until my old battery was completely dead; there was an X through the battery symbol the last few days, and then my computer wouldn’t start up at all. The repair took me a little over an hour, but that’s because the adhesive on both speakers broke as I was trying to remove it, and I had to apply heat with a hair dryer and pry out the speakers with the spudger at the same time.

If I knew how to manipulate the adhesive, it would have been a much easier repair. By the time I got to the battery, I figured out that you have to pull the adhesive out on a horizontal plane while maintaining constant tension. If you let go of the tension, the adhesive can bunch underneath, and then it won’t come out. Helps to use multiple fingers on both hands to do this.

I used my child’s pop-it toy to keep track of all the screws; it was perfect for this. Used 4mm Tesa tape for the new battery and speakers.

Thanks so much, @carsten, for this guide and the tips.

Thanks for the reply. Looks like I'll need to apply adhesive to the battery, too. I changed the battery in my old unibody Macbook, but this seems more involved. I went to the Apple Store a while ago, and the price they quoted me for this repair was something like $300-400 for parts + labor, plus I wouldn't have my computer for a week. So I've been living with an almost-dead battery. Will let you know if I'm able to do it myself. Thanks again!

Hi. I'm thinking of attempting this repair. If I apply the Tesa 61395 tape to the speakers before reinstalling and the new battery, which width is best? Also, how do I remove this adhesive in the future, if I need to replace the battery again? Thanks.