MacBook Pro 13" Touch Bar Late 2016 Battery Replacement

This did not work when running High Sierra.

Tried this on a 2018 MBP 13” Touchbar (there’s no iFixit guide for this model yet). Need to replace a broken screen.

Luckily I managed to connect to an external screen (Cmd-Down Brightness to switch displays) and enter above command. Seems to work, but there’s another problem with this model - it powers up as soon as any key is pressed……. ffs <gnashes teeth>

I unscrew the battery first and wrap electrical tape over the logic board battery connector before attempting any repairs to the board. Haven’t had any problems yet and I’ve worked on about 10 of these models already. Also when you open the bottom case use a suction cup at the bottom and pull up then run a plastic spudger along the edges to disconnect the clips. Also only use a plastic spudger on the board. Saw a youtube video from a repair shop and he did not disconnect the power and used all metal tools during the entire process of removing the board. His last step was to disconnect the battery terminal.

Is this step necessary if my mac can turn on? Battery fully dead(

BEFORE YOU START: The included torx head stripped off before I was done (and you might need an additional T4) so stop now and go buy a good one. Also they fail to warn you above to get some blue threadlocker ahead of time.

This command did not work for me and I read that sometime in later 2020 Apple stopped this command from working…any ideas on a work around?

Hi. This does not work on 2018 13” MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. I did exactly this to disable auto boot. But when I check by using nvram -p it says: auto-boot true. Am I doing something incorrectly? I did everything step by step. Copied and pasted the sudo command, pressed enter and then entered my password. I have Big Sur 11.1 installed. Is there any other way since I need to replace the screen. Thank you. Adrian

Hi everyone. This is also a little pointless if you can’t see anything on the screen, and you don’t have a display adapter to USB C to display it. I agree with Brian about removing the back and disconnecting the battery cable before you even think about opening the lid of the MacBook. Applying the insulation tape is also a handy little tip that just makes sure there is no way to discharge from either the board or battery.

This step is completely unnecessary if you follow the guide to disconnect the battery properly. Just put some tape between the battery and logic board connection to prevent it from accidentally touching and therefore powering on the laptop.

It took me a few tries to make this command work, as I was able to copy and paste the command into Terminal, but could not type in my laptop’s password. I finally typed my password into a text document, copied it (command C), and then pasted it into Terminal and it worked.

I didn’t do this. Mine never auto-booted before I replaced the battery. Now it does.

I received the battery kit for my 2018 MacBook Pro and as per the above comment from bcardanha - Oct 12, 2021, I checked the voltage on the pads marked + and - . It was zero volts so I panicked a bit.

I sent a message on the iFixiT Facebook page and I got no reply. I finally found the customer service email for Ifixit Europe and sent them an email voicing my concern as I was not keen to work for couple of hours just to discover that the battery is faulty. I had an almost instant reply on the email (kudos to them) and they adviced me to go ahead and install the new battery as the voltage measured when battery is not connected is not relevant.

I took a leap of faith and after two hours… the new battery showed 50% charge and everything seems to be working just fine. I am happy it worked.

After removing the old battery and installing the new battery I powered up the MBP before screwing the bottom on. I discovered the my keyboard would not function. It took a few hours of investigation and frustration that I discovered the track pad power ribbon had become partially dislodged from the trackpad. I was able to see that this through the little machined slot where the battery sat. I had to remove the trackpad to reinsert the power ribbon back into the connector in the trackpad. after reassembling and reinstalling the battery etc the keyboard worked. Just food for thought if your run into the keyboard issue.

This should be the default. IMO I tell you to power on - not the lid.

Excellent instructions. I was able to follow and install the new screen. I recommend that you get a good set of tools before you begin. I started with an inexpensive repair kit bought online. The Penta and torx bits failed. I bought an IFIXIT kit with quality bits and I was able to do everything I needed.

If you're not running an admin account the sudo command won't work (which honestly, you should not be running admin). Rather than logging in to your admin amount via the OS, in the terminal type "login [admin username]," then the password and you'll be able to do the sudo command as described above. Once you're complete, type "logout [admin username]" and you'll be good to go. Obviously replace [admin username] with whatever the account name for your admin user is.

For those unable to complete this step because the screen is too damaged I recommend leaving your macbook on until the battery dies.

Just replaced my 2018 15" MBP battery. Running Sonoma.
I found no way to disable AutoBoot (The status can be checked in the Power section of system report).

Anyway, i left my battery completely drain before opening the MBP, and had no issues during the process.

Read the comments section at the bottom of the article before proceeding with the repair. It is unnecessary to remove the logic board. I actually removed the 45mm plastic bar to enable the cables to slip out then in. It is only there to frustrate repairers!

Sur le mien A1708 EMC3164 j’ai 4 vis de 6,2 (les coins) et 2 vis de 3,4 celles au milieu en bas

Before you start I suggest you get magnifier eyeware as screws and connectors are very small and good lightning are a big PLUS

Completed whole steps in over 4 hours….but worth it. Works back perfect and battery error message is gone….

Nothing beats a properly grounded ESD workstation, and a grounded wrist strap.

The instruction implies that sliding the pick up to the side of the case releases the clip. This is far from the truth; it takes a pretty strong force to pop the clip open. The plastic pick is a good start, but you need to reach in and pull the middle of that side of the case pretty hard.

Look at Step 8 pics 2 and 3 to see exactly where the clips are that need to be released. Taking the bottom cover off my MBP took for ever because I didn’t realize the clips were not right around the edges as the wording suggests. Once I realized this, it came off quickly and easily.

On the 2018 model, there are two more clips that need to be popped on the sides in the middle. Then it slides out easily.

Please be VERY careful, I torn up my battery cable and had to replace all the battery.

Apple worked on my computer and did not put the tape back. I'm assuming it's not important?

Be very careful here. I had to repeat this procedure several times on my MacBook Pro to replace faulty monitors. Eventually, after being opened and closed so many times, the small black locking tab came right off of the connector. Now my battery connection is broken and I can only use my MacBook when it is plugged into the power supply. I’m trying to find a way to securely connect the battery cable without this little locking tab (maybe with tape or something), but so far no luck. Does anyone at iFixit have any advice for me?

Like Jamie said, use mass amounts of caution here. The lever is very fragile, and mine came off as well - and I’m not exactly a muscular guy. Without it, the connection cannot be made to the data connector, and the computer will not think that a battery is installed. I had to finagle my connector with tweezers and a spudger back into place (and the picture above makes it look normal sized. The picture lies. It is TINY! We’re talking smaller than a small eyelash tiny), and then used some of the adhesive battery strip to hopefully keep it in place.

The previous comments are not exaggerated. There ain’t NOTHIN’ to that locking bar. I found it helpful to zoom in with my phone to work on it. It really requires no force to move, I imagine the tape is there to hold it down.

See this conversation for @stevebsiegel’s solution.

The cable is held down with adhesive. Be very gentle with the delicate cable as you peel it back.

Why is my screwdriver not turning even when I have the correct screwdriver and the screw is not stripped

I was able to extremely gentle peel (just applying a little bit of continuous tension and waiting for the adhesive to release) the cable off without heating. It came off relatively easy, probably due to age or heavy usage in the past.

When assembling this back, one should note that the trackpad actually has some wiggle room in its slot, so it should be properly centered before firmly screwing down all 10 screws.

For me, adjusting the position of the trackpad and screwing the two red ones first while holding the bottom plate up at 90 degrees helped.

It'd be super nice to remind about the washers at this point - I've done 3 or 4 of these laptops the past few years and I forget every time about this step & lost many washers.

The washers really need to be mentioned before removing the trackpad. I pulled it out and excitedly showed my wife, not realizing that I'd just flung most of the washers onto the carpet. Luckily I found them all, but holy crap, please put this in step 22 or like 21.5, PLEASE.

T4 worked best here for me.

Look at the comment section before you proceed. It is possible to finish the process without unplugging the board or other components. Be aware these are user’s comments and not the official guide.

Good Luck!

One of these won't open, it means the screw is broken and it won't open with any screwdriver, what should I do?

one of mine also wouldn't come out but i tried a T4 instead of T3 and that worked

If you are trying to replace the Thunderbolt port boards, you have to finish removing the entire logic board in order to get to the 2 screws holding each board in place. You can leave the battery and track pad in place though.

Apple used poor quality boards for the thunderbolt boards so they will definitely wear out over time. Make sure you replace them with metal boards and your USB C cable will click in nice and tight for a really long time.

Difficult though it may be, as a retired fixer, and amazed at the new tiny tiny parts, I am even more amazed at this new cooperative culture of fixers. The depth of helpful detail is amazing. The new environment of cheap special tools, and amazingly detailed hires pics is a powerful new repair meme. I used i-fixit for my first MBAir, but haven’t the skills for this, my current mac. But this addition, the carefully inserted comments of users, and the skills and cooperative attitude of you all, is quite amazing. And I watch and admire. Well done, you.

This cable has a metal plate that is PART OF THE CABLE. It is initially invisible, and can easily be mistaken for part of the logic board upon which it is adhered. As you begin to try to peel it up, make certain that your tool is also making its way beneath that integral thin metal plate. There are chip components that will delaminate from the cable if you attempt to lift it, or if your prying tool happens to not make it under the plate.

This was a T4 on mine

The tape peeled off on mine before the cable came loose. I used the pointy end of the spudger to work the cable free.

For me, the main speaker tape on both sides tore loose, which is a real shame, because those are the two hardest to get back in - they're very short and stiff.

Important safety tip: On my laptop, the cables have two semicircular notches near the end. You can tell when they're fully-inserted when the notches are inside the connector.

Once again the tape failed before the cable came free.

This step seems redundant as those six steps get repeated in detail anyway after this step.

Reconnecting is very tricky. It doesn't take much force to push down, but the connectors have to be perfectly aligned. You won't really feel it snap into place, but it will stay put and resist wiggling.

Agreed, very tricky step. I found the two slightly longer leads easier to reattach. Then I used them as a visual guide to attach the small lead. It helped to slightly bend the lead. Glenn is correct, it doesn’t take much pressure to attach but the leads have to be perfectly aligned. Be careful if you test the fit, very easy to pry back off.

2 missing t3 on left around the fan right side

Confirm, also, but those two Ty’s are next to the left fan if looking at the above picture, next to the metallic plate that also needs to be removed

Mine had no adhesive on them at all. You only need to make sure they are loosened from the fan shroud. They come out with the logic board assembly.

Wichtig !!

Vorher den Display Anschluß (hinten mitte) Abschrauben und lösen.

2x bleche mit jeweils 2 Scxhrauben

Ist nachgetragen. Danke!

What just happened… While I was removing the logic board one of the small black boxes from the bottom right just fell off. I am not sure but I think it is a capacitor - it says KO 336 16K 723. It just fell, I did not even touch this part… Maybe it was broken when I opened up the case in the beginning, but I did not notice it then.

Did I just break my laptop?

Terrible time to lose screws, but that is exactly what ended up happening to me. I lost the battery board screws and ended up crazy glueing down.

This is where you can easily see it was not necessary to remove the logic board. Could have slipped the battery cable right out from under the corners if you are careful. My fan runs all the time now. This guys procedure is absolute dog s$%t

From here onward I just used the plastic cards provided without the adhesive. It just cut through the tape and took them off in 2-3 mins without any issue. I tried the floss and it just kept breaking and I didn't want to use the adhesive remover liquid if I could find another way. Using the cards was the best for me.

I didn’t have packing tape or painter’s tape so I tried to use some of the packing materials, but that was a bad idea. What ended up working for me was to elevate one side and used the plastic card to to direct the acetone away from the speaker. Worked a-ok.

This tip was a godsend. Despite my best efforts, some acetone still got under the speakers, but since I had to wait a week to complete the job (I damaged the new battery and had to order another one - user error 🤦‍♂️), I dried up what I could initially, then just poked at the speakers periodically over the week to make sure they weren't coming loose. No issues.

Note that no matter how well you tape off the speakers and elevate the sides of the laptop, there is not a lot of space between the battery and the speaker, and adhesive remover WILL wick under the speakers. Yay for capillary action, I guess? . . ..

The Fix Kit box is the perfect size for this job. I stuck a little packing tape from the metal case to the box to stop it accidentally sliding off.

It REALLY IS strong solvent! I accidentally got some on the rubber strip between the battery and the logic board compartment and it peeled right off! I had to replace this with some spare rubber feet I had for another device.

Tipp: damit das Lösungsmittel nicht unkontrolliert überall landet, habe ich die Plastikkarte vorsichtig unter das Akkuteil geschoben und den Entferner auf die Plastikkarte getröpfelt. So lief er genau da hin, wo er hin laufen sollte.

The plastic card method will work. It just takes a lot of force.

Translation (Google) : When removing the batteries with dental floss or masonry cord, loosen each battery separately. Thread it in from the back as shown in the picture and then release it to the front between the two batteries. Move the floss to the right and left like a saw. On the smaller batteries, the adhesive strips are from back to front. So this is also the direction how to solve them easily. The middle battery is glued from left to right. So you should change direction there.

I broke one of the plastic bits on the top left corner of where the middle battery sits. You'll know it when you see it. Snapped clean off. I left it out during the reassembly process, and haven't noticed a difference. Just be careful here, lots of fragile components.

Definitely clean out the old adhesive. It's worth the time to have that clean surface for the new battery. Don't be afraid to completely cover the old adhesive in acetone to loosen it up (including around the edges), but don't use so much that it wicks everywhere...because it will. A steady hand, plastic scraper, tweezers, and lots of patience is important here. Especially patience. Put on some headphones and a favorite album and go to town.

thanks for the guide! some of the torxs screws are T4 not T3 as it says in the guide, this can lead to stripping.

Step 88 is a bit . . . . sparse. “Carefully position the battery and set it into place.“ Ha! Be prepared for mass amounts of swearing (and I don’t usually swear). iFixIt sends you a battery that has the adhesive strips covered with one long very thick piece of plastic. And by “battery” I mean five discreet sections held together with thin ribbon cables that make the entire thing as wriggly as a toddler and as unstable as my girlfriend in college. If you take it off the thick plastic and try to maneuver the battery into its very specific places while the battery’s strong adhesive strips stick to everything but what it should you will rue the day. Rue, I tell you! I cut the top piece of thinner plastic into three sections (middle, left side, right side) so I was able to place one section at a time, and it made it much easier (well, “much” may be a stretch. How about, “only slightly less-sweary”).

If you think you might one day do this again, do not use the whole glued area, unless you want to go through the (excruciating) process of removing the battery again.

Just went through this procedure the second time about 3 years after I did this the first time. When I installed the first replacement battery, I only used ~15-20% of the glued area on the battery to "loosely" stick it to the macbook body and placed some small foam pieces at the top (between the battery and the bottom cover) to help hold the battery in place. Had no problem using the macbook or with the battery, and what I had done in the first replacement made my second run extremely easier.

Definitely cut up the brittle blue plastic into three pieces without of course cutting battery connection strips. It makes a job a lot easier! I just wish that Ifixit put that blue plastic on the other side of a battery facing the installer. And made indentations in it for easy removal after attaching the battery to the lower case