Mac mini (PowerPC) AirPort Extreme Card Replacement

Step 1 Mac mini (PowerPC) AirPort Extreme Card Replacement

• You can skip this step if you bought your . Putty knives purchased from iFixit come with pre-ground edges.
• You'll need a putty knife in order to open the case. A 1.5 inch thin putty knife will work well, but you'll want to grind the edge down. Rub the putty knife's short edge back and forth on a sheet of all purpose rough grit sandpaper (100 grit will work fine) until it attains a beveled edge.
Add a comment
Add a comment
Add Comment
1024
Cancel Post comment
Step 2

• Place the mini upside down on a cloth and turn it so that the apple leaf faces you.
• Insert the putty knife into the seam between silver outer case and the white plastic. If you have trouble, you can insert the putty knife at an angle or grind the knife's edge down further. Push the blade down until you meet firm resistance (roughly 3/8 of an inch).
Add a comment
Add a comment
Add Comment
1024
Cancel Post comment
Step 3
• Pull directly back on the putty knife until the white plastics pops up. Don't worry about bending the putty knife too far or breaking the plastic tabs. Just continue to pull back on the putty knife until the case pops free.
• Repeat this procedure on the other side.
Add a comment
Add a comment
Add Comment
1024
Cancel Post comment
Step 4
• Grasp the white lower case beneath the vent and rotate it up and away from you, pulling it free of the upper case.
Add a comment
Add a comment
Add Comment
1024
Cancel Post comment
Step 5
• If your mini does not have Airport installed, then skip this step.
• Grasp the Airport antenna board and lift it off of the two plastic posts holding it in place. You may need to push back the black plastic tab jutting through the lower left corner of the board.
Add a comment
Add a comment
Add Comment
1024
Cancel Post comment
Step 6
• Remove the yellow tape securing the power button cable to the black plastic framework.
Add a comment
Add a comment
Add Comment
1024
Cancel Post comment
Step 7
• Remove the three black Phillips screws securing the plastic framework to the logic board and lower case.
Add a comment
Add a comment
Add Comment
1024
Cancel Post comment
Step 8
• Grasp the optical drive and mass storage unit in one hand and lift up enough so that you can see beneath it.
Add a comment
Add a comment
Add Comment
1024
Cancel Post comment
Step 9
• If your mini has neither an Airport card nor a Bluetooth board, you can simply lift the optical drive up and away. Otherwise, you need to disconnect the Airport and/or Bluetooth antenna cables first.
• With your free hand, pull the Bluetooth cable up from Bluetooth board and unplug the Airport antenna cable from the right of the Airport card. Caution: both of these connections are very small. When re-assembling unit after repair, you may want to remove the two screws holding the airport card to the assembly and lift the card up and out to re-attach the cables.
Add a comment
Add a comment
Add Comment
1024
Cancel Post comment
Step 10
• Remove the two silver Phillips screws from the corners of the wireless interface board.
Add a comment
Add a comment
Add Comment
1024
Cancel Post comment
Step 11
• Grasp the board at the front and back, and lift up on the front until the board pulls free of its connector.
Add a comment
Add a comment
Add Comment
1024
Cancel Post comment
Step 12
• Remove the yellow tape securing the Airport card to the wireless interface board.
Add a comment
Add a comment
Add Comment
1024
Cancel Post comment
Step 13
• Grasp the wireless interface board with one hand and the clear plastic tab on the Airport card with the other hand, and pull the Airport card from its connector.
Add a comment
Add a comment
Add Comment
1024
Cancel Post comment

Author

System

Member since: 09/24/09

2,562 Guides authored

Embed this guide

Choose a size and copy the code below to embed this guide as a small widget on your site / forum.

Preview