Substituição da tela do iMac Intel 27" EMC 2546

Before you start this process, please check if your Mac has a Fusion Drive. If so, ensure that you have a full backup onto an external drive (maybe via 'Restore' from the old to new drive with the Disk Utility) so you can later migrate the data into the new computer. Otherwise this process causes the Fusion Drive to be split, and you lose all the data that was on the old drive. Most of my files were on iCloud but I did lose the local data and it apparently cannot be recovered once the Fusion Drive is split.

I would highly, highly, highly recommend AGAINST doing this at home. I followed these instructions to a T, and still somehow managed to have the screen not be able to turn on after the hard drive replacement. Then, once you’ve opened your Mac yourself, Apple will refuse to fix anything on the computer, and even other third party, Apple-authorized repair facility will refuse to repair it for you, and you will have to locate a non-authorized Apple repair facility. There, I am having to pay ~$600 to fix things that got screwed up, even though I followed the instructions here to a T, step by step, and did everything slowly and methodically.

Beware, if you’ve never done this before, that be locked out of ever being able to use an Apple repair facility, or Apple-authorized repair facility, if you mess things up here now.

First impressions so far: yes it can be a bit nerve wrecking if it is your first time doing this sort of thing and even with lots of experience with a 2011 model it’s still a bit unsettling haha (nervous laughter).

What I recommend: use a guitar pick to start cutting the glue. You’ll need a bit of pressure so do just the tip.

Once you’ve done the whole perimeter (minus bottom) do it again but now it should be easier to go deeper so go very slow and careful. Then get the old suction cups used to open older models and start lifting the display very carefully to see where it’s still glued and cut those as well.

Then you should be done and now the real fun begins! :D

It’s ridiculous. Apple should pay for doing this. Like glue parts together to block a repair / make difficult. I smashed my iMac. FU Apple. Seriously, every product I owned had hardware issues. For example, bad solder joints. Never again Apple. I’m happy with Windows and in 2018 / 2019 there are many other manufacturers with high quality stuff. Apple is dying, if they do not change …

After disconnecting the power cord and before cutting the panel adhesive, push and hold the power button for 10 seconds. This will discharge the power supply capacitors. In case you accidentally touch the solder joints on the board, you won't be shocked and drop the panel.

Just completed the Core i5 to i7 CPU upgrade and can strongly recommend getting the “pizza tool” to cut the display adhesive. It worked flawlessly and was done in less than 5 minutes. No inadvertent cables cut. No display problems.

Thank you very much for the tutorial. You are the best!

After reading all the post here I almost gave up doing this on my own. But I did it anyway and was succesful. I would recommend everyone to use the rollcutter. There is no risk of harming the screen if you use it. And in my case it was enough to open the imac. If you do not harm the screen connector or the screen the biggest part is done. It gets easier once you`ve stacked your screen somewhere safe. The parts inside are mostely not as delicate as the heavy and expensive screen!

Take your time and work carefully. It is definitely doable!

I think Dan is right as I decided it best to complete the process with the adhesive tapes to secure the screen. I just took some time to do a complete clean of the interior before sealing the display.

Ordered the full kit to replace my busted 3TB disc hard drive. All the tools work and are excellent. These pictorial and instructional install videos are complete, easy to use, and have good imagery. The 2TB SSD installed exactly as depicted. I used some 3M double sided automotive emblem tape to stick adapter to iMac case, no probs there. The adhesive strips also worked fine and stick firmly. Screen is solidly mounted, no falling out here. IFixit is awesome and this kit saved my over $1200 in getting another iMac. Highly recommended.

I concur, opening the screen a 2nd time is considerably more difficult because the adhesive strips are thinner than the original, which makes getting the cutting tool inserted much more difficult….as a result unknowingly I elongated a small crack to a much longer crack and somehow, the LCD now has a wide grey strip from top to bottom….The first time opening was easy, second time resulted in a ruined screen.. The cost of. a replacement LCD is the same has replacing the entire computer….I would recommend anyone attempting to remove the screen for any reason, do not use the aftermarket adhesive strips if you ever intend to open it up; again, or cut the strips much shorter, or possibly use a few pieces of scotch tape or similar to hold the screen in place….since the screen tilts back, this should not be a problem…Good luck…

I broke one too. And even if you think you did it correctly, you’ll not be able to see where you might have gone too far. You would think it’s very protected behind that metal plate, but no. Take special care with this offence to “right to repair” This should have been designed WAY better. I mean replacing a hardrive that is very likely to fail over the course of time, or even a simple desire to upgrade to an ssd!.

Bummer

I’m thinking I might just use vinyl tape to keep the screen in place for at least a little while after an upgrade. The extra strength of the replacement tape sounds scary.

Umm.. I’m not sure that I’d recommend using a repurposed credit card to open the display - I found that using the “pizza tool” to cut the old adhesive then using a pair of suction cups to gently pull the display up worked perfectly well.

The pizza roller tool is enough to cut through the adhesive. You dont need to cut in a lot further. So the cards are really not necessary.

No problems. I used two old credit cards and marked out a line using permanent marker so it was at the same depth as stipulated on this page. I even pushed it in a little deeper and no issues.

Go very slowly when doing these steps.

I agree, I’m using iFixit suction cups right now.

Go very slowly when lifting the display – give time for the adhesive at the bottom edge to stretch and flow. If you lift too fast, the glass can crack. That’s what happened for me.

The stickiest location on my iMac was the mid-to-lower section of the right side. There are a couple of thicker areas that needed attention from the plastic cards.

WARNING!!! This is where you can crack you screen. TAKE YOUR TIME! Everything work fine for me because I took my time. I was very shocked at how fragile the screen is. It does have a small amount of flex but don’t push your luck. There were two things that made this easy for me #1 Once you have used the cutting wheel to your best judgement to cut the adhesive, start using the iFixIt plastic cards as spacers and space them evenly around the screen. I used 10 individual cards of and gently moved them up and down at each section two at a time. Once I started having less resistance, I combined 2(i.e. 5 sets total) cards evenly space to allow for move rigid and stronger movement to separate the screen. This really helped me to free up more adhesive. #2 before lifting the screen up fully, use tweezers to pull the adhesive like a string from around the entire monitor. This will make lifting the screen much easier since all adhesive will be removed. Finally when lifting the screen use the cards with your hands under them.

If not for iFixit tuts and tools, no way I could do this. iMac 27" takes the prize as the worst design ever for upgrades/maintenance, what were they smoking when they designed it like this?

I have always believed that a properly placed screw can be a beautiful thing. A few decorative, but functional, screws placed in the back of the iMac case to attach the screen would be awesome, but this method is anything but beautiful and borders on insane.

Is it possible to replace the power cable if its damaged? I can’t seem to find anything about this.

After finishing my hard drive replacement I reconnected these connectors to test my display before using new adhesive. Everything was working beautifully. But then when I applied the new adhesive and went to seal the display on for good - the display power cable somehow became disconnected! I had to reopen the Mac for a second time which was far more difficult with new adhesive. When reinstalling double and triple check that the cables are securely inserted before the final seal. Sounds obvious but it’s quite the annoyance if something goes wrong at this point.

Very difficult to work with these connectors.

Power cable very difficult to unplug - data cable veeeeery difficult to plug in.

I noticed that working with the iMac positioned vertically (and with a proper support for inclination) makes this step slightly easier…

Interesting comments.. personally, I didn’t find the cables particularly difficult to detach and reattach. You do have to be patient and gentle. Personally, I found that a rolled up beach towel gently wedged between the unit and back of the display helped keep the glass up. Also, a small flashlight can be helpful to see the cables and connectors if you’re lighting isn’t perfect.

I’d agree to John - not overly difficult. My workaround was to prep the screen for re-installation and then place it in front of the standing machine. The cables are long and flexible enough to be put in place even in this state. You can easily attach the cables and continue with fixing the screen to the housing.

I would not recommend doing this step as pictured. The cable you are removing has little tabs on the wide side that can be depressed inwards towards the center of the connector, releasing the cable. If you just grab the cable as pictured and yank it out, without depressing the side tabs, you are likely to damage something. Don’t pull on the wires, use your fingernails at the connector to squeeze the very small little tabs inward to release the cable from the connector.

The removal of the LCD power cable does require the left and right sides to be squeezed inwards towards each other first before removing, why this isn’t mentioned in the take apart can lead to damaging the iMac.

I agree with maccentric. DO NOT just pull the power cable. Use your fingernail or spudger and gently press the tiny notch inward and towards you gently and one side will disengage. Do the same for the other side and it will slide right out. The notches just have enough edge to catch your nail or spudger. Using your nail is better as you can better feel when you have caught the edge and can feel the cable move.

I lifted the display a few inches up and propped it open in the middle using my iPhone in portrait mode with its torch on. Did the job nicely:

At this step, if you mess up anything with these 2 cables, especially when plugging them back in, even if you think you’re following the instructions here to a T, then you’re screwed.

I would highly, highly, highly recommend AGAINST doing this at home. I followed these instructions to a T, and still somehow managed to have the screen not be able to turn on after the hard drive replacement. Then, once you’ve opened your Mac yourself, Apple will refuse to fix anything on the computer, and even other third party, Apple-authorized repair facility will refuse to repair it for you, and you will have to locate a non-authorized Apple repair facility. There, I am having to pay ~$600 to fix things that got screwed up, even though I followed the instructions here to a T, step by step, and did everything slowly and methodically.

Beware, if you’ve never done this before, that be locked out of ever being able to use an Apple repair facility, or Apple-authorized repair facility, if you mess things up here now.

Can anybody upload an image of how the display can get damaged from removing it? I find it hard to believe (though I’m reading the horror stories here) that a whole display can get damaged. Especially when many of us were following to a T and being VERY CAREFUL.

Thanks.

First: During reassembly, I highly recommend you connect these cables and do a test boot BEFORE you remove the protective tape on the adhesive strips. That way you can fix any issues(like a damaged cable) if something is not right and you have not re-glued the screen back down which will cause a problem. If you have a second person and everything is working after test boot, you can just leave the cables connected, lift the bottom of the screen and have 2nd person pull the protective tape on the adhesive strips and you can set the screen in place. Second I damaged the video data cable during reassembly on my late 2015 iMac- I did not get the connector straight and I damaged the wires on the cable. I recommend you have someone else hold the screen while you attach the cables - they are fragile. Luckily, the data cable was easily replaced for only about $20. If you must do this by yourself, just be careful I highly recommend have 2 people at this step during reassembly.

At least on my “late 2013” model, the smaller display cable connector has tiny, tiny clips on the outside edges. These must be squeezed to unlatch it. Don't pull on the cable itself or the wires can be pulled out. Even with my small fingers, it was hard to grip the clips. When reconnecting, the connector will lightly snap into place.

I managed this step without any problems, but I had my wife hold the screen up while I disconnected/connected the cables. I STRONGLY encourage another pair of hands here so you can focus your full attention on being ultra careful with the cables.

does anybody know how the Display Cabel pin assignment is? I want to try if I can attach the Panel to another grafic card

That display cable connector is common to many Macs of the 2012 era. I’ve destroyed 2 in 38 years of servicing all types of computer equipment.

As stated, there is a latch on this connector. If you put any incorrect force on the cable or connector during disassembly or reassembly, you will break the cable and possibly the connector. The cables can be purchased online and the video connector on the display is exactly the same.

I repeat, if you pull out on the video cable after it has been unlatched instead of parallel to the logic board, YOU WILL BREAK IT.

The second time I reconnected the display the backlight and the display stayed dark and only 3 out of 4 leds lit up. I chose to bring it to a repair store to investigate whether only a cable needs replacement or just to recycle the whole machine. The boy who took in the iMac Mid2015 told me he didn't risk this internal replacement SSD himself at home, but had plugged in an external thunderbolt SSD instead to run the OS from. If I had thought of that before...

I asked some repair shop to look at the issue of the screen staying dark. With a flashlight they saw the LCD was getting data.

There were two issues, one caused by the other: A gold pin of a cable was bent. Levels on the mainboard were questionable, caused buy the shortcut made by the bent cable.

They bent the tiny gold pin on the cable back. I don't know if the shortcut solved itself that way.

They stated: Apple tells the power cable is never the issue, mostly something on the mainboard.

At the time of putting the datacable in the second time it was a bad lighting situation and someone working on my nerves in the room. It didn't go completely smooth, I had put it a bit towards one side.

So if that happens, draw back, try to look at the tiny pins and retry before continuïng.

This repair has cost me €118,20

Messed up the cables I think.
I was so super careful, but %#*@, it's not easy holding the display and getting light shining in there, so you can see exactly what you are doing.
This is a two person job - one to hold the screen and a torch, the other to remove / reseat the two cables.

Heck, this is a professionals job if truth be told - despite having all the kit and having LOTS of experience repairing computers over the years, nothing can prepare you for working on one of these iMacs.

I've tried multiple times now to reconnect them, but blank screen.

So frustrating, took virtually the entire machine apart in order to add a Sata cable and didn't put a foot wrong, despite it being a frustratingly difficult task ... until this bit.

It's incredibly fragile.

A tiny little sliver of glass came of the bottom edge of mine on the left hand side where it sits on the chin of the mac.

All I had done was to carefully lift the screen out and place it on a soft surface.

I think it probably some how cracked when removing the adhesive tape, or was weakened at the point the little ifixit cutter was inserted and perhaps the remainder of the adhesive was holding it on.

You can feel how fragile the display is - but it's the cables you have to watch out for.

I've clearly broken one of mine, as the screen is now black - so I suspect it's the power cable that is broken.

This is despite being very careful

The adhesive strip along the bottom is designed with a pull tab on each outer end. Rather than lever and pull the screen simply carefully pull the tab which removes that half of the lower adhesive strip and frees up the screen.

Niemals den unteren Klebestreifen mit einem scharfen Gegenstand wie Rasierklinge oder so versuchen zu trennen, davon geht die Beschichtung des Displays kaputt und man hat hässliche Streifen unten hinter dem Glas. Stattdessen lieber versuchen, das Display nach oben zu klappen und abzuziehen.

translation from Bas Ti because this is very important:

Never try to separate the bottom adhesive strip with a sharp object such as a razor blade or something, the coating on the display will break and you will have ugly strips at the bottom behind the glass. Instead, try to flip up and pull off the display.

As mentioned before you can pull out the lower adhesive strip. Dont cut it or move the display up and down. This is even more dangerous. On the lower side of mac where the display glass ends is a offset. When moving the display up and down you might crack it over that offset.

When removing the adhesive from the top of the screen, be sure to start at the iSight camera location (= in the middle). If you start at an upper egde of the glass (side doesn’t matter) towards the middle, you risk removing the black background foil from the screen, which will result in ugly stripes behind the glass.

I have pizza cutter. Cut top and sides no problem. Did 2x 21.5" without problem. 27" bottom long strip is the risky area. I have pro supply distributor tape + adhesive promotor + fully clean the tape surfaces so don't use glue / wrong tape. I put a safety fishing line on the 21.5 although that wasn't necessary judging by the fairly secured assembly. Maybe more necessary on the 21s.

And yes, I didn't dare to do heat with LCD diffuser sheets so nearby.

My note is just the bottom long strip on the 27". Didn't dare to tilt screen vertically after reading these comments and outlined my method to cut the bottom strip.

Andrew Stephen’s, thanks a million! The pull tabs worked great and took away the anxiety of detaching the screen from the bottom. Yes, the replacement adhesive strips have those same pull tabs on them.

I spent a lot of time using the iFixit pizza cutter tool, working my way along the three sides until I was at the maximum depth it allowed. Although I had created a 3/8” mark on both cards, I really didn’t need them. After I lifted the glass up enough to disconnect the two cables, I lifted it up and down gently a few times to see how much movement I had. I then held the glass slightly up, enough to get the pizza cutter tool in at the bottom and ran it across the bottom multiple times until it was at maximum depth. The glass easily came loose at that point.

Please update the picture to include the RED BOXED IN AREA that you refer to on all three pictures in this step. I have had a few zaps from these supplies and it is not pleasant.

J’ai réussi à intervenir dans l’iMac sans décoller l’ensemble de l’écran. Je l’ai ouvert en laissant la dernière partie collée (vers le logo Apple) et qui sert comme une charnière. Bien calé et assuré l’écran n’a pas bougé et j’ai pu changer mon disque dur facilement. Le grand avantage et d’avoir l’écran toute suite juste quand on le recolle par la suite.

Well, I of course touched a soldering point in the red area as my hand slipped. I heard and felt a tiny “click” and after replacing the HDD with SSD etc I can not power the iMac up anymore. Not a sign of life :-( I suppose I broke the power supply. Can someone confirm? Or could something else have broken too?

I took my time and pulled both tabs slowly gently. Easily removed and glass came right off.

Before removing any circuit boards or speakers remove the 4mm bar that runs the width of the case, behind the bottom edge of where the screen sits.

It is amazing how much easier you will find it to remove the speakers and circuit boards with this bar removed.

However, before you remove the bar insert a sheet of paper between it and the circuit boards to prevent a short circuit.

The bar is held in by 5 small Phillips head screws (first pictured in step 22).

Once you remove the bar bend the sheet of paper over the front of the case to keep it in place and then remove your circuit board(s).

Thank you so much ifixit! You're instructions are so very clear! Thank you again!

Hello all. So I’m trying to pinpoint my backlight issue on my 2015 retina 5k - I noticed I’m missing my thermal sensor on the LCD. Would this help with the backlight? I’m sure it will keep my fans from going crazy. Any help would be appreciated! Note: I have LEDs except the 4th one. Thanks!

Be careful when removing the adhesive residue!

I didn’t know it, but I ended up leaving slight scratch marks that can be seen from the front side.

Hi all. The 5k screen on the iMac 27" I bought on eBay was totally trashed when it arrived at my home. I was able to find a new 5k replacement screen for it (also on eBay...) which works perfectly. I should note that the new screen did not arrive with a LCD Temp Sensor on it. I was able to Carefully Remove the sensor from the old screen and attach it to the new one successfully. Follow the advice in previous comments regarding removal and re-attaching and you'll have no problems (and save some money). I've had zero problems with it in the last year, so I think this could be a viable solution to a missing LCD Temp Sensor.