[SOLVED] Macbook Air A1466

[glennd]

Customer dropped off her Macbook Air A1466 with a faulty lcd panel. It lights up but no image.

I told her I've never done a Macbook but I'll look into it and report back. The closest Apple repair shop is about 2 1/2 hours away. Will Apple sell me a replacement lcd panel and are they reasonably straight forward to put in?




Ed: One pundit suggests it's way simpler to replace the whole lid assembly.

 

[glennd]

The repair itself isn't too difficult (by Apple standards), but I'd be surprised if you can get Apple to sell you the parts. If you don't mind a good second source then iFixit probably has whatever you need, but watch out for Apple's horrible tendency to apply the same model number to entirely different computers.

A couple of links to set you on your way.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+13-Inch+Mid+2013+Display+Assembly+Replacement/15407

https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/MacBook-Air-13"-Model-A1466/Screens

The iFixit tutorials are generally very accurate (but occasionally they'll skip a step - be sure to read the comments!), and their estimates of how long a job will take are usually close enough to quote by.

Thanks for that. The replacement procedure looks ok. They have an Australian store but it has no displays for sale. The US store lists one for $275 USD which is about $384 AUD plus shipping. I found a couple of places on eBay between $300 and $400 AUD.

She also mentioned that nothing is backed up Can I boot a Macbook from USB to backup the drive before I start?

 

[sapphirescales]

You should replace the entire upper assembly. Don't be afraid to look on eBay. They go brand new for $100 cheaper than iFixit sells a used one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/13-MacBook...5177:g:7vIAAOSwTvNdwtxc&LH_ItemCondition=1000

Can I boot a Macbook from USB to backup the drive before I start?

You've got two options with Macs:

1. Target Disk Mode, where you connect it directly to another Mac using a FireWire cable to back up the data.

2. Buy an external drive enclosure for the MacBook Air:
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MAU3ENPRPCI/

I usually use option 2. The newer macs (2016 and newer) don't have removable SSD's, so the only option is option 1, and if the board isn't working, that data is gone for good.

 

[sapphirescales]

I've had better results using the UK eBay (ebay.co.uk) for some odd components and UK sellers seem much more willing to treat the whole world as their market.

Doesn't eBay have a NZ website? Regardless, I've found my best contacts (for refurbished computers, new parts, etc.) through eBay. It's not just a website for scammers and grandmas trying to get rid of useless knick-knacks.

 

[glennd]

You should replace the entire upper assembly. Don't be afraid to look on eBay. They go brand new for $100 cheaper than iFixit sells a used one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/13-MacBook-Air-A1466-2013-2014-2015-2017-LED-LCD-Screen-Display-Assembly-Shell/133426729335?epid=2227609568&hash=item1f10da5177:g:7vIAAOSwTvNdwtxc&LH_ItemCondition=1000


You've got two options with Macs:

1. Target Disk Mode, where you connect it directly to another Mac using a FireWire cable to back up the data.

2. Buy an external drive enclosure for the MacBook Air:
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MAU3ENPRPCI/

I usually use option 2. The newer macs (2016 and newer) don't have removable SSD's, so the only option is option 1, and if the board isn't working, that data is gone for good.

eBay is the only realistic choice at this point.

According to Mr G, it will boot to a usb drive but that requires the display be working and the os on the external drive is the same as the internal drive. So that's a problem. Backup is not an option it seems.

 

[glennd]

Unfortunately a lot of eBay sellers in the US won't ship outside their own country (or even to Alaska or Hawaii in some cases) and those that do usually quote for shipping by flying unicorn.

AliExpress, on the other hand, sells the same product cheaper and with free shipping:

https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesal...id=SB_20200822203503&SearchText=a1466+display

(Who would have though that China would be so much better at capitalism than the US?)

There's a couple of Australian eBay sellers that seem to have what I want. As for aliexpress, nah probably not...

 

[glennd]

What's stopping you from connecting it to an external display? All you need is a mini-DisplayPort to HDMI adapter and you're in business.

The customer mentioned she tried to boot with an external display plugged in but it refused to use it. I suspect the display kicks in after login.

It's worth doing this before buying parts anyway, just in case you have a GPU or logic board problem and not a faulty display panel. It doesn't look that way, but why take the chance?

That thought puts me in a place I don't want to be.

Unless they explicitly state that the goods are in stock in Australia, there's a good chance that they're simply dropshipping from A*i E*****s anyway.

So does that.

 

[sapphirescales]

The customer mentioned she tried to boot with an external display plugged in but it refused to use it. I suspect the display kicks in after login.

Unplug the LVDS cable and boot it with an external display connected. That will force it to use the external display.

 

[timeshifter]

You should be able to hook up an HDMI monitor to that and it will probably work fine. Someone gave me a MacBook Air with a bad screen. Rather than fixing it I put it on eBay as is, to be a "tower" to use with external screen. Buyer was happy with it.

 

[sapphirescales]

Nobody ever gives me good computers.

Of all the ironies, I got a free MacBook Air 13" 2017 today. It has a bad "T" key. The client already bought a new MacBook Air and paid me $250 to transfer the data for her. She said I could just keep her old one. I'll probably have to replace the upper keyboard/palm rest, but that's cheap. Takes me about 1/2 hour to do one of those. It seems to work perfectly otherwise.

This was one of those clients with money that just didn't care. I get a lot of those. When I quoted $250 to back it up, she didn't bat an eye.

 

[Markverhyden]

Don't both trying to replace just the screen on those. Any lid assembly that thin is not meant to be repaired.

Getting data? Boot into target disk mode by holding down the T key when powering on.

A1466 covers a lot of models so which port you'll use to connect depends on which model. But it should show up as an external drive even in M$ as long as you have a matching port.

 

[labtech]

that data is gone for good.

This expression really confuses people and often makes customers give up on their hope on recovering the files off their inaccessible devices.
Let's stop using it and rather say: "The files are not accessible with traditional methods. Please, try an advanced data recovery lab or someone specializing in logic board repairs."
Unless it is erased in some fashion, the data is not gone. It is still there on the SSD component.
Though not an easy task, repairing the logic board is possible in many cases.
In other cases, where the logic board has a "rescue port" and the SSD does work, the files can be recovered with the Apple Migration module.

 

[britechguy]

This expression really confuses people and often makes customers give up on their hope on recovering the files off their inaccessible devices.
Let's stop using it and rather say: "The files are not accessible with traditional methods. Please, try an advanced data recovery lab or someone specializing in logic board repairs."

While I agree that "it's not gone" in the absolute, literal sense, it should also be noted for the customer that the costs associated with the recommended course of action will not be inconsiderable.

I've had home users throw their hands up when presented with even the possibility of a multi-hundred dollar bill for data recovery on a conventional HDD. I can only imagine the multiplier involved when an SSD goes belly up.

So, while I like your phrasing better both for its professionalism and its absolute correctness, it's often a distinction without difference when it comes to whether the "data is gone" for that user or not.

I really don't know how, at this point in the PC-as-ubiquitous-tool stage of the game, that it has not become common knowledge and common practice to backup, backup, backup!! How many stories of drive failures, ransomware attacks, etc., etc., etc., will it take for it to finally become almost universal practice to back up one's computer?! (And, believe me, I see un-backed-up machines almost constantly, and when those are new clients they get the lecture). I can't imagine that virtually anyone could not ask around and find multiple people in their circle who have had immense conflagrations of some sort related to their computers if it hasn't happened to them (yet) personally. (And back to those new clients, if I probe about whether they know anyone who's suffered due to any one of the aforementioned types of incidents, almost all say, "yes").

 

[sapphirescales]

While I agree that "it's not gone" in the absolute, literal sense, it should also be noted for the customer that the costs associated with the recommended course of action will not be inconsiderable.

Yes, for all intents and purposes, it's "gone" for 99.99% of people. Most people aren't going to pay thousands of dollars to try to recover data from a dead logic board. Hundreds? Maybe. Thousands? Forget it. Especially Mac users, who mostly use their computers as expensive web browsers. And let's be honest, $2,000 to transfer the SSD and T2 chip to another logic board would be a bargain.

Apple's goal is to make as crappy quality computers as possible, charge as much for them as possible, and sucker people into paying monthly for everything. There is no legitimate reason for soldering the SSD to the board and tying it to a T2 chip. The "security" excuse is BS. These aren't computers sold to the CIA. There's nothing wrong with having a drive that you can pull the data off of with another computer. And even if you needed security, that can be done through software if necessary. No, the ONLY reason Apple has done this is so people lose their data and hopefully pay them monthly for iCloud backups going forward.

 

[britechguy]

Yes, for all intents and purposes, it's "gone" for 99.99% of people.

Yup. Economically unfeasible yet still possible, still equals "gone."

I'd be perfectly willing to say, "It is likely that your data is unrecoverable for any reasonable cost," followed by sharing that there exist services that can try.

For me, if the cost is more than several hundred I can be virtually assured that most of my clients are not going to pay it, even if they could easily afford to do so. This is all the more so once they have a replacement system up and running and have a few weeks to a few months to realize just how little of what has disappeared is something they actually need or want. One of my current clients who had a major HDD failure has that HDD and the drive it would be recovered to sitting at a data recovery service awaiting his final decision as to whether he wishes to proceed. It's been in that "wait state" since late June, so after two months of mulling time he's still not given the "go/no go" decision. I ultimately anticipate the latter. Once we have the USB drive back I'll set up a backup protocol for him.

 

[glennd]

Yes, that should work. Or you could log in blind and then use Command-F1 to switch on display mirroring.

Rather frustratingly I'm typing this on an A1466 right now but I can't test either hypothesis because its Display Port doesn't work. Nobody ever gives me good computers.

I'm going to dig up a DP cable before I go any further (yes I don't have one, go figure). I'm no longer convinced the machine is functioning correctly.

When I hit the power button it does the "dang" noise and the display lights up and the caps lock led works. In my experience with WinTel machines, even when the panel is broken there's usually some kind of movement on the display when I move the mouse or press random keys, but in this case there's no movement at all. I've tried the various startup key combinations but again no change to the display.

 

[Markverhyden]

I'm going to dig up a DP cable before I go any further (yes I don't have one, go figure). I'm no longer convinced the machine is functioning correctly.

When I hit the power button it does the "dang" noise and the display lights up and the caps lock led works. In my experience with WinTel machines, even when the panel is broken there's usually some kind of movement on the display when I move the mouse or press random keys, but in this case there's no movement at all. I've tried the various startup key combinations but again no change to the display.

When you power up have you tried flashing the PRAM? If the caps lock etc is working then the logic board should be good so TDM will work if the SSD is good.

 

[glennd]

When you power up have you tried flashing the PRAM? If the caps lock etc is working then the logic board should be good so TDM will work if the SSD is good.

It goes through the motions: dang, black screen, dang etc.. but the display image doesn't change.

Does TDM only work with another Mac?

 

[Markverhyden]

It goes through the motions: dang, black screen, dang etc.. but the display image doesn't change.

Does TDM only work with another Mac?

No. It'll work on any other computer with a compatible port. In essence it turns the computer into a firewire/usb/thunderbolt external HD. So to use it on a M$ machine you need Transmac to browse the filesystem. Alternatively R-Studio can parse the file system and you can recover that way. Many *nix's can read HFS+ natively or by adding a file system driver. However if it has File Vault you are much more limited. Seem to remember @lcoughey or @Larry Sabo saying that R-Studio can open File Vault with the correct password. Of course Mac OS can, not sure about Transmac or the *nixes.

 

[glennd]

No. It'll work on any other computer with a compatible port. In essence it turns the computer into a firewire/usb/thunderbolt external HD. So to use it on a M$ machine you need Transmac to browse the filesystem. Alternatively R-Studio can parse the file system and you can recover that way. Many *nix's can read HFS+ natively or by adding a file system driver. However if it has File Vault you are much more limited. Seem to remember @lcoughey or @Larry Sabo saying that R-Studio can open File Vault with the correct password. Of course Mac OS can, not sure about Transmac or the *nixes.

Ok. So I'm back to the cable problem. This time we need USB-A to USB-A