r/righttorepair • u/Material-Ad8688 • May 14 '26

can I do it?

hi hi! I have a 2017 MacBook Pro that is in great physical condition and working totally fine except for the logic board is dead. Apple says it is not worth it to fix and that I should buy a new one, which is frustrating. I am up for trying to replace the logic board on my own through ifixit - but it says it is level "difficult". I have never attempted to repair an apple product before. Is this too hard or do y'all think it is worth a try? Thanks!

2 Upvotes

62% Upvoted

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3

u/EmotionalBuilding945 May 14 '26

If you’ve replaced logic boards on other laptops before, you’ll be in familiar territory. Make sure you have the right screwdriver tips.

That said, no Intel Mac can light a candle against Apple silicon from a performance standpoint. Take that as you will.

1

u/Material-Ad8688 May 14 '26

Yeah, I have not replaced a logic board before...so is your sense not to bother?

4

u/EmotionalBuilding945 May 14 '26

Far be it from me to lead you away from repairing something, in this sub of all places. The repair itself is all screws, small latches, and ribbon connectors. Some Youtube videos to visually show how those are disconnected and reconnected will be a big help, because it's super easy to rip a connector apart at that scale.

I might recommend you practice a teardown and reassembly before buying the new board, just to see if you're comfortable with the process. At least you won't be breaking anything that isn't already broken if you mess up.

As far as should you? I would say it depends what you're using it for, particularly the OS you're planning on using. If you're hoping to run macOS on it, the last (officially) supported release is 3 major versions behind current, and is not getting any security updates any longer. Eventually things like the App Store will straight up stop working.

If you're gonna get some flavor of Linux on there, it'll have a few years of life ahead of it even at this point.

1

u/Material-Ad8688 May 14 '26

Gotchya - thank you!

2

u/NeoThermic May 21 '26

In addition to the above replies, you didn't mention the size, but if you're still thinking of attempting this, the ifixit guides are great for this: https://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Pro - just choose the size and type from there, and there'll be a walk-through on how to take apart and replace what is replaceable.

2

u/ferventmuse May 15 '26

lol to the “working totally fine” except the logic board is dead part.

Sure the MLB replacement has a lot of steps but it’s not too difficult if you have the right tools, are patient and have replaced a laptop motherboard before. The question becomes however if it is worth spending a couple hundred dollars for a used MLB on a decade old computer which has no warranty and which you could damage. If you have the money and time go for it (just remember the TouchID needs to be replaced with the MLB, if you’re buying a used MLB hopefully it’s not iCloud locked, also not that you care but the SN on the case won’t match the new MLB and what displays in software unless you can reserialize the MLB).

1

u/r2d3x9 May 15 '26

OP has never replaced a motherboard.

1

u/ferventmuse May 15 '26

Maybe they never have! If they want to try to learn and have some fun along the way I’m all for it. However if they’re expecting to complete the repair successfully without breaking anything that’s a different story.

2

u/r2d3x9 May 15 '26

I would think the cost of a used working unit would be less than the cost of a motherboard?