Surely you can have it shipped from the US, but I ended up having a local retailer procure the part and send it to me. The second problem is actually obtaining the item you determined is needed. In my case, the parts for mid-2012 and late-2011 models are mostly identical.

Finding out which part you need for your specific model requires a lot of research, since Apple does not release the service manuals for technicians and thus you have to google it up.

The connection was all but severed, the antenna parts in the clutch almost useless for lack of connection with the airport card. Seeing that, it didn’t surprise me to see the whole set of antennas severely torn and frayed. Ideally, the cables would be in the centre of rotation, but they aren’t really (well, because the hinges are in the way). Due to something only little short of a design error, the cables get stretched and torn whenever you open or close the lid. The MacBook is packed densely and the antenna cables alongside the webcam cable are routed along one of the hinges. This thing, being made of plastic, allows the antennas to pick up signals.

This is why from the AirPort card (which in my model is in the lower case beneath the power button this is not the case for all models), 3 antennas (perhaps for wifi and bluetooth and … what else?) vanish in the black clutch cover between display and body. The unibody MBPs are made of aluminum, meaning you will not get a signal if you stick your receiver into it. It turned out however, that the card was fine, it was the antenna cables which were the problem. I saw no reason why it should break, but surely failures of this part are not unheard of. My first guess was that the AirPort card was at fault which would not have been a huge deal for being rather easily replaceable. This prompted me to investigate some more. I was bothered, but didn’t realize the extent of the problem until a few weeks ago where it suddenly stopped working in its entirety unless I was within about 2 meters of the router. It was difficult for me to obtain a connection unless I was close to the router (or whatever source emitting the signal). In the interest of documentation and enrichment of internet repair guides, I share with you today my adventures to the land of no WiFi. Before you ask – yes, I made it back safely, having wrestled the nefarious Clutch Troll, braved the thick and spikey shrubbery known as the Jungle of Antennas and emerged with fewer nerves, but more wisdom.Ĭlick any image to embiggen it, but do not expect too much – my DSLR is away so I only had a digicam available.įor the past couple of months (difficult to say when it all started), my MacBook – a 13″ mid-2012 model, A1278, Number 9,2 – suffered from a continuously deteriorating case of WiFi problems. Today’s post is brought to you by ShitPress, a wordpress variant whose only peculiarity is that it removes all images from your post, some time after it was published.

Replace macbook pro cable