MacOSG: Changing a MacBook Air’s battery (video)

Posted by Daniel East Jan 28, 2008 at 4:34am

Thinking about getting a MacBook Air, but you’re on the fence about not being able to switch batteries when you need to get a task completed, and you run out of power? This seems to be a deal-breaker for some people. Well, come to find out, the battery’s not that hard to change, and can be done in just a few minutes.

To change the battery, you need to remove ten #00 Phillips screws from the bottom casing. If you don’t have a small #00 Phillips screwdriver, you can pick an inexpensive one up at a local hardware store. There are three different screw lengths, so remembering where each screw belongs is crucial. You may want to put them in small paper cups or plastic sandwich bags.

Once you have the screws out, just lift up the back off the casing. There are no tricky tabs to unhook like on a MacBook Pro. There are some very small metal tabs at the front of the casing, but they are easily undone by simply raising the back first and pulling up.

Once the casing is off, there are nine #00 Phillips screws holding the battery in. Once the battery screws are out, simply disconnected the battery cable. Once you’re inside, the bottom casing also has a convenient two image reassembling set of instructions.

MacBook Air Disassembly Video

Video provided by Gizmodo

So as you can see, you can change batteries quite easy on a MacBook Air, and could even carry a spare with you for an emergency when traveling. You may not want to try and switch batteries on a plane, but it could be easily done in a hotel room.

Oh, and one more thing, don’t forget to pack the #00 Phillips screwdriver!

NOTE: It’s unsure yet if changing the battery yourself will void any warranty. We will have to wait and find out when the MacBook Air ships.

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