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Hi, I’ve got a MacBook Air with a broken screen (backlight layers dirty/broken) but mainly use it on an external monitor anyway. It seems any screen repairs will be hardly worth the effort and cost, I would need a new screen unit - the layers alone are hard to get and repair. Therefore I had the idea of just running the MacBook without the screen. I saw a guy on YouTube who had modified a notebook like this, basically running it as a keyboard with in built computer. Question is: how would I best go about removing the lid (screen assembly) permanently ? The wifi antenna and camera are also in the screen unit, if I am informed right. I could live without the camera but do need the wifi antenna. I wonder would I be able to run the unit with the antenna stuffed into the base and how to best extract it from the screen assembly. Any hints appreciated. —– Edit — Thanks for all the tips, here is a summary : It works. Fantastic result - I now have an Intel core i5 barebone PC with excellent chiclet keyboard and the best touchpad there could be. If anyone is planning on doing this as well:
- You can attach the monitor via Mini Display Port or Thunderbolt output (or with an adapter via those ports). It runs without any problems, full boot up and everything is just displayed on it - the Mac behaves like it never had the built-in screen
- Do a complete teardown and remove the screen
- Be very careful opening the screen and remove the iSight camera from the screen unit
- Unscrew the hinges and plastic bar from the screen
- re-assemble without screen unit, just hinges and the plastic bar
- you will need to leave the display connector and the iSight camera “dangling out” at the back, for all the rest you would not notice the thing actually had a screen All the best - L
Guys, I managed to do it. Fantastic result - I now have an Intel core i5 barebone PC with excellent chiclet keyboard and the best touchpad there could be. If anyone is planning on doing this as well with a broken screen mac:
- Do a complete teardown and remove the screen
- Be very careful opening the screen and remove the iSight camera from the screen unit
- Unscrew the hinges and plastic bar from the screen
- re-assemble without screen unit, just hinges and the plastic bar
- you will need to leave the display connector and the iSight camera “dangling out” at the back, for all the rest you would not notice the thing actually had a screen Works great. Now I just need to find an elegant solution to house the iSight camera. I was thinking about just cutting off the cables, but it would be a shame, as it is fully functional. Cheers L
Just hook up an external monitor using: Thunderbolt digital video output Native Mini DisplayPort output DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter (sold separately) VGA output using Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter (sold separately) Dual-link DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (sold separately) HDMI audio and video output using third-party Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter (sold separately)
if you plan to use it with an external keyboard leaves the connected display so you do not give up the wifi, but I do not remember the settings you can manage that discs do not go to sleep. but if you are determined to remove the part of the display you should leave all the wiring display and transfer it to the antennas and infetiore body but there really is very little space at least you do not remove the battery and let it always be fed to the grid
Hi! I also have a broken display on my Macbook Air 5,2 (2012) and want to completely remove the display. My question is: Does the mac without a display send the output automatic to the external monitor? If yes, also at boot time? For example, if I want to boot from a cd or usb strick, can I see the boot menu? or can I only see the menu on my “removed” internal display?
Peace, I would be really grateful if you could please answer the following questions… 1- “Would I be able to remove the screen by just opening the display assembly and saving myself the hassle of opening the base?” 2- Did the wifi antenna really turn out to be in the screen part ? 3- You mentioned that you left the display connector and the camera wires dangling, do you have any idea if the computer will still work if I cut off the wires ? Thank you !
