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Swap Logic Board MacBook Air 13" 2013 to 2017

gtx3r

gtx3r

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 9, 2018
7
0
Hello,

I am curious if it is possible to swap a 2013 Macbook Air logic board with a MBA 2017 logic board.

I saw some post at (Upgrade MacBook Air A1466 i5 2013 logic board with a newer one 2015) claimed that he successfully installed a 2015 logic board on a 2013 MBA body. Since the logic board for MBA 2015 is similarly identical with the MBA 2017, wouldn’t it fit for 2013?

The reason being is I am not looking forward to trade-in my MBA with the latest one, I just want to upgrade the components only.

Requesting for experts out there to assist me in this one.

Thank you

  • My Macbook Air is:
  • "Core i5" 1.3 13" (Mid-2013) MD760LL/A
 
I thought they were different, but I think I may be mistaken.
 
Last edited:
Audit13 said:
The mid-2013 to 2017 MBA components are completely interchangeable. I have personally swapped many components among these models.
Click to expand...
the difference I can determine is only the SSD, although that would not be the case as I will be using another brand of SSD.

So by that you mean that it is possible for me to swap and use 13" 2017 MBA logic board on my old 13" 2013 MBA?

What about the connectors (LCD, battery, AirPort card, Camera, Trackpad ribbon, speaker and others) that is connected to the logic board, is it the same size?
 
gtx3r said:
the difference I can determine is only the SSD, although that would not be the case as I will be using another brand of SSD.

So by that you mean that it is possible for me to swap and use 13" 2017 MBA logic board on my old 13" 2013 MBA?

What about the connectors (LCD, battery, AirPort card, Camera, Trackpad ribbon, speaker and others) that is connected to the logic board, is it the same size?
Click to expand...
The SSDs are also interchangeable. Which brand are you considering?

Everything will line up. The mid-2013 to 2017 air didn't change except for a slight jump on cpu speed, integrated video, and PCIe bus speed.

A 2017 13" Air logic board will fit into a mid-2013 13" Air. Connectors will line up and fit without any modification. I've done it by swapping internals among mid-2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017 13" Airs.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-2014-...Logic-Board-820-3437-B-661-7479-/173673886171
 
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Audit13 said:
The SSDs are also interchangeable. Which brand are you considering?

Everything will line up. The mid-2013 to 2017 air didn't change except for a slight jump on cpu speed, integrated video, and PCIe bus speed.

A 2017 13" Air logic board will fit into a mid-2013 13" Air. Connectors will line up and fit without any modification. I've done it by swapping internals among mid-2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017 13" Airs.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-2014-...Logic-Board-820-3437-B-661-7479-/173673886171
Click to expand...

Wow I feel comfortable speaking with you rather than other people in another website forum. You know some people like me, we appreciate the old stuff and we like to salvage anything that are still good. Some people would just suggest to purchase a new one instead of repairing the current one, even though it is still repairable.

So coming back to the topic, I find the original Apple SSD & OWC to be quite expensive and their performance are not as good compared to 970 Evo. So I will go for the Samsung one by using an adapter from Sintech.

I am aware that 970 Evo is PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3, but I believe it is backward compatible with the MBA 2017 SSD slot PCIe 2.0 x4. The only downside for this is that we could not utilize the true performance of 970 Evo Gen 3.0 x4.

There are some questions about the logic board that I have found in AliExpress, it states that their logic board are brands from MIXUSP, KEFU, Reboto. Are these companies making logic boards, or they just make those boards from scratch?

Now based on your opinion, would you prefer to buy from this site, or do you have any idea's on where to find a reliable board & website?

Correct me if there is anything wrong.

Thank you sir.
 
@gtx3r

I also like to make re-use parts whenever possible. I have put together some Macbook Pros and Airs that wound up saving me a lot of money. My "franken Macs" have been gifted to relatives and friends for daily use.

The Samsung drives have excellent performance; however, people in this thread have experienced increased heat and reduced battery life from using the Samsung drives: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-macbook-pro-ssd-to-m-2-nvme.2034976/page-107. A good alternative to the Samsung appears to be the Adata sx8200 and Intel 760p.

I have never purchased a board from Aliexpress. I think the vendors are salvagers/refurbishers. Original Apple parts can only come from AASP. In Canada, authorized repair depots cannot sell OEM parts without installing them for the customer. It may be the same in the USA too.

I have purchased salvage machines from local buy-and-sell websites like Craigslist, Kijiji, and Letgo. Shipping from China to Canada can take up to 2.5 months. I recommend looking at eBay before Aliexpress since you will have purchase protection through PayPal.
 
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@Audit13

Audit13 said:
I also like to make re-use parts whenever possible. I have put together some Macbook Pros and Airs that wound up saving me a lot of money. My "franken Macs" have been gifted to relatives and friends for daily use.
Click to expand...

That's nice to hear. Franken Macs? could you enlighten me about it?

Audit13 said:
The Samsung drives have excellent performance; however, people in this thread have experienced increased heat and reduced battery life from using the Samsung drives: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-macbook-pro-ssd-to-m-2-nvme.2034976/page-107. A good alternative to the Samsung appears to be the Adata sx8200 and Intel 760p.
Click to expand...

I didn't come across the information about heat issues before, that is good to know. But I will maybe have to go with the Evo 970 as I have already purchased it.

Referring to the thread you showed me,
notgonna said:
The Evo deeps sleeps lid-closed enough that I'm at 99% or 100% overnight.
-
Click to expand...
I read the adapter company suggest to input this code into the terminal:
Sudo pmset standby 0
Sudo pmset hibernatemode 0 standby 0

I don't know whether this works or not as I haven't tested it yet.

Audit13 said:
I have never purchased a board from Aliexpress. I think the vendors are salvagers/refurbishers. Original Apple parts can only come from AASP. In Canada, authorized repair depots cannot sell OEM parts without installing them for the customer. It may be the same in the USA too.
Click to expand...

I have heard about this information before, where most phone/laptop repair companies in USA & Canada could not simply refurbish or even repair Apple devices and Microsoft software. I heard it from Louis Rossmann.

As for know I am stuck, don't know whether to take the risk of buying a used board or just buy a used 2017 MBA. A used logic board is hard to find a reliable one. In my place where I live used MBA comes quite expensive and less options in SSD Capacity and i7 Processors.
 
Airboy1466 said:
Yes different architecture
Click to expand...
The CPU architecture is different but the physical connectors are in the same place.
[doublepost=1544538504][/doublepost]
gtx3r said:
@Audit13
That's nice to hear. Franken Macs? could you enlighten me about it?

I didn't come across the information about heat issues before, that is good to know. But I will maybe have to go with the Evo 970 as I have already purchased it.

Referring to the thread you showed me, I read the adapter company suggest to input this code into the terminal:
Sudo pmset standby 0
Sudo pmset hibernatemode 0 standby 0

I don't know whether this works or not as I haven't tested it yet.

I have heard about this information before, where most phone/laptop repair companies in USA & Canada could not simply refurbish or even repair Apple devices and Microsoft software. I heard it from Louis Rossmann.

As for know I am stuck, don't know whether to take the risk of buying a used board or just buy a used 2017 MBA. A used logic board is hard to find a reliable one. In my place where I live used MBA comes quite expensive and less options in SSD Capacity and i7 Processors.
Click to expand...
Franken Mac is a Mac I put together using different parts from different Macs, similar to the way Dr. Frankenstein put together his creation from different dead body parts.

The terminal command is necessary to prevent the Macbook from going into hibernation. Waking a 2013 or 2014 Macbook with a nvme drive from sleep mode can cause kernel panics. These panics require a hard reboot to get back into the OS. The terminal commands are not needed for a 2015 or 2017 Macbook because these models have no problem with waking up from hibernation.

I'm in a big city so there are lots of people selling Macbooks. I am patient and look for Macbooks with reusable parts. I have put together some really cheap Macbooks but it can take months to find all the right parts.

There is no difference between a 2015 and 2017 logic board except for a slightly fast cpu in the 2017. Finding a used 2015 board may be easier.
 
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Audit13 said:
The CPU architecture is different but the physical connectors are in the same place.

There is no difference between a 2015 and 2017 logic board except for a slightly fast cpu in the 2017. Finding a used 2015 board may be easier.
Click to expand...
I believe the original 2015 MBA models also came with 4GB RAM standard (8GB optional upgrade) and in 2016 8GB was made standard.
The base model i5 1.6ghz model was bumped up to an i5 1.8ghz in the 2017 models. The i7 2.2ghz option stayed the same in the 2015 and 2017 models.

Parts are definitely interchangeable. I’ve swapped stuff from my 2015 MBA to a 2013 MBA when testing out components. Works fine.
Your best bet would be looking for a 2015 board with 8gb of RAM. i7 would be a bonus, but not necessary IMO. I used to have a base 2015 13” 1.6 i5/4GB/128GB model that I picked up super cheap. Sold it when I found a nice deal on a 2015 13” 2.2 i7/8GB/512GB model that I’ve been using as my main laptop for awhile.
Not too much of a speed difference, but 4GB is a bit low as most (all?) macs come with 8GB (or more) standard now.
 
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Audit13 said:
The mid-2013 to 2017 MBA components are completely interchangeable. I have personally swapped many components among these models.
Click to expand...
Can i put a 2015 or 2017 logic board on my mid-2013 ? Have you done this before ? I really want to do it but Im a bit afraid of things going wrong
 
Luizmiller said:
Can i put a 2015 or 2017 logic board on my mid-2013 ? Have you done this before ? I really want to do it but Im a bit afraid of things going wrong
Click to expand...
Yes, the mid-2013 Air 13" will work with a logic board from a 2015 Air 13" and 2017 Air 13".

I have personally swapped different components among 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017 13" Airs, including logic boards, screens, batteries, SSDs, Bluetooth/WiFi cards, and screens.
 
Worth noting that recent MacOS (12.3) update has reports coming in that it is bricking Macs with replaced logic boards. Even those replaced by Apple. Not seeing from anyone - including Apple - a reason (or solution) for this yet.

So you might just want to hold out for a bit until the smoke clears...
 
I also aim to swap the logic board in my mid-2013 MacBook Air for a compatible board with more speed and memory. Even swapping my i5 4gb to the same year’s i7 8gb would be great. Here I learned that more recent years also work, perhaps better. So thanks to everyone on this thread for that.

Is there one reliable resource to check compatibility?
 
Audit13 said:
All components from the 13" mid-2013 to 2017 are interchangeable.

All components from the 11" mid-2013 to 2015 are interchangeable.
Click to expand...
Got it, thank you. A Pro logic board would NOT work in my 13” Air, correct?
 
I just swap my 2013 i5 1.4ghz 4GB ram to a 2017 i7 2.2ghz 8gb ram logic board and everything went well. Thanks guys
 

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Audit13 said:
All components from the 13" mid-2013 to 2017 are interchangeable.

All components from the 11" mid-2013 to 2015 are interchangeable.
Click to expand...

I swapped a 2015 11" logic board into a 2014 top case w 2013 screen. Everything works well except the top row of keys don't provide the correct functionality. The keyboard works, I can see the keys are pressed in Keyboard Viewer, they just don't do anything (except F11 which reveals desktop). I've done the usual pram and smc resets, and tried on several different versions of MacOS.

Firmware issue?
 
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mm2005 said:
I swapped a 2015 11" logic board into a 2014 top case w 2013 screen. Everything works well except the top row of keys don't provide the correct functionality. The keyboard works, I can see the keys are pressed in Keyboard Viewer, they just don't do anything (except F11 which reveals desktop). I've done the usual pram and smc resets, and tried on several different versions of MacOS.

Firmware issue?
Click to expand...
that ribbon to the trackpad needs to be 100% connected.
mine was dislodge and I finally got the ribbon snug after 1.6 years of trying.
ithe q-p keys did not work until I finally connected th ribbon perfectly.

hoped this helped. let me know if you need a trick how to do this
 
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