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{A1706 / EMC 3071}—Released in June 2017, this 13" Macbook Pro features Kaby Lake processors up to 3.5 GHz Core i7 with Turbo Boost up to 4.0 GHz.

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Touch bar replacement Yay or Nay?

Hello Everyone,

this is my first question ever but i have been following this page for a quite a while since repairing apple products is kinda of a hobby of mine! Ironically enough, i managed to get water on my touch bar and Display!!!!The display is kinda okay and fully functional but the touch bar is completely out!

I also checked if this is due to a Software problem and noticed that “Touch bar agent and Server” are not running at all! Should they be running under “Activity Monitor” regardless of the functionality of the hardware?

Also, I am facing the problem of finding a touch bar and replacement guide! does anyone have any experience regarding this matter that would like to share?

MacBook Pro 13" Retina (Late 2016-2017) Touch Bar Assembly

Is this actually complete or do i need to purchase any extra parts?

Would you guys recommend replacing it myself?

I went to a shop that handles and repairs apple products and also and the official “Handler” but obviously they wanna change the whole top case and would cost me up to 800€ /910$ which is insane!

I would really appreciate your feedback on the matter since am a novice when it comes to new macs repairs!

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,

Magd

Replace a damaged or malfunctioning touch bar assembly compatible with a Late 2016 or 2017 13" MacBook Pro with Retina display. Image

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MacBook Pro 13" Retina (Late 2016-2017) Touch Bar Assembly

$54.99

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@danj thanks man for your support! i will give it a try and most likely film everything/post it and make my first contribution to this great community =)

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Hi there. Was wondering if you were successful in replacing the touch bar and if so, did you actually make a video?

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I'm having similar problems. My touch bar is gone and macbook bricks or takes too long to function on wake and sometimes decides to reboot itself. I took a quick look inside and the logic board looks fine. Everything else works perfectly. If it wasn't for the occasional restarts and bricking on wake I could bear not having a touch bar. Would replacing the touch bar solve these issues?

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If your touch bar is not functional it will mess up the OS as the interface driver between your TB will crash! So yes you will need to get it fixed.

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This is exactly what happened to my 15" -- the touchbar gave up the ghost. The observed behavior was the computer would not wake from sleep and panic/restart. Upon loading up in Mojave, some "security update", that according to my research on the internet was a firmware update for the touchbar, would be forced and fail preventing startup.

This issue was fixed for me entirely by replacing the touchbar with a working one. It's definitely a somewhat unpleasant experience to pry the existing one out but I think was worth it.

FWIW having a USB-C ethernet adapter plugged in allowed me to boot the machine, but I was unable to find any config/software solution to prevent the panic-on-wake issue.

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Most likely they quoted a full uppercase replacement which is why is was so expensive.

As far as replacing the Touch Bar. Getting the old one out is a pain! You’ll need the peel the bar off in pieces as it’s well glued down. Review this teardown MacBook Pro 13" Touch Bar Teardown jump to Step 16. You’ll want to remove the display following this guide MacBook Pro 13" Touch Bar Late 2016 Display Assembly Replacement and you’ll need to remove the Touch ID sensor reference Step 11 in the Teardown. Starting at the Touch ID hole that’s now exposed pry the Touch Bar out and clean the surface. I found a heat gun with a narrow tip can soften the glue, just becareful you dont melt the keys! I used foil which was glued over card stock and double stuck down to the case.

You’ll need Tesa 61395 Tape to re-attach the new Touch Bar if yours doesn’t have it on it.

Custom cut rolls of Tesa 61395 double-sided tape for repair. Image

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Tesa 61395 Tape

$5.99

MacBook Pro 13" Touch Bar Late 2016 Image

Guide

MacBook Pro 13" Touch Bar Teardown

Difficulty:

Moderate
MacBook Pro 13" Touch Bar Late 2016 Display Assembly Image

Guide

MacBook Pro 13" Touch Bar Late 2016 Display Assembly Replacement

Difficulty:

Moderate

—

1 - 2 hours

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I had the 2018 13" model but made this guide after going through it myself : 2018 MacBook Pro 13" Touch Bar Replacement

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@shldnet - Well done! I found a chisel knife worked best so you don't score the upper case as much. Even still not a fun job!

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Just finished replacing the Touch Bar on my MacBook Pro 15” 2017. For anyone else attempting, on the 15” model I didn’t need to remove the display, but I did need to remove the logic board and the left fan to get to the flex cables that attach the Touch Bar to the logic board.

A few notes on my repair, I didn’t use a heat gun (didn’t have a small enough tip that would work without melting the keys). Took about 2.5 hours to completely remove the Touch Bar by slowly breaking it with tweezers and then using citrisolv and a metal splunger to remove all the adhesive and remittance. I wouldn't recommend unless you have the patience. Better to a heat gun with a small tip as mentioned by dan, just be wary of the keys.

Thank you Dan for the answer/links and Magd for posting!

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Yes, you can get away without removing the display, I did it to make sure I didn't damage it in the process.

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I just followed the instructions here on a 2017 15" MacBook Pro. Some clarifications to help anyone else attempting this...

Yes, it absolutely sucks removing the Touch Bar - you will have to remove the logic board and both fans to remove and replace the cables to the Touch ID button on one side and the Touch Bar on the other. You will NOT need to remove the screen, just the motherboard. You can start prying up, smashing, chipping and chiseling away the old Touch Bar after the Touch ID button is fully removed.

A heatgun can help but you will probably still melt something. Be sure to remove the top two rows of keys if you use one and BE CAREFUL! Also read how to remove the butterfly keys if you’ve never done it before. The heat gun is not necessary however and the Jimmy Tool from the essentials toolkit referenced below can be used to scrape up the remaining glue using an up-and-down scraping motion once the old Touch Bar is obliterated and it will be obliterated, it doesn’t just come off.

Tips:

Go slow, very slow, know what you're doing for every step. Be gentle with the cables. Read the guide for removing the screen on the machine as it relates to removing the logic board, it describes how to remove some tricky parts including the flat cables with a flip-up lock. The two cables at the lower left and right of the motherboard just lift up and out but are glued down. Just pull them up, not away from the connector.

Take a good picture of the logic board once the bottom cover is off before you do anything for reference later if you need it.

Take notes about what each part is as you remove it, where it was physically found, and what bit the screws are for reconstructing (use a project mat unless you have another strategy). When removing screws, be slow and use adequate downward force to avoid stripping them as you will be totally screwed if you do.

Final tip: Go slow, very slow, know what you’re doing for every step.

Recommended tools:

Essentials Toolkit - Essential Electronics Toolkit

P3 bit (not in kit) - iFixit Precision 4 mm Screwdriver Bit

Tesa Tape - Tesa 61395 Tape

(optional and helpful) Project Mat - Magnetic Project Mat

Necessary bits: T3, T5, TR8, P2, P5

I can happily say my MacBook finally works again and I can put it to sleep without it freezing when waking (or becoming a brick with that “security update” upon startup when upgrading to Mojave).

Thank you for this post and tips from other folks! It was a fun project to do but did take me several hours to complete so give yourself adequate time or plan to work on it in a couple of sessions. Good luck if you’re embarking on the same repair, it is possible!

Organize and magnetically secure your screws and small parts on a dry erase surface. Make notes with included pen. Image

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Magnetic Project Mat

$19.95

Our gateway kit to electronics repair, perfectly sized and priced for essential electronics repair. Image

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Essential Electronics Toolkit

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iFixit Precision 4 mm screwdriver bits. Replacement bits for the Pro Tech Toolkit, Mako Driver Kit, and Manta Driver Kit. Image

Product

iFixit Precision 4 mm Screwdriver Bit

$2.99

Custom cut rolls of Tesa 61395 double-sided tape for repair. Image

Product

Tesa 61395 Tape

$5.99

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The display does not need to be removed.

You can break cable of the spoilt Touch Bar and start from the side that does not have the Touch ID. In that way, you do not need to be afraid of spoiling the TouchID button. With some patience and consistent low heat, it can be pried out in 20 mins.

Clean the residue with an alcohol swab and a flat blade 90 degree pen knife tool. Can be done in 30-45 mins.

The shards are a pain to clean off. I use an industrial blower + vacuum.

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Removing the display is not that big a deal once you've gotten the logic board out. I would recommend it for a fist timer. Removing the TouchID is just smart! If you slip you can kill it and it offers access from the other side.

You don't want to damage either if you slip up.

I tape down a strip of aluminum foil over the keys to protect them from both the heating of the area if you use a heat gun and to prevent the glass crumbs from getting caught in the keys.

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Is replacing top case a easier way to go ?

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@kirkmcphee - Yes, but more costly!

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Thnx for info

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Hey Donna, I would say it depends on why it stopped working. If there is corrosion (water or liquid of any kind), the problem could worsen over time. If it just because maybe it once banged against something I would say working with a failing Touch Bar probably won't do any harm to the computer.

I think the Apple person not being allowed to answer also points in the direction of it being fine more than it not being fine; otherwise they would have advised you to come and get it done by Apple a.s.a.p.

Try and check if your MacBook heats up, try to see if it charges normally, try to not overcharge it and try to check the activity monitor every now and then to see if you see weird things (google knows a it about this).

Good luck and I hope it's nothing!

Diede

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Thank you Diede! This was most helpful. The light stopped working after I updated it to Sequoia. I didn't bang it into anything. And there was no water or liquid damage of any kind. I turned it off in the settings for now. I do hope it doesn't develop into anything more.

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You are very welcome. I see that people say to replace it, you need to break it. It's not really true, you can heat it and melt the glue and very very slowly get it loose and then take it off without breaking it. I don't know where you live, but I at least have Touchbars lying around that I could send it will save costs, depending on where you live though. I hope all goes well ! <3

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Question: My touch bar has stopped lighting up. Does it need to be fixed or can I just go on not using it? I just don't have the finances at the moment. I tried asking Apple support but the representative said that he wasn't allowed to answer that question.

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In the past, macOS would hang starting up trying to apply a necessary firmware update for the bar for a failed one I had. If your computer starts up without it working, then you may be good to go for a while at least. Hopefully that boot hang is something that won’t happen again in the future.

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Magd will be eternally grateful.
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