iMac Intel 27" EMC 2546 Adhesive Strips Replacement

Written By: Andrew Optimus Goldheart

Comments: 44

iMac Intel 27" EMC 2546 Adhesive Strips Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

30 minutes - 2 hours

Introduction

For the updated iFixit guide, click here. This guide has been archived for historical purposes.

Removing the display on a Late 2012 iMac requires cutting through the adhesive around the perimeter of the screen. After the adhesive is cut, it cannot be used to re-seal the display in place, so you'll need to apply a new set of adhesive strips.

Tools

Step 1

With the hinge free to move, the iMac will be unbalanced and hard to work on. Repairs can be completed as shown, but are faster and easier with an iMac service wedge.
If you are not using an iMac service wedge, be very careful when installing and working behind the display—it can easily fall out and break if the iMac moves unexpectedly.

I found that using a couple of paperbacks (one larger than the other) performed the same function - taller one placed to the rear of the stand and the other one in front accommodated the curvature perfectly.

robinsnaddon - 02/06/18

For point 10 of this guide: iMac 27” 2017 has a relocated microphone position, so if you follow this guide, the mic ist not working after applying the tape.

Make sure to let the microphone out, its located on the lower edge, right of the apple.

Also the tape Stips on the upper edge are 2mm too long, and on the upper right it does not fit to the antenna area, so they have to be shortened and cut in the right shape.

maccy - 09/05/20

Step 2

Before you start placing strips, remove all of the old adhesive from around the perimeter of the rear enclosure.
If you are re-using your existing display, you must also remove the old adhesive from the back of the display.
Peel off the old strips of adhesive using tweezers or your fingers. Start at the bottom and peel upward towards the top of the device.
After all the old adhesive is removed, carefully clean the area under the adhesive with 90% (or greater) isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free cloth. Wipe in one direction, not back and forth.
Don't skip this step, or your new adhesive strips may not bond properly, and the display may fall out of your iMac.

I've done this on several iMacs now, but today I noticed another layer of thin black plastic stuck to the back of the display.

It was really tough to remove and left a lot of clear, sticky goop under it.

It's really thin, but it was strong enough to hold the screen in place by itself - I reconnected the display cables and tested before pulling the backing off the new adhesive strips - and it stuck together!

I had to pry it apart again and it actually ripped my new glue strips in 2 or 3 places. I was able to still use them, but it did not go as smoothly as other iMacs I've upgraded. Everything was fine in the end, but I left some blue painters tape on the top of the screen overnight so the glue strips will set up without the screen falling off - just to be on the safe side.

Does anyone know if this last layer of black plastic on the screen should be removed or left in place when replacing the glue strips?

Daniel Cassel - 30/06/17

That Black layer of plastic should not be removed. I found that on some segments, upon peeling back old adhesive remnants, the thin black plastic layer would also begin to peel off. STOP and cut off what has been removed, separate the black plastic strip from the adhesive remnant you are peeling off. The continue removing remnants.

Macrepair SF - 10/07/18

Are you sure that you’re not supposed to pull the black backing all the way off? I removed all the black strips before getting to this step.

Tom Tompkins - 17/01/19

IMHO: The rubbing alcohol is clutch for this step. There’s plenty of residue after pulling up the old adhesive and the 99% Isopropyl Alcohol really took the tacky remnants off.

Ben Hannam - 12/04/19

To add on to the rubbing alcohol thing for removing residue, the alcohol doesn’t actually dissolve the adhesive residue, but softens it and makes it easier to get up. But you still have to actually remove it. I found that once you peel up the big pieces of adhesive, you’re still gonna have a some sticky residue. Here’s what worked for me:

1) You want to go section by section, using a clean piece of non-linty cloth wet with alcohol to get the glue residue nice and wet. As it says in the instructions, don’t wipe back and forth, but wipe the residue along in one direction instead of just spreading it around.

2) The plastic spudger that came with your repair kit (or the end of a credit card or something plastic that won’t cause damage) can be used as a little trowel to push the adhesive along and gather it up into a little booger-like hunk of goo.

3) At that point, you can wipe it off with a clean, dry piece of cloth. Why dry? Because it won’t really stick to the alcohol-soaked one but will stick to a dry cloth.

Damian Chadwick - 20/04/20

It still took me a solid half-hour easily to go along all the edges and get them as clean as possible. I had to go over some sections a few times. This might have been overkill, but I really really didn’t want to go through all this and then find that the new adhesive strips weren’t holding because there was old gunk I hadn’t removed.

Damian Chadwick - 20/04/20

The careful removal of the adhesive is very, very important. Take that from a guy who didn’t carefully remove the adhesive and was awakened in the middle of the night by the screen coming off of the iMac and crashing to the floor. That was a bad night.

Gary Bandy - 15/07/20

Step 3

Start with strip 13, which goes on the right vertical side of the rear enclosure.
Before peeling off any backing, line it up against the frame of the iMac to get an idea of where it goes.
Peel the short piece of backing off the back of the strip.

Step 4

Insert the tip of a spudger into the hole at the top of the strip from the side that still has a backing on it.

Step 5

With the spudger still poking through the hole in the adhesive strip, push the spudger tip into the corresponding hole in the frame of the iMac.
Using the hole and spudger to anchor the position of the adhesive strip, line the strip up against the right edge, gently pull down against the spudger to ensure the strip is taut, and stick it onto the frame.

Step 6

Once you're satisfied that the top half of the adhesive strip is neatly aligned, peel the longer piece of backing out from behind the strip.
If the top half isn't aligned properly, you can carefully peel it up and re-stick it before peeling off the lower backing strip. Be sure to use the spudger tip to anchor the top.

Step 7

Align the lower portion of the strip with the right edge of the frame, and stick it down.

Step 8

Use your finger to smooth all of strip 13. Make sure it is neatly aligned with the right side of the frame and that it sits flat.
Do not peel off the front adhesive backing yet.

Step 9

Work your way around the perimeter of the iMac, adding three more adhesive strips in the same manner.
Working counter-clockwise from strip 13, place:
strip 12 on the top right
strip 11 on the top left
strip 16 on the left vertical
These three strips have a hole at each end—always use the smaller hole for alignment for more precise placement.
On the iMac Intel 27" Retina 5K Display, strip 12's blue tabs will not line up with the top antenna in the same way as the regular model. This is perfectly acceptable and won't impact the performance of the strips or antenna.

Number 11 is WAY too long and had to be cut. Not good.

Brian Peixinho - 02/02/20

Step 10

The two remaining strips (14 and 15) do not have guide holes and are more difficult to place than the previous ones. Before sticking them down, we recommend first setting them in their respective places on the iMac to get comfortable with their placement.
Grasp the red film pull tab on the 14 adhesive strip and pull to remove the backing from the strip.
Align the strip on the bottom edge of the rear enclosure, directly to the right of the middle screw on that edge.
Run your finger along the length of the adhesive strip to ensure it is straight and unwrinkled, pressing down as you go to adhere the strip to the iMac.

Using iFixIt’s adhesive strips, i cannot strip off the white backing. Pulling on the tab pulls the wrong backing off, the black backing. I can:t figure a way to do this correctly!

Charles Lindauer - 01/04/18

Same with mine, but carefully using a razor blade to separate the white side from the adhesive, leaving the clear side attached, then remove the white side and place accordingly.

Phill - 01/01/19

The video shows the correct method - attach these strips to the back of the screen rather than the iMac itself.

robinsnaddon - 02/06/18

The Video can be found at macsales.com support site. Here’s the link:

https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos...

got to 07:48

Macrepair SF - 10/07/18

The instructions at this step need to be re-written. The Bullet point that says “Align the strip on the bottom edge of the rear enclosure” is misleading. Strips 14 and 15 are to be Placed on the Bottom Back Edge of the Display! Also note that the way these strips have been manufactured they are a bit funky. They will be placed with the DARK SIDE up, but the film covering the adhesive on these is tough to get properly separated, fortunately I had not cut my nails recently, so I was able to finally get it off after several minutes.

steve - 08/10/19

I did this step according to this written guide, and honestly the result was not good, plus it is much harder to put the display back on when the 14 and 15 strip adhesive is attached onto the computer.

The video (also from ifixit) shows the correct way, putting strip 14 and 15 on the LCD itself. Have done it like this on a previous iMac I had and the results were much more pleasing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSChIAlX...

robert - 09/11/19

There is a problem with step 10 of this guide for 27” iMac 5K Display 2019! If you follow step 10 as it is, the iMac microphone port is blocked with adhesive. After following this guide I had to buy an extra set of adhesive strips and reopen my iMac to fix the muffled microphone problem! The correct application of the adhesives in step 10 is described in iMac Intel 21.5" Retina 4K Display (2017) Adhesive Strips Replacement guide iMac Intel 21.5" Retina 4K Display (2017) Adhesive Strips Replacement

Please do update this guide accordingly!

Martins Medens - 21/01/20

LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE: Yes, the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSChIAlX...) IS right on this step, but I did something stupid. I based the rest of my screen re-install based on the video, instead of using the rest of this guide (I know, I know, I should have read the whole thing first… I assumed this was the easy part after replacing my hard drive). All that to say, the video doesn’t include any of the helpful painters tape stuff, so I ended up eyeballing the screen with active adhesive, and it ended up slightly misaligned. When I saw the mistake, it was too late to change anything. It’s a very small error, but a noticeable one if you run your finger along the top of the glass, but I am still kicking myself for messing the final step up after an otherwise successful install.

BARRY RODRIGUEZ - 22/02/20

Das Microphon befindet sich bei diesem Modell unten rechts über dem Apple Logo (3 Löcher): Nicht überkleben!

Markus Kaempfer - 11/01/21

Step 11

Repeat the previous step for the 15 adhesive strip, placing it along the left half of the bottom of edge of the iMac.
Once you've applied all the adhesive strips, the iMac should look as shown in the photo.

You've really got to pay particular attention to exactly where to stick these - especially the short right-angle part as it doesn't go on the back of the glass as you might expect but actually over part of the edge of the LCD. It's also really difficult to remove and reposition the stickers since they will stretch when pulling them off.

David - 30/08/17

Note on the newer iMacs, the microphone is located on the right side of the lower edge. Make sure not to cover this up with tape or your microphone won’t work.

veenenen - 11/06/20

Das Microphon befindet sich bei diesem Modell unten rechts über dem Apple Logo (3 Löcher): Nicht überkleben!

Markus Kaempfer - 11/01/21

Step 12

Gently lay the display in place over the iMac, and align it carefully.

Isn’t the step of peeling off the bottom sticker missing?

alessandroteruzzi - 11/07/20

Step 13

Use painter's tape or masking tape to temporarily secure the bottom edge of the display to the iMac's enclosure.
The tape preserves the display's alignment, and allows you to safely swing the top edge of the display open to access the display cables.

Step 14

At this point it's a good idea to test your repair, in order to make sure your iMac works properly before you seal it back up. Follow the next three steps to temporarily reconnect the display cables and boot up your iMac prior to pulling the protective film off the adhesive strips.
If you've already verified that your iMac is working correctly and are ready to seal it up, skip to Step 16.
Gently insert the display data connector into its socket on the logic board. Be sure to press it straight into the socket, and insert it completely.
Flip the display data connector lock down onto the socket.
Insert the display power connector into its socket on the logic board.

Step 15

Set the display back on the iMac's rear enclosure.
At this time, plug in your iMac, power it on, and test your repair before moving on to actually sealing up the computer. Be sure to check for full functionality of any hardware you removed or disconnected.
When you are finished, shut the iMac down and unplug the power cord before you continue.

Step 16

Verify that your iMac is turned off and unplugged from power before you continue.
After confirming that your iMac functions properly, disconnect the display cables and carefully lean the display forward.
Remove the film from the 15 strip by reaching in from above and pulling the tab straight up from the bottom edge of the display.

Step 17

Repeat the previous step for the 14 strip.

Step 18

Reconnect the display power and data cables for the final time.
Remember to secure the metal retaining bracket on the display data cable.

Bonjour. Avez-vous des photos comment rebrancher le connecteur mâle - femelle côté écran ? De face ? Par le haut, par le bas ? Pas réussi à remettre. Merci

Pixelcabane -

@pixelcabane Ce tutoriel n'est plus à jour. Veuillez consulter à la place https://fr.ifixit.com/Tutoriel/Remplacem... et https://fr.ifixit.com/Tutoriel/Remplacem... pour plus d'infos sur le remplacement de l'écran. Si cela ne vous aide pas, le mieux serait de poser votre question sur notre Forum (https://fr.ifixit.com/R%C3%A9ponses) prévu spécialement à cet effet. Là-bas, tous les membres de la communauté vous aideront à résoudre votre problème.

Claire Miesch -

Step 19

Check the glass directly in front of the webcam for dust and other contaminants. If necessary, wipe it down with a microfiber cloth before you seal up the display.
Steady the display with one hand as you remove the adhesive liners in the following steps, or rest it lightly against the iMac's enclosure.

Step 20

Remove one side of the protective film from Strip 11 by pulling its tab straight up.

Step 21

Remove the other side of the protective film from strip 11.

Step 22

Repeat the previous steps to remove the protective films from all the remaining adhesive strips (labeled 11, 12, and 13).

my number 13 stripe is broken in the middle. :( the last one. :(

anonymous 8397 - 05/01/20

Step 23

Remove the tape securing the display to the rear enclosure.
To ensure a strong bond, carefully tip the iMac flat on its back (with the screen facing straight up) and press carefully but firmly around all four edges of the display.

Cuidado en los iMac de 2017 y posteriores! Las dos entradas del micrófono están en la parte de abajo del marco (justo sobre la manzana). Si se dejan tapados por la cinta, los micros no funcionan! Hay que cortar la cinta justo por esos lugares, preferiblemente, solo sobre los pequeños orificios de entrada del sonido.

javier - 04/05/21

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Andrew Optimus Goldheart

Member since: 17/10/09

506922 Reputation

17 comments

Hello guys!

Could anyone tell what the width of these strips is? I need to buy some double sided strips to do a hard drive upgrade, but I can't order from iFixit :(

Thank you!

Gonzalo Urioste - 04/06/15

Some 3m Extreme Mounting tape works perfect for hdd upgrades on an imac.

http://bit.ly/22snsn1

torch130 - 12/04/16

Hey guys... there's one critical step that's missing here. Before doing Step 18, you have to make sure the iSight camera is in the right place. It's 'floating' inside the computer housing and has to be positioned just right for the glass to close/seal properly with the frame. I followed all of these steps but the glass would not seal around the camera, leaving a 1/8" gap there and distortion on the LCD when powered on. I had to re-order the strips and do the process over again. While doing a 'dry run', I realized the camera was the culprit and was able to hold it in position with a paper clip which allowed for the glass to adhere properly on the 2nd try.

raven13mb - 22/06/15

I'm surprised to see, that you install the tape strips on the unit lying down.

It's a lot easier to attach them with the unit standing upright.

Also, attach ALL the strips to the rear housing, NOT to the LCD.

Attach the tape strips to the housing, mount the display, use som painters (/masking) tape, when you have aligned the display to the edges of the housing, attach the tape to the bottom of the glass and rear housing, making sure the display won't slip out of alignment.

Then, tilt the display towards you and support it with either a hand or your chest, while you remove the tapes protective layer and tilt the display back.

That way, it's still well aligned and it won't shift.

Same goes when removing the display in the first place.

Don't lay it down on the table - use a wedge, to make sure that the housing doesn't tilt while removing the display, and let the wedge stay there unit finished. The display is a lot easier to handle when upright, and you won't put too much pressure on the edges of the glass.

MorbidMylar - 12/07/15

By the way, a minor detail you guys left out;

The tape strips for the 2012 and 2013, are not the same as 2014 Retina model.

The WiFi antenna's are located differently on the right. It's slightly elevated on the Retina, compared to the 2012 and 2013 models.

MorbidMylar - 12/07/15

I've just added some steps, for closing the iMac backup. Please revise them if needed.

But you guys need to take notice, of users cracking their display glass and getting vertical or horizontal lines, when following your guides, as the guides are VERY far from Apple's iMac Service Guides!

MorbidMylar - 16/07/15

Please help,

unfortunately after assembly of the Display, i have seen, that the outside dark frame in front of the display is torn. Obviously, the black film has solved on one side. Although open with the original iFixit tool (cutter)

Where can i get an new black foil

Andreas - 07/12/15

Remember to check, before you close the case, that the small clear circle where the iSight camera looks out is dust-free, especially if, as I was, you are working with a unit that was pretty dusty inside.

You could easily seal the iMac up and then to your frustration see that there are multiple specks of dust slap-bang in front of the camera lens.

Guy Hemmings - 01/05/16

Is the IFIXIT adhesive strip secure enough for 27" iMac late 2013 model? I still see some gaps after using IFIXIT strip and am worried that the display may fell off one day.

Firstaid computers - 24/06/16

Hello all, how does the LCD cable get disconnected from the old screen, I am afraid of breaking it!

Do I lift anything or just pull on it?

Thank you

Carlos - 02/10/16

Hi Carlos, this is a guide for reassembly, be sure you check out the full display removal guide to learn how to disconnect those cables!

Sam Goldheart - 03/10/16

Make sure to remove old adhesive tape from both the iMac *and* the screen before putting new adhesive tape on.

Thomer Gil - 08/10/16

Success. Had a couple extra screws and a post to remove pn either side of the heat sink, but all good.

Dr. Sharleen Tan - 27/03/17

What am i getting wrong? After carefully fp;;owing this guide - my adhesive fails after a day -

mikemccloskey - 23/05/18

Adhesive failed 6 months in. The weight of the screen also pulled the connectors off the logic board, ruining the whole machine.

Lance Seabourn Jr - 12/06/18

The same problem than mikemccloskey, two days after mounting my display… the adhesive failed and the monitor is broken now.

Miguel Angel Cordova - 20/02/19

i think the last step here is to allow time for the adhesive to set for at least 24 hours before using it.

Scott Oertel - 24/03/19