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can it be done swap M1 and intel Mainboards.

nobackup

nobackup

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 19, 2008
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Based on the ifixit treardown details it would appear that you might na able to just swap the motherboards out (out with the intel and in with an M1). Now that would be cool. I’m waiting for mine to arrive ... let’s see. Now all we need is Apple to offer an upgrade offer. !!!
 
It should be ,but Apple will never offer such option to customers because business is business .
Why offer to upgrade old stuff if it can earn more money to sell new stuff ?
 
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great way to get around the total cost of a new laptop.

I just bought a MacBook Pro 16" i9 2020 model.

Once they put the M1 or M2 in the 16" MacBook Pro all you need is the arm motherboard with the arm processor in it

The screen and the case should work unless you want micro LED screen which I suspect the M1 16" MacBook Pro might have

The USB C ports might also be in the wrong place on the case.
 
Apple won't offer that. And they only offer replacement logic boards to Apple Authorized Service Providers - and even then only on a "swap for like" basis. AASPs can't just buy a few spares to have on hand - they have to send back a broken one of the same thing.
 
Can you imagine Apple offering such an "upgrade" service at a reasonable price? Think of the PR they would get just from the positive environmental impact of such a move. It would be a win-win situation in today's world.
 
nobackup said:
Based on the ifixit treardown details it would appear that you might na able to just swap the motherboards out (out with the intel and in with an M1). Now that would be cool. I’m waiting for mine to arrive ... let’s see. Now all we need is Apple to offer an upgrade offer. !!!
Click to expand...
For what it's worth, Apple did offer something like this for the Mac 128K to Mac 512K machines. I also think they offered this for the Apple II to the Apple IIe.
 
I swapped the logic board from a MacBook 1,1(core duo, 32 bit processor) to the logic board of a MacBook 2,1(core2duo, 64 bit processor)....

these machines came out in 2006, and in 2020 to swap the logic boards cost me about $10.

the original logic board could not run an OS higher than 10.6.8 (snow leopard)....
aftervp I swapped the logic board, I was able to get a patched version of 10.11 (el Capitan)
on the machine.....

so, the original question of this post is a great one, and in 5~10 years time, this may be a super cheap and great way to upgrade an early 2020 intel MacBook air.
 
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I doubt you will be able to swap logic boards and connect everything and assume it will all work. Apple has begun to "pair" everything so that if you swap out components, they won't work unless you pair everything to the logic board. Similar to what Apple has done to their iPhones. It is their way to maintain even tighter control of their products even after the sale... Not a fan of their current anti repair policy...

I hope I am wrong here but I have a feeling I'm not...
 
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Yes it is “Possible” !
If you have a MacBook pro early 2020 base model (AKA A2289 / MXK32,MXK62 LL/A) it is possible only to swap logic boards and heatsink and get it working. Nothing more. The connectors and their locations and types are exactly the same.
You need both the logic board and the heatsink though. The rest of the device is the same as the M1 upgraded model.
I checked both M1 and my own MXK32 MacBook logic boards and they both fit each other’s casings.
After I saw this thread, I made an account here only to share this with you. If you have a baseline MacBook pro early 2020, you can open it and check it against an M1 MacBook pro to confirm it for yourselves. I attach images below. One is M1 and the other is my A2289 - MXK32LL/A
 

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amirhoseinabedian said:
Yes it is “Possible” !
If you have a MacBook pro early 2020 base model (AKA A2289 / MXK32,MXK62 LL/A) it is possible only to swap logic boards and heatsink and get it working. Nothing more. The connectors and their locations and types are exactly the same.
You need both the logic board and the heatsink though. The rest of the device is the same as the M1 upgraded model.
I checked both M1 and my own MXK32 MacBook logic boards and they both fit each other’s casings.
After I saw this thread, I made an account here only to share this with you. If you have a baseline MacBook pro early 2020, you can open it and check it against an M1 MacBook pro to confirm it for yourselves. I attach images below. One is M1 and the other is my A2289 - MXK32LL/A
Click to expand...


did it boot ?
 
amirhoseinabedian said:
Yes it is “Possible” !
If you have a MacBook pro early 2020 base model (AKA A2289 / MXK32,MXK62 LL/A) it is possible only to swap logic boards and heatsink and get it working. Nothing more. The connectors and their locations and types are exactly the same.
You need both the logic board and the heatsink though. The rest of the device is the same as the M1 upgraded model.
I checked both M1 and my own MXK32 MacBook logic boards and they both fit each other’s casings.
After I saw this thread, I made an account here only to share this with you. If you have a baseline MacBook pro early 2020, you can open it and check it against an M1 MacBook pro to confirm it for yourselves. I attach images below. One is M1 and the other is my A2289 - MXK32LL/A
Click to expand...
Hello where did you buy it? I cant find it anywhere. Thanks!!!
 
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In 5-7 years, this thread will be a hot topic.
I have a 2020 intel MacBook Air, and when intel macs are no longer supported,
I will be very curious to see if this kind of a swap is possible.

But the future just isn’t there yet, and we gotta be patient.
Unless someone is a very wealthy tinkerer, there is no reason to do this until the cost of m1 logic boards come down.
(Right now, to just buy the m1 logic board will be about the same cost as a new MacBook).
 
Well then I hope that a wealthy tinkerer tries and reports back sometime in the next five years. 😂
 
nobackup said:
Based on the ifixit treardown details it would appear that you might na able to just swap the motherboards out (out with the intel and in with an M1). Now that would be cool. I’m waiting for mine to arrive ... let’s see. Now all we need is Apple to offer an upgrade offer. !!!
Click to expand...
I'd guess it won't work between the two MacBook Airs. There aren't many changes between them, but there are enough for it to likely be a slight issue at the very least.

I have a feeling that it's much more likely to work between 2-port MacBook Pros. Though, do keep in mind that the Touch ID button is still paired with the logic board at the factory (and that you'd need to do a similar re-pairing or you'd have to transfer the Touch ID button that was originally paired with the M1 board to the Intel machine).
 
So, if you were an unscrupulous person you could nip into a shop and buy am M1 with cash. Then pop out to your car, swap the boards and touch ID then return it for a refund. They could turn it on to check that it’s ok, the serial number on the case matches the box etc and it boots.

you then have yourself an M1
 
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