MBA 11'' Mid 2011 Logic board upgrade options

[DBU]

Hello,

Except of low memory (2 GB) I'm totally satisfied with my MBA (A1370 Mid 2011).
My idea is to pass the MBA to my kid to learn some basic programming / browse internet / do school assignments.
I'm looking for advice on logic board upgrade options primarily to solve RAM issue.
I don't want to replace other components in my MBA or at least have minor additional replacements.
I've read on this forum that mid-2013 to 2017 MBA components are completely interchangeable.
I hope this might be the case with earlier models.
Do I have to select from Mid 2011 MBAs' logic boards only?
Can I swap in Mid 2012 or even newer logic boards?

 

[wol]

Hello,

Except of low memory (2 GB) I'm totally satisfied with my MBA (A1370 Mid 2011).
My idea is to pass the MBA to my kid to learn some basic programming / browse internet / do school assignments.
I'm looking for advice on logic board upgrade options primarily to solve RAM issue.
I don't want to replace other components in my MBA or at least have minor additional replacements.
I've read on this forum that mid-2013 to 2017 MBA components are completely interchangeable.
I hope this might be the case with earlier models.
Do I have to select from Mid 2011 MBAs' logic boards only?
Can I swap in Mid 2012 or even newer logic boards?

I'm with you, and think that the MBA 11" is one of the great notebook computer designs by Apple (typing this on a MBA Mid 2013).

From comparing the iFixIt guides for the Mid 2011 and Mid 2012, it seems that they use the same images for both, which might suggest that the part connectors and sizes etc. are identical:
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+11-Inch+Mid+2011+Logic+Board+Replacement/6313
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+11-Inch+Mid+2012+Logic+Board+Replacement/12347

Mind you, there might still be issues with different firmware versions running on other components, which could prevent a Mid 2011 with a Mid 2012 logic board from starting up.

In the Mid 2013 model, the design of the heat sink mount for the CPU has changed, see
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+11-Inch+Mid+2013+Logic+Board+Replacement/16945#s51730
compared to
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+11-Inch+Mid+2012+Logic+Board+Replacement/12347#s27239

Thus you'd at least need some additional parts.

 

[DBU]

Thus you'd at least need some additional parts.

Thanks for reply wol. Mid 2011 and Mid 2012 logic boards indeed look very similar. What is not clear though is if Mid 2012 logic board will accept Mid 2011 I/o board with 2011 or 2012 I/o flex cable. Upgrading I/o board is not an option as MBA 2012 comes with MagSafe 2 while MBA 2011 is MagSafe 1 so 2012 I/o board will not feet 2011 case.

So In my case I decided to upgrade with Mid 2011 4Gb logic board.