a 27-inch iMac isn't as portable si a
Macbook but its portable enough to make
you feel comfortable moving it around
well I don't recommend you take your
iMac with you to Starbucks you're gonna
do what you're gonna do
the space-saving qualities that make an
iMac so portable might make you think
it's impossible to repair well it's not
and today I'm going to show you how to
replace the display in a late 2012 iMac
hi I'm Gwendolyn with iFixit and today
we're going to be working on a 27-inch
late 2012 iMac the opening and
disassembly of this machine is almost
the same as a late 2013 and even the
most recent 5k Retina machines but when
you're working on your machine make sure
to follow the guide specific to your
iMac to find out which iMac you have
take a look under the foot of your iMac
to find the EMC number looking up that
number will tell you your IMAX exact
model for this repair you're going to
need an iMac opening tool a plastic card
and a set of replacement adhesive strips
I'm also going to be using this iMac
service wedge this phone block allows
you to have easy access to the internals
of your iMac without worrying about the
display moving around it's not
absolutely essential but it will make it
a bit easier to work on your iMac now to
get started we're going to use our iMac
opening tool the iMac opening tool will
keep you from pushing in too far but if
you're using anything else to do your
prime you need to be careful that you
don't insert your tool more than three
eighths of an inch
there's several cables and connectors
you could damage by inserting your
prying tool too far into your iMac
starting on the bottom left side of the
display near the power button insert the
iMac opening tool into the gap between
the glass panel and the rear case with
your opening tool inserted just roll it
like a pizza cutter up the left side of
the display when you get to the top just
continue around the corner and continue
along the top of the iMac cutting the
foam adhesive as you go you may have to
make multiple passes to cut all the
adhesive and if you find a sticky spot
as you go simply roll the opening tool
back and forth over that spot finish
pushing the opening tool to the bottom
of the right side of the display at this
point you'll want to make another pass
around the display with your opening
tool just to ensure to cut as much
adhesive as possible once you're able to
move your tool freely along the edges
you can move on to the next step
the iMac opening tool should have done
most of the work on that adhesive but
just in case we're going to get our
plastic cards in there to unstick
everything for this part you're going to
want to lay your iMac on the table face
up and use your plastic cards to begin
separating the display from the rear
case it should only take some gentle
prying if you're encountering some
resistance try running your opening tool
back over the section you're working on
and then try the card again but remember
it's very important not to insert your
prying cards more than 3/8 of an inch
into your iMac as you're working across
the top make sure you stop before you
get to the iSight camera the prying can
damage it simply leave your card in
place to keep the glue from resetting
and move to the opposite corner working
your way back towards the iSight camera
with both cards in place and the
adhesive cut along the top we're going
to try to lift the glass from the back
panel
we're only going to lift the display a
few inches because it's still attached
to the logic board by cables to
disconnect the cables you're going to
hold the display up with one hand and
disconnect the cables with the other
with the cables disconnected you can
lift the front glass up to an almost
vertical position there's still a strip
of adhesive at the bottom if it feels
stuck you can use your card to cut away
the adhesive from the inside be very
careful not to touch any of the solder
joints on the back of the power supply
capacitors may be charged enough to give
you a dangerous shock and now you can
take the display off just be extremely
careful as it's deceptively heavy for
reassembly we recommend you follow the
step by step guide on ifixit.com in
Reverse if you need a little help
reapplying your display make sure you
check out our imac adhesive strips
repair guide as it'll walk you through
getting your display back on you can
find all the parts and tools you need
for this and many other repairs at
ifixit.com and let us know how it goes
you can find me on twitter at Gwendolyn
gay and follow i fix it at iFixit don't
forget to subscribe to our YouTube
channel to stay up-to-date on all our
latest tear downs and repair videos and
give us a like on facebook at
facebook.com/ slash i fix it
you