REPAIR GUIDEApple TV

Apple TV Take-apart Manual

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TAKE-APARTREPAIRREASSEMBLE

Our guide will show
you step by step how
to take apart yourApple TV. Each step
will be given in great
detail and aided withhigh quality picturesof each step.

It will also show you
what needs to be donefor each ailment yourApple TV may behaving. It will
explain why it isdoing it and where tofind the parts to fixit.

The hardest part about
a repair isreassembly. With thisguide, it will assist
you in getting thosescrews back where theycame from.

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Disclaimer
Any portion of this manual may not be
copied, reproduced, or distributed without thewritten consent of Powerbookmedic.com. Violators will be prosecuted.

still under coverage by Apple for your Apple TV,
we would suggest contacting them first.

Repair Center
Powerbookmedic.com offers a repair serv-TOOLS NEEDEDTorx T8 ScrewdriverThis manual is presented as a guide inice if you do not feel confident on performing

Torx T10 Screwdriverorder to help you repair problems with yourthe repair yourself after reading this manual.

Torx T15 ScrewdriverApple TV. Working on an Apple TV can be dan-

The repair service is a flat labor charge plus thegerous if not done properly. We atcost of the parts needed.

Powerbookmedic.com take no responsibility for

You can view our labor fees on our web-any damage or harm done to yourself or yoursite by clicking on the repair center link at theApple TV as a result of reading this guide.

top of the page.

Apple manufactures several revisions ineach line of their products. This guide will try tocover each of these revisions, but you may findsubtle differences between our manual and what
you see in your unit. This may require small
adjustments to the repair procedure as described in our manual. If you are confused atwhat you are seeing in comparison to the man-Suggestions?
If you see any problems with the manual,tips you would like added, or any suggestions
to make the manual better, don’t hesitate toemail us with your ideas to...
support@powerbookmedic.com

ual’s description and pictures, you may contact

Phillips #00 Screwdriver

us by phone or email and we will try to assistyou.
As of the writing of this manual, Apple’s
warranty policy denotes that opening up yourApple product will void the warranty. If you areCopyright © 2007
Powerbookmedic.com.
All rights reserved.
Putty Knife

Other tools...
A spudger and tweezers may also
be helpful during the repair but
are not necessary.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Removing the Rubber Base

Removing the Power Supply

Removing the Bottom Shield

Removing the FanRemoving the Hard Drive

Removing the Bracket

Removing the Airport

Removing the Logic Board

Removing the IR Sensor

Removing the Metal Trim

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Introduction:

APPLE TV

General information
about your Apple TV.

Welcome to the AppleTV Repair Guide
provided byPowerbookmedic.com

YOUR FIRST LOOK AT THE
APPLE TV...

Apple has now ventured into your living room andbrought with it its outstanding iTunes capabilities toyour television set including music and videos.

The Apple TV is Apple’s try with the media

and movies online with iTunes that allowing all ofcenter market. With their extreme success withthat media to be viewable on your television andiTunes, it was inevitable that it would eventually

playable through much better sound systems

jump the gap from the computer screen to thewas a no-brainer.

television. So many people have iPods andpurchase music, music videos, television shows,

When it comes down to it, the Apple TV is
still a computer and computers can haveproblems. The casing can get damaged, thehard drive can die, the main logic board can getfried by a power surge. All of these warrant
repairing the unit, and this guide will give you
the option to repair it yourself instead of sending
it off to get repaired.
This guide only explains taking apart andrepairing your Apple TV. For other information,
you will need to look elsewhere online.

[4]The Box
It will include the power cable,remote, Apple TV, and themanual.

Close look at the Apple TV...

The Apple TV has a beautiful
design. It is similar to the Mac Mini in
its compact engineering with metalframe and reflective top.

The rear of the Apple TV includes
the Power Connector, USB, Ethernet,
DVI, Component (RGB), L/R Stereo,and Optical Audio outputs.

The bottom of the Apple TV iscovered by a rubberized bottom to help
give traction on the shelf and to help
with any vibrations from the fan. The
take apart process begins here.

[5]Removing the Rubber Base

STEP BY STEP
1

The first thing to do to begin the take-apart process isto flip the Apple TV over with the bottom side up.

2Starting at the rear of the Apple TV where the ports are,you should notice a part of the frame that extends
underneath the rubber base. Slide your putty knife
underneath the lip of the rubber.

3

Once you have the knife securely under the rubberbase, free up that corner and gently lift until you canget a good hold of the rubber base and can lift it.

4Start peeling the rubber base off. It is held on by a mildadhesive. Just start with the edges and work your way
around until the base is completely off.

BottomThe bottom is the doorway toopening the Apple TV. It
also has your serial number
on it so you don’t want todamage it.

[6]Removing the Bottom Shield

1Once the rubber base is removed, we can take off thebottom shield. The shield is attached to the main bodyby 4 T10 screws around the corners. There are twonear the front which are both longer 15 mm screws.
The two rear screws are 10 mm. The four T8 screws
should be skipped for now.

2Once those screws are removed, we need to gently pry up thebottom shield. It is best to stick a small screwdriver or
spudger into one of the vent holes and lift up. The front orright side are preferable as the hard drive cable is connecting
the bottom shield to the main body of the Apple TV.

3

You can flip the bottom shield over and rest it down. You canthen disconnect the hard drive cable from the main logic board.
The cable should have a small blue loop that you can use to pull
the cable free. The bottom shield should now be separate fromthe main body.

STEP BY STEP

Shift KeyThe stock
hard drive is40GB.

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The design on the shift
key is different from theother keys. It has a different style scissor
mechanism that sometimes
brings people trouble, but
it isn’t that difficult
once you get the hang ofit.

Removing the Hard Drive

STEP BY STEP
12Make sure the Hard Drive cable is disconnected fromthe main logic board and the bottom shield is separated
from the main body of the Apple TV.

Flip the bottom shield back over and you should see the
4 T8 screws we skipped earlier holding the hard drivein. Remove these screws.

3

Flip the shield back over and you should be able to pull
the hard drive off of the shield. There is a slightadhesive.

4The other end of the hard drive cable can now be
disconnected from the hard drive.

Hard Drive
The built-in hard drive is a
40GB Fujitsu 2.5” EIDE. The
Apple TV is not using thenewer SATA technology foundin the Macbook and Macbook
Pro product lines.

[8]Removing the Airport Card

1The Airport card is located in the middle near the rearof the Apple TV. It is connected to the main logic
board and has two antenna cables hooked up to it.
These need to be removed with needle-nose pliers or aspudger. Just lift up as straight as you can in order tonot damage the cables.

2

After the antenna have been removed, there is a T8 screw (12mm in length) anchoring the Airport card to the main logic
board. Unscrew it.

3

After the screw is removed, the card should pop up. Youshould then be able to pull it straight out towards the front ofthe unit.

STEP BY STEP

Airport Card

The
Airport cardoffers 802.11nsupport.

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The Airport card provides
wireless connectivity toyour wireless base station
giving you the power towirelessly access theinternet as well as yournetworked machines.

Removing the Infrared Sensor

STEP BY STEP
1The IR sensor cable has two pieces of tape holding it
down. Remove both of these pieces.

2

The cable connects to the main logic board as seen in
the second picture to the left. Disconnect this cable. It
can be difficult to disconnect so you may want to use aspudger to assist you.

3

The IR sensor is anchored to the metal trim with two
black screws. Unscrewing these can be tricky and may
require a very small Phillips screwdriver or unscrewing
them at a slight angle.

4

Once the screws are removed, you can pull out thesensor.

Infrared Sensor
The IR sensor allows you tocontrol your Apple TV withthe remote control. IRsensors rarely go bad, but
it is a possibility if yourremote no longer works.

[10]Removing the Power Supply

1

The power supply is the large white brick located in
the rear corner of the Apple TV. It is held on by 3 T8screws. There are two 6 mm screws with fat heads
fastening it to the logic board and one 12 mm screw
fastening it to the chassis.

2The power cable is the blue and orange cable connecting thepower supply to the main logic board. To disconnect thecable, you need to press the orange tab and then pull up on
the cable.

3The power supply also includes the power connector thatroutes to the casing. You will need to apply pressure down andback on the power connector until it pops free.

STEP BY STEPPower Supply
The design on this power
supply is very different
from what we usually see
from Apple as it is quitebulky, but it is not yet
known the lifetime anddependability of thesepower supplies. The
manufacturer is labeled as
Delta Electronics.

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The Fan

THE FAN

This is an extremely
quiet fan and is attachedby rubber pegs to themain logic board to evenfurther help in reducing
the fan noise due tovibrations.

Removing the Fan & Bracket
1

The fan is attached to the main logic board by thepower cable with the red and black wire. It needs tobe disconnected. A spudger may assist in loosening
the connection to get the cable free.

2There are 3 pegs connecting the fan to the main logicboard. The tops of the pegs need to be squeezed
together and pushed through the holes in the fan inorder to free it.

3

Once the pegs are all fed through the holes, the fan canbe lifted out. There is most likely going to be a piece oftape on one side of the fan.

4The bracket next to the fan is held down by twoscrews. The one near the rear ports requires a Torx
T15 screwdriver and the one near the front is a Torx
T8 screw. This screw will require a small screwdriverthan can fit through the hole above the screw or you
may have to try and unscrew it from an angle.

[12]Removing the Logic Board & Trim

STEP BY STEP
1

2

3

After the bracket is removed, you can begin taking out
the logic board. Lift from one of the front corners of
the board. The other side of the board may be stuck to
the top case by the thermal compound.

Once the logic board is free of the thermal compound,
you can pull the board out towards the front of theApple TV.

The trim can then be removed by peeling off the two
metallic tape strips and lifting the trim away from thetop case.

Infrared Sensor
The IR sensor allows you tocontrol your Apple TV withthe remote control. IR
sensors rarely go bad, but
it is a possibility if yourremote no longer works.

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