I used two thin screwdrivers. As they said, put them stright down the holes, and they seem to fit into something on the back side that holds the ends in place (eg. a shallow hole) in the top case or something).

Then lean them both towards the back of the Mac (towards the ports etc.), and you’ll push the logic board AND the black part of the case, finally popping the black ports/rear free from the aluminum. Only needs to slide ~5mm as they said to get the needed clearance.

Excellent - worked great, had the HDD replaced with an SSD in just under 1 hour (with an iFixIt tool kit of torx/spudgers etc, of course!).. Thanks everyone for posting helpful comments on the various steps (such as removing the 3rd screw on the Fan - made this much easier).

BEFORE putting any screws in, you have to get the antenna place to “snap” intot he Aluminum chassis first. Once that is snapped in, the screw holes all line up nicely.

I installed an SSD, which is thinner than the original HDD, so the two recessed screws don’t reach it… Going to just leave them taped into their holes. I’m hoping that will not affect antenna function too much (It will remove some potential grounding to the HDD).

The photos in this iFixit guide show that the screen was destroyed while unsticking it!!! There are cracks all over it during insertion of the plastic shims, and the lifted screen is missing large chunks around the edges. Including one great photo of the spudger picking pieces of the glass off the camera. The “parts required” should probably include a new screen at minimum!

Can someone post a *successful* procedure & photos, for opening this without damaging the screen?

Also, “following the instructions in reverse” is clearly not adequate for putting the screen back on - this was obviously Not done with this guide’s broken screen. Are there adhesive strips we can buy, or Acetone/Iso clean & new glue to apply to reattach the screen?

I would love to know from anyone that has actually done this with success! (20 people have apparently followed this procedure?)