Chosen Solution
I’ve heard around this forum that its POSSIBLE but requires some extra work. I would love to figure out what it takes to upgrade this logic board so I can make this tank of a laptop last for a while. A friend gave it to me from her garage, and honestly I was hoping to turn it into an “impressive” decade-old machine. It’s the same model as my very first macbook pro that I had when I started college so I’d love to restore the excitement I had in 2010 into this freebie. I’ve heard the heatsink needs to be replaced with the corresponding 2012 model, but most of the fittings can still work fine. I’ve also heard the battery connection orientation needs to be switched? or use a battery that is flipped? I’m not really sure. Hopefully someone can help!
As long as you’re transferring 2012 unibody motherboard into 2010 unibody it should be possible as the motherboards are almost completely the same and so are the screw holes. Screens are the same too, not sure about the ports. One thing to look out for is the screen connector which is further down and tilted. You should refer to these 2 guides for more details: NOTE: I haven’t done this before but you might have to replace the trackpad and battery due to compatibility issues, battery connectors look the same MacBook Pro 2010 13” unibody (See step 17 for motherboard picture): MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2010 Logic Board Replacement MacBook Pro 2012 13’“ unibody (See step 16 for motherboard pictures): MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2012 Logic Board Replacement
