In theory, it seems great, but unlike the exterior aluminum surface which is machined to an extra smooth finish, Apple skimped on machining the interior surface to match. Though this keeps the cable nice and secure, it also sandwiches it between the hard drive and the metal casing. The cable runs from the logic board SATA connector, across the optical drive and then underneath the hard drive, finally connecting to the SATA connector of the HDD. MacBook Pro 13″ (Mid 2012) Hard Drive Cable So if it ever fails, we’ve got your back. If you’re in need of one of these notorious flex cables, we guarantee our cables with a lifetime warranty. We had to figure out what was causing the issue and find a solution.

Customers kept returning with the same persistent issue. It didn’t matter if we used a used cable or a new cable in the replacement. And possibly again with yet another bad cable. Our repair services department noticed this issue when they’d replace a bad cable, only to have the customer return a few months later with another bad cable.

What is it that makes the Mid 2012 release special in this regard? A design flaw in the flex cable that seems to be compounded by the properties of the aluminum housing. While it affects just about the entire Unibody lineup, the Mid 2012 MacBook Pro 13″ (Model A1278) is especially prone to this type of failure. Owners of a Unibody MacBook Pro laptop are probably already aware that failure of the hard drive flex cable is a common issue.

Recall apple macbook pro 2011