Hey guys, today we’ll be disassembling the ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16. This is a 2021 gaming laptop from ASUS’s Republic of Gamers, and inside it’s packing an Intel i7-11800H processor, GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, a 512GB M.2 SSD, as well as 8GB onboard ram and another 8GB SO-DIMM stick. As always, you can find any tools you might need for this repair and any others here.
Before We Start
The most common issue with this model, as well as with most models of gaming laptops, is overheating. It does have 2 fans, one for the GPU and one for the CPU, that both tend to suck in dust and slow down. When the computer runs hot, it can lead to serious internal damage to the board and components. It’s very important to clean or replace the fan as soon as you start seeing issues arise, or more repairs may be necessary.
Further issues can arise in the LCD Display. Screen flickering and artifacting is not at all uncommon in these models, and can arise from any number of source issues. With display issues like that, replacing the screen is often necessary. Fortunately, screen replacement is one of the simpler repairs on this model, as we’ll get into.
Last, but certainly not least, is the dreaded battery life shortening. Typically, this comes from heavy use of the laptop while it is still plugged in. This can be remedied by customers, and often is, by just continuing to use it while it stays plugged in, but that gets rid of all the benefits of having a portable laptop. Like the LCD swap though, this is fortunately a fairly simple repair, which we will go over now.
Opening It Up
First things first, be sure to turn off the device. Once you’re sure it’s off, flip it over and look at the bottom case. There will be 3 small rubber circles in the middle, which you will need to peel off. They are adhered pretty lightly, and can easily be removed with a flathead screwdriver. Once they’re off, we can go ahead and start to remove all of the frame screws, and as soon as they’re out we can pop off the bottom cover.
Now that the bottom cover is off, we can actually see the internals. Taking up most of the bottom you’ve got the battery, and covering most of the motherboard you have the very large and impressive heatsink on this model. The heatsink is connected right to the fans as well as the motherboard components to help you get rid of that heat, but of course they can start to fail.
Removing the Battery
Before you touch anything inside, disconnect the battery. Even though it is off, there can be some slight, normally negligible power flow in the circuits that could cause a short if you were to touch them. Here you can see how simple a battery replacement would be. There are just 4 screws holding it in once it is disconnected, and if you have a replacement handy, you can just swap the old for the new.
Swapping the Screen
The screen can go next. The display hinges are at the top, in the corners opposite where the battery was. There are 3 per side, and a cable coming from each end. The one on the left will be the screen connector, and on the right it’s the Wi-Fi antenna. Once both are disconnected from the motherboard and the hinges are unscrewed, you can pop the screen assembly right out. If you had a replacement here, like the battery, you could just swap the new one in and close it back up.
Removing the Boards
Now that the big pieces are out, we can start to pull the internals out. Most prominent you’ll see the heatsink setup and the two fans, both of which are held in primarily by screws. Once the heatsink is unscrewed, it can be easily lifted up and off the board, but you may need to keep an eye on the liquid metal and thermal paste to make sure it’s coming off smoothly. Now, you can take out the 8 GB RAM stick and unscrew and remove the m.2 SSD. The fans can be disconnected from the motherboard as well and removed.
Now, I’ll disconnect the various ribbon cables that go from the frame and keyboard into the main board. It should be entirely disconnected now, save the screws. Once I finish unscrewing it, I can pull the motherboard right out. You will want to make sure as you lift it that every cable has in fact been disconnected or one of the cables, or even worse a connector, could be damaged. Once it is free and clear, put it to the side somewhere where it will not be damaged.
Finishing Up
Now all that’s left in the top case will be the keyboard, mouse pad, and power button, now that they are disconnected from the motherboard, they are just held in with screws. They can be unscrewed in whichever order you prefer and summarily removed from the case. You’ll notice there are quite a few screws holding in the keyboard, so it may take you a bit of time to finish up.
And finally, there you are. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 is fully disassembled. I hope you all enjoyed reading and/or watching this guide; don’t forget to leave a like, comment, and subscribe for more guides like this one.
