Owners of a Unibody MacBook Pro laptop are probably already aware that failure of the hard drive flex cable is a common issue. 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.

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.

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. And possibly again with yet another bad cable. It didn’t matter if we used a used cable or a new cable in the replacement. Customers kept returning with the same persistent issue. We had to figure out what was causing the issue and find a solution.

EMC numbers identify every iMac, MacBook, Mac mini and just about every other Apple computer. Many people don’t fully know what they mean, or don’t know they exist at all, but they can be an great method of IDing Apple devices. And in a world where Apple insists on using the same model number for six different computers (I’m looking at you A1278), understanding how to use EMC numbers is downright necessary.