The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

The cost of beating Apple's shrewd screws? £2

Quick online search finds easy answer to pentalobes

Apple has been switching the screws that hold its latest iPhone shut, but cries of conspiracy are somewhat refuted by the realisation that a $2 screwdriver fixes the problem.

The new screws are called pentalobe (five-pointed), but if it is really (as iFixit so eloquently put it) "Apple's insidious plan to sabotage our iPhones" then that plan has proven to be fatally flawed by the half-dozen companies that popping up to sell suitable screwdrivers for as little as $2.35.

First up was iFixit itself, who started selling a $10 kit including a pair of replacement (Philips) screws, and a screwdriver that will get the pentalobe screws out even if it means destroying them in the process.

Apple's Diabolical Plan to Screw your iPhone from iFixit on Vimeo

Apple has used Pentalobe screws before, on the MacBook Air, at which time it was found to be more annoying than insidious, but laptops have always had strange screws holding them together. Your correspondent once spent a memorable morning in a car park filing a Torx T7 down to a Torx T5 before entering the customer site; Toshiba had failed to provide a suitable tool, though the company was keen to provide (non-Torx) replacement screws.

Americans are very keen on varying their screws. A European might be happy with a Philips, or perhaps a Pozidriv for special occasions, but rest of the world likes more variation. At least the world agrees that the slot screw is an abomination that deserves to go the same way as surgery without anaesthetic and public hangings.

The more advanced screws offer loads of advantages in terms of holding the driver steady, or reducing the pressure which must be applied to push the screw in – which is particularly important when the screws are handled in large quantities by production-line machinery. The popular designs are, of course, well-patented and Apple will be paying a premium for the pentalobe screws that are equally likely to be associated with mechanisation as tamper-proofing.

It's true that using an obscure screw once offered a degree of security, but these days we have the internet for locating anything, and a moment's search shows half a dozen companies selling pentalobe screw drivers for under $10, though it was the chaps over at Gizmodo (who know a thing or two about dismantling iPhones) who managed to find one selling at £2.35, plus shipping. ®

Canada has the unique Robertson headed screw!

The Robertson headed screw is unique to Canada - see < http://www.mysteriesofcanada.com/images/robertscrew.jpg > -

There are four sizes and no other screwdrivers fit! It wasn't designed for security - just an easy, reliable design to use with a power driver.

A Canadian company I worked for had some U.S. Navy contracts and the packing/shipping directions were so detailed they were a pain to follow. Failure to comply involved return of the goods.

The only thing they didn't specify was the type of screw to be used to build the wooden crates. To show our appreciation we always used Robertson headed screws which always floored them!

7
0

Abomination...

"At least the world agrees that the slot screw is an abomination that deserves to go the same way as surgery without anaesthetic and public hangings."

Funny that some of the most precise miniaturised mechanical machines, ie: watch movements, are put together exclusively with slot screws. I suspect the skill of the artificer has a lot to do with whether they're considered and abomination.

6
0

Tinfoil hat brigade on the loose again

I think this was probably always more about inventory (the *billions* of screws the manufacturers must get through?!), with possibly a side advantage of deterring casual fiddlers, than any great evil plan to thwart third party access :-\

4
0

doesn't mean it's not an attempt

The fact that screwdrivers are available that can take these screws out doesn't mean it's not an attempt by Apple to make it harder to work on these than it should be. This went all the way back to the Plus and SE when they used odd-sized Torx like T7s. Jobs explicitly wanted people to treat their computers as a sealed appliances back then, and I'm sure that's the reason now too.

3
0

I think that's why The Doctor carries a sonic;

much easier than changing heads all the time.

3
0

More from The Register

Android is a mess and needs sprucing up, admits chief
Can Google really fix it? It isn't in control any more
New Lumia 925: This, loyalists, is the BIG ONE you've waited for
Nokia veep drills high-end master plan for El Reg
Android device? Ooohhhh, you mean a Samsung phone
Koreans nabbed nearly all the Q1 profits – more even than Google
Review: HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook
All roads lead to Chrome?
Borked your iDevice? Pay EVEN MORE to have it fixed by Applecare
Or scream at their hapless techies on their forums
Euro PC shipments plummet into bottomless pit of DOOOOM
11th quarter of decline, 20pc drop on last year - Gartner
MIT takes battery-powered robot cheetah for a gallop
Biomimetic big cat needs no power cord, just a walker