iFixit releases iPhone 4 liberation kit for Pentalobe screws
The good folks at iFixit have noticed that iPhone 4s taken in for service often return without their original Phillips 00 screws. Instead, they're being replaced with Apple's own proprietary Pentalobular screws. These are the same screws that are in the current-generation MacBook Air. Here's a close-up pic from an iPhone 4, courtesy of Engadget editor Nilay Patel.
Don't call them Torx screws because they most certainly are not. To get the rare, expensive tool that's meant to extract them, you'll have to be a certified Apple tech (or know one).
While you're meant to use a special driver to extract those screws, you can get them out with something else. That something else is a part of iFixit's "iPhone 4 Liberation Kit," which contains replacement Phillips screws and a driver that will remove Apple's Pentalobular screws, as well as two Phillips replacements. No, it's not the official tool but a low-cost alternative. Note that there's a good chance it will damage the proprietary screws, but you're going to throw them out anyway, right?
Opening an iPhone 4 isn't something that just anyone should do. Be careful and know your limitations. If you're ready, the liberation kit can be yours for US$9.95.
Check out the video explaining the issue and the kit after the break.
[Via Macgasm]
Share
Categories
The good folks at iFixit have noticed that iPhone 4s taken in for service often return without their original Phillips 00 screws....
Add a Comment
The rare and expensive tool, it's a screwdriver not a fossil.
Easiest way to get those out is with left handed drill bits and a variable speed reversible electric drill. Any hardware store can sell you a left handed drill bit for a few dollars.
How they work is the flutes of the bit catch on the pentalobes, and it unscrews. I suggest buy some other product without the pentalobe anything...Al-
In 1906 a travelling salesman, Peter Robinson of Milton, Ontario, Canada cut his hand when a slot screwdriver he was demonstrating slipped. He went off to the shop and came up with a screw with a square socket in it, Pentalobe http://usspost.com/pentalobe-26713/
January 21 2011 at 10:37 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI would have thought there would be hundreds of the style screwdrivers for sale on eBay by now? I've not ever seen the tork ones anywhere for sale and I fix guitars for a living!!! Is there some secret tool shop hidden somewhere that nobody knows about??? ; o
Http://www.edinburghguitarrepair.co.uk
I'm so pissed off! Apple is screwing you! Aren't you pissed off too!?! We're your friends! Pay us to fix it for you! Damn I hate Apple for this! GRRRR!!! Give us $10 to "free" your iPhone!
pffft
For a company that obviously has to know a thing or two about security, coming up with proprietary screw heads is a rather futile attempt at keeping people out. It's pretty easy to have nearly anything machined in the right shape these days.
January 20 2011 at 8:29 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI don't know where they got the term "pentalobe" from, but the screws are actually Torx Plus Tamper-Resistant screws. They are not Apple-proprietary, but the drivers are hard to come by. And before you say I'm wrong, go look at the spec - Torx Plus Tamper-Resistant screws have 5 lobes, not 6, like regular Torx and Torx Plus screws.
January 20 2011 at 4:59 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyClose but no cigar, first of all it isn't tamper proof at all, it is merely a 5 star pattern, and it it has no exterior points unlike torx plus. It will be kind of close, but I feel like it would damage the screw.
Nintendo designed a proprietary screw that wound up on many of it's products in the late 1990's, the trick to get around it was to melt objects onto the screw to accurately reproduce the appropriate tool.
I'm assuming that somebody could do this and reverse engineer the bit if they so desired.
Total cigar. It doesn't have a post in the middle, but the Torx Plus Tamper-Resistant drivers are compatible with these screws, and they don't cause damage. How do I know? About a year ago, certain Apple Service Manuals referred to Torx Plus Tamper drivers as being required to service some products. I have used them on the 5-point screws inside MacBook Pros, and confirmed that they work without damage.
January 21 2011 at 6:55 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyDude, it's MY PHONE that I bought outright. The tire shop doesn't put someone else's wheels on my car when I go in for a tire rotation, so Apple should put back the same screws that they removed.
I think people should check their phones and demand that the phillips screws are reinstalled, and not these lovely pentalobe ones.
A majority of the time, if not *all* the time, you do not receive your original phone back at the Apple Store. The phones aren't actually repaired, they're just swapped out for replacement ones so you're in and out faster.
January 20 2011 at 8:12 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyPoor analogy. It would be better to say the tire shop is putting on proprietary locking lug nuts so that you can't remove your rims/tires to change them yourself.
January 27 2011 at 8:41 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyCan't you just use the rubber band trick with a small phillips head or torx driver?
http://lifehacker.com/5462520/remove-a-stripped-screw-with-a-rubber-band
That pentalobe screws Are NOT property of apple.. They already.. I had that kind of screwdriver from 2 years
January 20 2011 at 3:37 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyDeals of the Day
more deals- Apple iPhone 4 8GB for Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint for $50 + pickup at Best Buy
- Unlocked iPhone 4S 16GB for GSM (AT&T, T-Mobile) for $619 + free shipping
- Apple iMac Core i7 Quad 3.4GHz 27" w/ 24GB RAM, 2TB HDD for $2,677 + $29 s&h
- Used Apple Magic Mouse for $36 + $4 s&h
- 9-Piece iPhone Bundle, includes 1,900mAh battery for $8 + free shipping
- Skullcandy Riot Earbud Headphones for $10 + free shipping
Software Updates
more updatesFeatured Stories
more stories
Popular Stories
TUAW (or The Unofficial Apple Weblog) is a website devoted to tips, reviews, news, analysis and opinion on everything Apple.
22 Comments