Don’t Let Apple SCREW Your iPhone!
| February 7, 2011 12:36 pm |According to iFixit CEO, Kyle Wiens, Apple is now using a tamper-resistant screw on its products, including iPhones and laptops. Now what does this mean to you? It means it will become more difficult to repair your Apple products on your own.
Apple is switching to a new “Pentalobe” screw to prevent owners from opening up their Apple products. But how does this new “Pentalobe” screw prevent you from repairing your Apple products? Well because the “Pentalobe” screws are fairly new, this usually means the repair tools are both rare and harder to obtain, unlike your every day flat head or Phillips screw drivers. Check out the image below to see how the Pentalobe screw compares to the Phillips screw and others.
(Image courtesy of iFixit.)
Now down to the getting screwed part. Apple’s newest policy will certainly piss off a few people. If you now take your iPhone 4 into an Apple Store for any kind of service, the employees are now instructed to replace your previous Phillips screws with the new tamper-resistant screws. If you don’t have an iPhone 4 at the moment but are thinking aout buying one in the future, there is a good chance it will have the new type of screws as Apple has switched production to use these new pieces. Other Apple products currently use these new screws but not all, expect that to change within the near future.
What to do if you get screwed?
Some aftermarket companies have already created their own kits to solve this problem. iFixit now sells an “iPhone Liberation Kit” which includes a Pentalobe driver, a regular #00 Phillips screwdriver and two replacement Phillips screws.
So if you take your iPhone or laptop in, keep an eye on your screws and don’t get screwed!