The Case of Apple's Mystery Screw

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The Case of Apple's Mystery Screw

Posted by Soulskill on Friday January 21, 2011 @03:19AM from the licensing-the-operation-of-the-circuitry-inside dept.

Pickens writes "Network World reports that in the past if you wanted to remove the outer case on your iPhone 4 to replace the battery or a broken screen, you could use a Phillips screwdriver to remove two tiny screws at the base of the phone and then simply slide off the back cover. But now Apple is replacing the outer screw with a mysterious tamper-resistant 'pentalobular' screw across its most popular product lines, making it harder for do-it-yourselfers to make repairs. What about existing products in the field? Pentalobular screws might find their way into them, too. 'Apple's latest policy will make your blood boil,' says Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit. 'If you take your iPhone 4 into Apple for any kind of service, they will sabotage it by replacing your Phillips screws with the new, tamper-resistant screws. We've spoken with the Apple Store geniuses tasked with carrying out this policy, and they are ashamed of the practice.' Of course, only Apple-authorized service technicians have Pentalobular screwdrivers and they're not allowed to resell them. 'Apple sees a huge profit potential,' says Wiens. 'A hundred dollars per year in incremental revenue on their installed base is a tremendous opportunity.'"

70 of 845 comments (clear)

Yay! by Pojut · 2011-01-21 03:20 · Score: 3, Insightful

Thanks, Apple! I love being told I'm a fucking idiot and shouldn't be allowed to open my PURCHASED device, should I choose to do so.
Yes, that goes for all companies that use screwy screws like this.

--
Living With a Nerd
1. Re:Yay! by Mr_eX9 · 2011-01-21 03:23 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  I forgive them, because the word "pentalobular" is hilarious to say.
  I also don't own an iPhone, so it's all academic to me anyway. :D
2. Re:Yay! by nicholas22 · 2011-01-21 03:23 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  To be brutally honest, you shouldn't have purchased an Apple device if you valued your freedoms THAT much... It is a well documented and thoroughly slashdotted subject this.
3. Re:Yay! by Haedrian · 2011-01-21 03:26 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  *sings*
  Cellular, Modular, screws are Pentalobular.
  Bonus points to who gets the reference
4. Re:Yay! by onkelonkel · 2011-01-21 03:29 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Interactive Audiular...BANANAPHONE
  
  --
  None of them can see the clouds; The polished wings don't care.
5. Re:Yay! by oodaloop · 2011-01-21 03:34 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  It is the very model of the modern dollar generator.
  
  --
  Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
6. Re:Yay! by JoeRandomHacker · 2011-01-21 03:37 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Except, of course, that penta- is from the Greek; quint- would be the Latin.
7. Re:Yay! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-21 03:44 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Don't be defensive and taking it personally. They don't REALLY think you're an idiot. They don't REALLY think you'll break your device.
  They just want to CHARGE you for 100% of device maintenance and support. It's $$$, not smarts.
  Making these things about skills and smarts is a disservice to ALL CONSUMERS b/c it gives CREDIBILITY to the company's bogus argument that this prevents unskilled consumers from causing damage and driving up support costs for everybody since #1 most consumers skilled or not will never open the device anyways and #2 of the ones who do, the % who open the device, break it, AND then try to get free support is VANISHINGLY SMALL in actual honesty.
8. Re:Yay! by skids · 2011-01-21 03:47 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Or, you should make a point to buy a dremel before purchasing any apple products.
  
  --
  Someone had to do it.
9. Re:Yay! by He+Who+Has+No+Name · 2011-01-21 03:49 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Then you can sue them for breach of warranty.
  I don't think Apple thought this cunning plan all the way through. Somewhere, somebody with spare time and money and a propensity for making statements or grinding axes is going to flex their state's consumer rights laws, specifically the part about warranty service on goods as rendered.
  Unless Apple can somehow argue that anti-tampering devices are crucial to the proper and desired function of the phone as a phone, they may be in for some trouble.
10. Re:Yay! by jefe7777 · 2011-01-21 03:51 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  first they pentalobed the iphone users
  and i didn't speak out, because i wasn't an iphone user... ;-)
11. Re:Yay! by Andrewkov · 2011-01-21 03:56 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  They're called iScrews.
12. Re:Yay! by LMacG · 2011-01-21 04:00 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I think in this case they moved the extraneous vowel to the end, they're called ScrewU's
  
  --
  Slightly disreputable, albeit gregarious
13. Re:Yay! by localman57 · 2011-01-21 04:04 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Yup. Somewhere, a design engineer at Sony is getting his ass kicked for not thinking of using screws that require a screwdriver nearly nobody has.
  
  "Yeah, I know, you came up with memory-stick. But that was years ago. Look at this! This is state of the art non-standardization!".
14. Re:Yay! by Moryath · 2011-01-21 04:04 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  It's the "logical next step" in all the "break this sticker with a screw hidden underneath and void your warranty" crap.
  And of course, it's got 90% of the consumer population so fucking scared that they won't break that sticker even when they need to repair a device that's 5 years old and 4 years, 9 months out of the stupidly short 90-day warranty.
  It's the same kind of brainwashing crap you get with expiration dates on bottled water (also found on non-expiring foods/spices such as honey and salt) and stupidly short expiration dates on medicines.
  Pop Sci still runs a great "void your warranty" column. I recommend reading it on a regular basis and learning to say "fuck it, void the warranty, I'm going to improve/repair my own fucking property" whenever possible!
15. Re:Yay! by Enderandrew · 2011-01-21 04:05 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  I say this as an iPhone user, I'm not sure why it is commonly accepted that Apple provides this perfect user experience.
  Repeatedly my iPhone has been wiped when connecting to iTunes. I've lost save data on games, photos, videos, contact information, etc.
  I could in theory have contacts in groups, but there is no way in the interfact to add a contact to a group. I have to pay for a third party app to handle this for me.
  I can't do basic things like add new SMS tones.
  I tried importing contacts from a Yahoo account, a Gmail account, and Exchange. All failed. I can't edit my address book by typing at a computer. I have to very slowly type entries in via the phone.
  iTunes is one of the worst pieces of software I've ever used. I see UI problems galore.
  And the few times I've sat at a Mac to try and fix them for friends, Finder has driven me up a wall.
  Can we instead say that Apple provides an alternative for those who prefer it? I don't buy how Apple is perfect and a superior user experience.
  
  --
  http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
16. Re:Yay! by mark72005 · 2011-01-21 04:20 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I think this is deplorable too, but:
  
  Isn't it really just a matter of (very little) time until ebay and many other websites are flooded with the new tool available for purchase?
  
  I mean, I don't think Apple can invent a geometric figure for a screwdriver point that no one else can manufacture.
17. Re:Yay! by ballpoint · 2011-01-21 04:22 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  The very first thing I do on newly acquired devices is to rob them of their virginity by breaking the seal. The sooner it's over and done, the better. It also seems to make them more resilient too.
  
  --
  Flourescent (adj): smelling like ground wheat.
18. Re:Yay! by Phreakiture · 2011-01-21 04:24 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Correct. Latin would be something like "quitilobular" (lobe being one of those cases where Latin took a word from Greek -- lobos -> lobus)
  However, composite graco-latin words are not unheard of . . . automobile, for instance, might rather be suimobile or autokineticon, were it to be a pure construct, something that was brought to my attention here on /. when I criticized the word "pentavirate".
  
  --
  www.wavefront-av.com
19. Re:Yay! by Yvanhoe · 2011-01-21 04:30 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Worry not, us communist hobbyists are working on 3D-printing machines good enough to print wax molds that can be used to cast metal. Soon, your local hackerspace/fablab will be able to download these new screws when they come out and print them out.
  
  --
  The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
20. Re:Yay! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-21 04:31 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  I hope you never have children......
21. Re:Yay! by Moryath · 2011-01-21 04:48 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  First, that link requires registration. Yuck.
  I prescribe Bugmenot to solve that.
  Second, IIRC from Pharm School, expiration dates are legally mandated by the FDA to be when the active ingredient(s) degrade to 90% efficacy?
  You're completely wrong.
  Alternate link to harvard:
  It turns out that the expiration date on a drug does stand for something, but probably not what you think it does. Since a law was passed in 1979, drug manufacturers are required to stamp an expiration date on their products. This is the date at which the manufacturer can still guarantee the full potency and safety of the drug.
  Most of what is known about drug expiration dates comes from a study conducted by the Food and Drug Administration at the request of the military. With a large and expensive stockpile of drugs, the military faced tossing out and replacing its drugs every few years. What they found from the study is 90% of more than 100 drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, were perfectly good to use even 15 years after the expiration date.
22. Re:Yay! by Moryath · 2011-01-21 04:50 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  The bottle had its own expiration date
  Didn't you know we're sending out edible bottles now? That was the shelf life where the bottle itself was still safe to eat ;)
23. Re:Yay! by stewbacca · 2011-01-21 04:53 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  You are simply rehashing well-rehearsed talking points, and I'm dubious your post is genuine.
  "Finder has driven you up a wall"? Seriously? When you sit down to fix a Mac, what does Finder have to do with anything?
  UI problems in iTunes is easy to say, but I prefer examples.
  Gmail was easier to setup than my old .mac account. Until there are widespread accounts of users experiencing Gmail sync issues, it's not really a problem.
  That is not to say I think Apple is "perfect", but their emphasis on "superior user experience" is they type of alternative that I prefer. Yes, I have lost info syncing with iTunes, but mostly because my iTunes is a mish-mash of 5 users stuff (obtained legally or not) with 4 phones in the house. It's easy to dismiss warnings about overwriting libraries and the such.
24. Re:Yay! by Jakester2K · 2011-01-21 04:57 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  iScrewU's
25. Re:Yay! by Mister+Whirly · 2011-01-21 05:50 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  You may be able to patent the screws, but I doubt you could patent the removal tool so much that no third party could manufacture them. (Apple once again showing their brilliant "security through obscurity" ideals.) I can guarantee that within months there will be multiple companies manufacturing these pentalobe screwdrivers, and selling them publicly to anyone. So congratulations Apple, you are pissing off your loyal customers to gain a small time frame when the tool is hard to come by. And switching out existing customers standard screws if they bring in their phones for any type of service? Tsk tsk. That is pretty underhanded.
  
  --
  "But this one goes to 11!"
26. Re:Yay! by jthill · 2011-01-21 05:55 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  honey that was packaged 15 years ago
  I think you made your point well, and this correction doesn't really undermine it at all, but so far as honey is concerned you don't have to start worrying for at least 200 times that 15 years. So far as anyone can tell, honey never goes bad.
  Wandering OT, search for "nih honey burn treatment". There may be drugs better than honey for that, and for radiation burns the best is a mix, but in general honey is noticeably-to-substantially better.
  Honey doesn't appear on the recommended-treatment lists published by most medical institutions. Strangely enough, those institutions tend to get substantial volume discounts for all their drugs, those discounts chosen by the drug companies.
  
  --
  As always, all IMO. Insert "I think" everywhere grammatically possible.
27. Re:Yay! by NevarMore · 2011-01-21 05:59 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Yea because the Chinese manufacturers and Harbor Freight and eBay are going to be on the ball at keeping penobular tools out of their inventories.
  Lets not forget that its a standard screw. The only reason its hard to work with is that its on a relatively fragile and expensive piece of electronics. Dremeling a slot in it might damage the device, but a small counterclockwise drillbit or screw-out tool and a steady hand will git 'er done too.
28. Re:Yay! by JPLemme · 2011-01-21 06:10 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Honestly your post looks like someone who was set in their ways and simply unwilling to do things differently.
  
  Would it be unsporting to point out that you responded to an anecdotal argument ("Repeatedly my iPhone has been wiped when connecting to iTunes") with an anecdotal argument ("I have never had my phone wiped by connecting to iTunes"). If you're going to accuse the GP of being unwilling to do things differently, you might want to try doing something differently.
  
  I have never owned an iPhone, and therefore conclude that Apple has never sold one. Did I do that right?
29. Re:Yay! by LynnwoodRooster · 2011-01-21 06:37 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  iTunes is not their best work, but is far superior to Windows Media 1-99 (whatever version we are up to now).
  Except that I've never needed to use Windows Media Player to update ANYTHING on my Windows Mobile phone. In fact, I can simply drag and drop whatever I want, just like the phone is another memory device... Why do I need a special program to access my phone in the first place?
  
  --
  Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
30. Re:Yay! by Yvan256 · 2011-01-21 06:46 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  They should have made the screw hole in the shape of the Apple logo.
31. Re:Yay! by BitZtream · 2011-01-21 08:17 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Except this has been done time and time again, and Sony has already been on the bandwagon, and Apple has certainly done the same thing in the past for opening Mac products.
  How quick we forget.
  Got a Wii? Custom screw heads. Guess what, when you but any 'repair kit' most will have the option to bundle the special 3 blade funky looking screw head with the kit. Thats just the first popular thing that comes to my head that slashdotters will know of for sure. I have a Hitachi Plasma TV, want to replace the bulbs? Its got some funky screw I've never seen before ... looks actually like its just begging to have the head stripped out due to its design. Ever worked on a car? There are thousands of places that require special tools to do the work properly in your car, some of them for engineering reasons, many of them because it limits what the owner can do without any experience.
  Lots of products do this, it takes exactly 0 seconds from the time the product is released to the time you can buy a screwdriver to unscrew it. Seriously, I'll even do the work for you:
  http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=pentabular+screwdriver
  You'll find that its rather crowded with stupid crap relating directly to apple at the moment due to the silly buzz about this, but once that dies back down you'll find a nice list of places to buy the screw drivers. If you bother to wade through the results now, you'll already have found a place to buy it by the time you reach the third link as I write this.
  'special tools required' for disassembly is not a new practice, Apple didn't invent this, Sony has done it as well.
  Nor did they invent a 'new screw head'. They took advantage of something that was already there, just rare, made so intentionally for this VERY purpose by the manufactures of said screws. Rare, but not so rare as to be unavailable or to have no tools source.
  I can remember the same thing 25 years ago with Torx head screws and bolts. Torx drivers were hard to find in the US so the end result was the same, it made it so Joe the Plumber couldn't just go take apart the device, unless he happen to have a set of Torx drivers or bits ... which certain people had ... and you could buy from Montgomery Wards if you just bothered to open the catalog and order it.
  Could we please stop submitting stories that treat standard operating procedures as new and wholely evil things just because they happen to occur at a popular company? ITS NOT EVEN NEW FOR THE FREAKING COMPANY THE ARTICLE IS ABOUT.
  Just because you found some new reason to rage against the machine today, doesn't mean its actually new or news to anyone else. This particular bit of asshatery on Apples part is common practice and knowledge. If we're going to have news for nerds can we please not bring up something that every geek that qualifies for a geek card has known for most of her/his life as it was new ... especially when its been going on longer than we've all been alive. Yes, even the original Ford assembly line used rare tools to slow down casual tinkering and IP theft.
  
  --
  Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
A quick google search by Dunbal · 2011-01-21 03:21 · Score: 5, Informative

This screw design was patented in - 1974. Yeah keep that conspiracy going, boys. Especially when the screwdriver costs $2.35.

--
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
1. Re:A quick google search by nicholas22 · 2011-01-21 03:25 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  How many other patented screw designs are not as popular as the Phillips? It doesn't matter that it was *patented* a long time ago. What matters is that it is a niche design, making it harder to use that the Phillips screw.
2. Re:A quick google search by Dunbal · 2011-01-21 03:25 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  type pentalobular screwdriver in google - how fucking hard can that be?
  
  --
  Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
3. Re:A quick google search by swilde23 · 2011-01-21 03:32 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Where in his post does he claim that wasn't the reason for the switch. It appears to me that that he was just pointing out that this wasn't some new technology... it's just an uncommonly used one.
  
  --
  There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that understand this sig, and those that beat up people who do.
4. Re:A quick google search by idontgno · 2011-01-21 03:33 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  I can't believe you passed up the opportunity.
  http://lmgtfy.com/?q=pentalobular+screwdriver
  And, in the spirit of actually being immediately helpful, The Register's article about this subject had a link to a kit with the appropriate screwdriver and replacement non-bondange-and-domination Phillips screws for an iPhone 4. Just don't take it to any Apple service outlet after that; as TFA points out, they'll undo your work and put those ridiculous screws back in.
  
  --
  Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
5. Re:A quick google search by Dunbal · 2011-01-21 03:43 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Thanks, your request to get my post modded down got me a +5. You really should have asked for them to mod me up.
  
  --
  Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
6. Re:A quick google search by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2011-01-21 03:43 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I can understand switching away from Phillips, since those suckers strip pretty badly even in larger sizes, and strip like it's their job in smaller ones; but switching to some totally oddball screw type, as opposed to one of the various fairly standardized strip-resistant heads already in use in electronics and elsewhere seems like a dick move.
7. Re:A quick google search by nedlohs · 2011-01-21 03:52 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  1. They are technically better in some aspect for their use.
  2. A supplier offered them cheaper than the what they were using.
  3. The supplier of the new slightly more expensive screws is a good friend of an apple board member/engineer/designer/whatever.
  4. It reduces the chances of idiot users doing idiot things.
  5. Jobs thought they looked better.
8. Re:A quick google search by morgan_greywolf · 2011-01-21 04:05 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  It says right on that page:
  
  This is NOT the correct size screwdriver for external screws on the iPhone 4. That driver can be found here: 5-point iPhone 4 driver
  Furthermore, it's clear that Apple's pentalobular screwdriver is not the same pentalobular screwdriver that was patented in 1974 and widely available today for ~$2 and that the screwdriver that you does work to take them out is less than perfect.
  
  We recommend you use this driver to remove the 5-point screws and replace them with the equivalent Phillips screws, and not for repeated disassembly and reassembly of your phone. This driver does not meet the quality standards we usually require for our tools, however it is currently the best solution available. It is not an industrial or heavy duty tool. May have some slight misalignment of the shaft or tip.
  IOW, GP is full of shit.
  
  --
  My blog
9. Re:A quick google search by localman57 · 2011-01-21 04:08 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  +1 informative.
10. Re:A quick google search by swb · 2011-01-21 04:23 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  It's just my opinion, but Philips screw heads are only slightly better than slotted heads. It's still very easy to torque out of the opening. Square drive, Hex/Allen, Torx all allow much more torque to be applied to the screw without stripping the head. I notice in commercial applications, where driving a large number of fasteners quickly is important (home decking, trailer flooring) you almost always see square or Torx drive heads due to the positive driver/head linkup and the high torque that can be applied.
  The non-conspiracy version of this story isn't that Apple's trying to screw the end user, but that they're using Loctite or some other screw fixative on the screws, the screws are torqued in tight and they have a history of stripping the screws to get them out.
  I just find it curious they would use pentalobe instead of Torx, or to demonstrate some meanness, security torx.
11. Re:A quick google search by canajin56 · 2011-01-21 04:29 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Philips screws are not suited for automated processes. Or rather, they were designed for automated screwing but the times have changed. A Philips drive head is designed to cause the driver to cam out when the screw is all the way in. Caming out isn't desireable, as it can damage the screw head and possibly the driver head as well. But, it's better than stripping the screw, or cracking whatever you're screwing into, which is what happens if a high speed automated driver keeps going too long with, say, a Robertson drive. But times have changed. Automated drivers are very good at torque sensing now, so they can stop the instant a screw has been driven home. So the Philips isn't optimal any longer. Caming out can damage the screw, the driver, it's not good. So the best screws to use in automated assembly are screws that can take high torque, and will not cam out. A Robertson works well for this, but isn't widely used any more. Probably because it's Canadian ;) Instead, Torx screws are most often used in electronics and automotives. They're also called Hexalobular screws. They're 6 pointed stars. Their sharp edges allow for high torque without cam out. Supposedly they last longer than a Robertson so that's why they're used instead. They're also pretty popular. Most driver sets come with Philips, Robertson, Slot, and Torx. All of mine have more Torx than anything.
  Torx also makes Pentaloblar drivers, and that's what Apple's using. So, they can say they switched to Torx because of their suitability for automated assembly. But, they did chose to go with the tamper resistant Torx, not the 6 lobed variety. They can't really say anything about that, because there's no reason. And, do you know the only people who use them besides Apple? Prisons and government schools (but I repeat myself). So it's actually an extremely apt choice on their part. "We use prison screws, try not to think about it."
  Still, they're being cheap about it. I see in the picture that they don't have the center pin. That means they're using the old pentalobular drivers, not the new, more tamper resistant, and also still patented, ones ;)
  
  --
  ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
12. Re:A quick google search by DinDaddy · 2011-01-21 04:41 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I think this is it:
  http://www.stevesonian.com/museum/desktop/iMac/downloads/pictures/iMac_5up_flower.jpg
13. Re:A quick google search by Kijori · 2011-01-21 04:58 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I suppose it's the nearest substitute for the much-needed "-1 Too Informative".
Apple bashing just reached a new low. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-21 03:23 · Score: 4, Funny

We're complaining about their choice of screws now?
Re:Pentalobe... by santax · 2011-01-21 03:24 · Score: 4, Informative

http://www.blog.sw-box.com/cell-phone-accessories/cheap-pentalobular-screw-driver-for-only-2-35-on-sw-box-com/ Don't even have to go that far! iPhone 4 opening tool for $2.97
Thieves by orzetto · 2011-01-21 03:25 · Score: 5, Insightful

Apple technicians have been ordered to replace the Phillip screws with Pentalobular screws in every device they service, according to Wiens. Apparently, you won't get your Phillip screws back.
Isn't that called theft?

--
Victims of 9/11: <3000. Traffic in the US: >30,000/y
1. Re:Thieves by jayme0227 · 2011-01-21 03:46 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Not if you agree to it in the service agreement they make you sign.
  
  --
  But then I realized the cable was blue, so I only gave it one star. I hate blue.
2. Re:Thieves by bhcompy · 2011-01-21 04:09 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Auto mechanics are required to offer you your old parts back after replacement in some parts of the country. They're your parts, you bought them.
Blacksmiths still exist by gurps_npc · 2011-01-21 03:28 · Score: 5, Insightful

1. Blacksmiths still exist. As do metal workshops. I live in Manhattan and have made simple tools. It is not that hard to create your own screwdriver - even of odd shapes.
2. Yes, special screwdrivers will stop the casual tinker, but not a business man, or any other determined person. This is why most normal businesses do not use weird screws as security. The idea just pisses off your customers WITHOUT in anyway affecting competitors.
3. Apple has always been a control freak of a company. Luckily, their are other products out there that are cheaper, just as well built, that encourage more tinkering (aka android).

--
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
Re:Pentalobe... by KDEnut · 2011-01-21 03:29 · Score: 5, Insightful

Meh, I made one using my dremel and a spare hex shank from a driver set. If any DIY'er can't do THAT then they probably don't need to be inside their phone anyway.

Or be called a DIY'er, come to think of it.
Funny by alvinrod · 2011-01-21 03:29 · Score: 5, Insightful

The funny part is that if you read TFA, you'll notice that for $10, they offer to sell you a screwdriver to "fix" this problem.

So go ahead, set your iPhone free with our iPhone 4 Liberation Kit! Rid your phone of those terrible Pentalobe screws forever. The $9.95 kit includes a Pentalobe driver, 2 replacement PHILLIPS screws, and a regular #00 Phillips screwdriver.
I suppose they weren't selling all that many of these so they decided to go ahead and do some mud-raking to generate sales. You can even get one of these screwdrivers for less if you shop around. How about iFixit's diabolical plan to screw you out of a few dollars on tools?
Don't buy Apple? by nikomen · 2011-01-21 03:30 · Score: 4, Insightful

Just another reason to buy an Android phone and not an iPhone. Maybe I'll buy a PC laptop instead of that MacBook Pro I was thinking of buying in case they decide to pull crap like this on their other lines of products.
Re:You know by Dunbal · 2011-01-21 03:33 · Score: 4, Insightful

If Microsoft did this, somehow the screws would allow hackers to remotely take over your system. Five years from now a patch would be applied in the form of masking tape over the screw heads.

--
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Sue Them by mlwmohawk · 2011-01-21 03:34 · Score: 4, Interesting

Take a picture of your laptop or device, carefully documenting the screws.
Take it in for service
Tell them not to change the screws
If they change the screws, ask them to put the old ones back.
Document change in screws
Take it to your states AG, and start a criminal investigation.
ITS YOUR COMPUTER, if they change it against your will, we have laws to protect you. It is illegal for them to do this without your permission.
1. Re:Sue Them by ColdWetDog · 2011-01-21 05:48 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Take a picture of your laptop or device, carefully documenting the screws. Take it in for service Tell them not to change the screws If they change the screws, ask them to put the old ones back. Document change in screws Take it to your states AG, and start a criminal investigation.
  ITS YOUR COMPUTER, if they change it against your will, we have laws to protect you. It is illegal for them to do this without your permission.
  SCENE: Office of local Attorney General
  
  CAST: mlwmoohawk, Secretary
  
  DIALOG:
  
  mlwmoohawk: (Shaking, agitated) "They took my Phillips head screws out of my iPhone and replaced them with pentalobular torx!"
  Secretary: "What?"
  mlwmoohawk: (Shaking, agitated) "I demand an investigation! I want legal redress!"
  Secretary: "What?"
  mlwmoohawk: (Hands Secretary grossly normal appearing iPhone) Here! Look!
  Secretary: (Studies grossly normal appearing iPhone, turns it on successfully, plays 'Angry Birds") "Seems to work OK ..."
  mlwmoohawk: (Shaking, agitated) "You don't understand! The screws! They've been changed! It's different!"
  
  Secretary: (Edges away from mlwmoohawk, picks up phone to call security)
  
  I think MTV could start a series....
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Re:speed bumps by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2011-01-21 03:34 · Score: 5, Informative

When did you last open a Dell?

They are, admittedly, ugly fuckers; but every desktop of theirs that I've dealt with in the past 4 or 5 years has been held together with a mixture of screwless plastic pieces(they've standardized on green as a visual code for "this plastic piece is an FRU) and hex-head phillips screws that can be removed with either a phillips or hex tool. Usually all the same length, too.

Laptops tend to have some variation in length, and don't feature the convenient dual hex/phillips; but you can take the entire laptop to bits with a single phillips screwdriver, and each screw hole is labelled with the length of the screw that goes into it(ugly, yes, convenient, also yes...)

Toshiba, on the other hand...
Pics or it didn't happen by karnal · 2011-01-21 03:35 · Score: 5, Informative

This has a picture of the screw in question:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1349144/Apple-fits-iPhone-4-fixings-impossible-remove.html

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Karnal
Re:While annoying... by venicebeach · 2011-01-21 03:37 · Score: 5, Informative

When I google "torx 5 point" sans quotes i get a ton of results for suitable bits. Does Apple have some special version that are incompatible with these?
Yes. This is not a Torx 5-point. The points of the star have been rounded into "lobes". The "iPhone Liberation Kit" being sold by ifixit will open the screws but does not actually fit them precisely so it will ruin them on the way out. They are selling it so you can get the pentalobular screws out and replace them. I suspect the other $2.35 tool people are linking to is the same thing.
Wozniak's Apple Is Completely Dead by eldavojohn · 2011-01-21 03:37 · Score: 5, Insightful

This screw design was patented in - 1974. Yeah keep that conspiracy going, boys.
I don't know what the screw design patent has to do with it, it's more the fact that the average household does not have a pentalobular screwdriver. I'm reminded of Tim Wu's proposition that there were two Apples: Steve Wozniak's and Steve Jobs'.

There is no conspiracy, it's just another omen that we have moved so far away from Wozniak's Apple that we are seeing this in Jobs' Apple. There's no question who's been making the most money but the days of Apple encouraging the user and hobbyist to open up their products and tinker and learn are over. Wozniak's Apple is dead. This is no conspiracy. This is simply fact; the final screw in the hobbyist's ass is yet more unneeded evidence indicating this.

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My work here is dung.
1. Re:Wozniak's Apple Is Completely Dead by jabuzz · 2011-01-21 03:43 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  The date of the patent is critical. Just imagine that there was a new screw head that was patented in say 2005, and Apple held that patent. They could then stop anyone else manufacturing and selling suitable screwdrivers them to the public.
  As it is, a quick Google will lead you to someone selling a suitable screwdriver as the patent has long since expired.
2. Re:Wozniak's Apple Is Completely Dead by danielsfca2 · 2011-01-21 04:05 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  the average household does not have a pentalobular screwdriver... the days of Apple encouraging the user and hobbyist to open up their products and tinker and learn are over. Wozniak's Apple is dead. This is no conspiracy. This is simply fact; the final screw in the hobbyist's ass is yet more unneeded evidence indicating this.
  The average household? Seriously? The average household has never stocked ANY tiny screwdrivers, be they Phillips like the old screws, Torx, or this "new" one. The average household has a #2 Phillips, an old fashioned slotted screwdriver for stupid things like switchplates that still use them, and a hammer. Probably a few leftover allen wrenches from Ikea. Anything more exotic than that pretty much requires a trip to Radio Shack, or a $5 order from some website. Therefore, almost nothing has changed. In fact, I got a nice little screwdriver for FREE with the kit the times I changed batteries and screens and things. The average household doesn't disassemble electronics, not least because they would rather not void their warranty.
  Quit being so dramatic. "Wozniak's Apple," as you put it, existed in a world where computers cost a lot of money, were only purchased by skilled electronics experts or those planning to become experts, and needed to be modified to do pretty much anything. That world has been gone for more than 20 years. Today, computers (and tiny computers called "smartphones") are a mature technology, of which the target market is 99.9% made up of NON-experts, who don't take things apart and don't want to. The fact that it's been this long and you still expect there to be some kind of huge "enthusiast" contingent who are soldering things onto the boards of their Apple IIs, just ends up sounding naive.
  The market has gone towards simple, integrated, and (especially in portable devices like laptops and cell phones)--SMALL. You can't have those things and still be "tinker-friendly." Will a few people still take these devices apart to tinker and to perform some repairs (like the battery) more cheaply? You bet. I do it too.
  I think if Apple were trying to screw those people, they would seal the iPhone completely so that you had to break plastic to open it, and, coat the board in epoxy like they do with some consoles.
The shit is really going to hit the fan... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2011-01-21 03:40 · Score: 3, Interesting

Once so called "smart screws" hit the market. The idea has been in the theory/laboratory stage for some years now: basically fasteners that, under electrical control, can move between their fastened and unfastened or extended/retracted states(assorted pizieo, MEMS, tiny motor, etc. principles of operation have been tried).

Cool thing is, since you no longer have to be able to reach the head of the fastener with a driver, it becomes possible to do case and assembly designs that would be impossible with conventional fasteners. On the minus side, if the fasteners are no longer exposed, and under electrical control(via a simple bus in the chassis) you'll have to gain software control of the device just to open it(without extreme violence to the case. Obviously, nothing resists a good power tool for long...)
Re:Pentalobe... by idontgno · 2011-01-21 03:57 · Score: 3, Insightful

The hardcore DIY community isn't the target of this change. They'll do whatever it takes.
Don't forget, Apple is not really a computer company any more. It's an consumer electronics company. They sell to consumers, not geeks. (Geeks buy anyway, because the engineering is great, but again that's clearly the minority case.)
Consumers have Phillips screwdrivers in the tool box. Consumers may try to save a few dozen bucks trying to replace the battery in their iPod or upgrade the mass storage in their iPad. Apple doesn't want that to happen, for a variety of reasons. For instance, most Apple products truly have no user-serviceable components at the skill level of most Apple customers. Apple probably wants inept DIY attempts to fail as expensively as possible--full-price off-the-shelf replacement ("You voided your warranty, and killed your iPhone. You'll have to buy anew."), expensive service work, etc. And in the few cases where there are genuinely user-serviceable bits in the product, Apple still wants to capture the service money.

--
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
Jobs, you missed it! by Thud457 · 2011-01-21 04:09 · Score: 5, Funny

If Apple wanted to be real assholes, they could have made the screw heads look bitchin' like this. Good luck finding a common source for screwdrivers that look like that. And then they could use trademark/copyright/DMCA to crush anybody trying to sell Chinese screwdrivers on ebay.

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the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Toobular Pentolobular Joy by Psmylie · 2011-01-21 04:10 · Score: 5, Funny

With apologies to the folks of MST3k for shamelessly stealing one of their best ideas:
Tom: Hey, fellas, this sure is a screwey screw in this device, isn't it?
Mike: It sure is!
Crow: Yet despite all the goofyness of the thing, I just can't come up with a word that describes it
Tom: Well I can
Mike: You can?
Tom: Why, sure!
Tom: Oh, it's stupid-alubulal, annoya-nonpractical pentular lobular fun!
Mike: Aggravata-maximal irrita-scam-ulal?
Tom: Right-o, that's the one!
Crow: Is it frustrate-orificcal, butt-in-your-face-ical screwya from morning 'til night?
Tom: Well you're rip-off fantastical purloin-irascable Stevejobs-an-ass-hola right!
All: It's a swindle-a-boobulal rip-you-off-obulal Toobular Pentalobular joy!
An expososular-buttular humped without lubular fun for girl and boy!
An Apple-fantastical scamu-lal job-ulal financial-al steal-it-all ball
Crow: the most defraud-o-riffical
Mike: Fleece-yer-customeral
Crow: con-game-el-fuck-you-lar
Tom: Jobs-u-big-crook-ular
All: Screw job off them all!

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psmylie's dictionary: Godzillion (noun) Any number large enough to destroy Tokyo
Apple products blow by Kludge · 2011-01-21 05:08 · Score: 4, Interesting

I posted previously about the problems I had getting my father's iPad to work. What a headache.
So then my brother and his wife visit me with their iPhones. They have some video that they want me to watch.
So I first I try putting in an standard A/V plug to my TV. It works with my smart phone. Nope. No A/V on iPhone.
So then I think, I'll just download the video to my computer over the USB connector. So I connect the iPhone to my computer. Nada. It does not appear as mass storage device or anything. What? I have to install iTunes to get data off it? And my computer has to be 1 of the only 5 computers to which this thing can ever connect? My brother only visits me once every five years!
So then I think, I will have my brother upload the video to my web site. My brother brings up the browser and my web page on his iPhone. And guess what? The "choose file" button is greyed out! Something as basic as uploading a video file is not allowed.
Any of the above work just fine on my smart phone. There is no way I would ever recommend anybody buy any kind of Apple product. What a headache.
Good luck with that... by denzacar · 2011-01-21 05:19 · Score: 4, Informative

From TFA:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/012011-the-case-of-apples-mystery.html

This isn't the first time Apple has used screws to gain an advantage. Apple had been using 5-point Torx screws for its MacBook Pros, not standard 6-point Torx screws."We did a little bit of research and found out that this particular screw has been patented," Wiens says. "It is illegal to import screwdrivers that can open this screw into the U.S. unless you buy it through Apple's sales channels. Apple sells the screwdriver for $40." (Wiens doesn't know if the Pentalobular screws have been patented.)
So I guess if you smuggle one of those penta(hahaha)lobular screwdrivers into USA you'll be an OUTLAAAW!

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Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens