iFixit Giving Away 1,776 "iPhone Liberation Kits"

netbuzz writes "In a clever bit of self-promotion, the do-it-yourself repair evangelists at iFixit announced today that they will be giving away 1,776 free 'iPhone liberation kits' that will allow Apple customers access to the inner workings of their devices by replacing the difficult-to-remove pentalobe screws with standard Phillips screws. 'Get a free insurance policy,' iFixit says. 'In the unfortunate event that your iPhone needs repair, you will be set to make any necessary fix. For situations when you need to get the battery out of your iPhone as quickly as possible—such as after dropping the device into water—you will be ready.'"

Comments

why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[Trepidity]

I agree it's annoying that the screws are a nonstandard kind. But this "liberation kit" consists of:

1. A pentalobe screwdriver that lets you operate the iPhone screws.

2. Some Philips head screws that you can replace the pentalobe screws with.

But once you have #1, why do you need to do #2?

Re:why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[dwightk]

then you don't have to keep the screwdriver with you

Re:why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[idontgno]

Indeed.

If you've been handcuffed and finally get the keys, why would you put the cuffs back on, even if you still have the keys? Throw away those shackles.

Re:why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[Trepidity]

But you're still putting some cuffs back on! Just different cuffs that use a different key. I'll admit it's a key that more people own, so it could be useful to e.g. open the phone at a friend's house.

Re:why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[BasilBrush]

Because phillips heads are easily damaged when screwing and unscrewing them. And pentalobe aren't.

If you think that screws using a better but less popular standard are "handcuffs", then you're a bit of a drama queen.

Re:why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[Anonymous Coward]

If you've been handcuffed and finally get the keys, why would you put the cuffs back on, even if you still have the keys?

Some people like handcuffs.

Re:why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[Capt.DrumkenBum]

Torx is NOT better.
If I ever find the bastard that decided that it was a good idea to use Torx on my Jeep I will beat him to death with a sack full of the Torx bolts I have broken or stripped over the years.
If there is even one Jeep Wrangler owner on the jury I will get away with it too. Followed by a parade in my honour.

Re:why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[Joce640k]

But once you have #1, why do you need to do #2?

Because the TSA will confiscate your #1.

Re:why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[BitZtream]

Right, because switching to pentalobe stopped how many people from taking apart an iPhone?

Let me answer for you:

0, zero, zilch, nada, not a fucking single person who WANTED to disassemble their iPhone was stopped by this change.

Contrary to whatever silly fantasy world you live in, 99.9999% of the population DOES NOT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT DISASSEMBLING THEIR PHONE. They just use the damn thing.

If you think Apple chose pentalobe (which has been a standard screw type available my entire life) to stop people from opening up their case to replace the soldered in battery, you're just a moron.

ProTip: I have pentalobe drivers from my father that are older than I am. They are not uncommon in older high end cameras where you need tiny screws that don't strip when you breath on them hard.

Phillips is designed for low quality, high volume assembly line work. Read that over and over again until you understand why apple doesn't use them anymore, on anything.

Oh, and my local Ace Hardware carries a pentalobe driver set, seems like they would have picked an obscure head rather than something I can pickup tools for at the hardware store down the street ... don't you think?

Re:why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[ArcadeMan]

Nothing beats Robertson drive.

Re:why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[BitZtream]

If you are so clumsy/accident prone that when you buy a phone, you're worried about being able to open it quickly to remove the battery because it got wet ...

Then you probably shouldn't be so stupid as to buy an iPhone in the first place, don't you think?

I can say this safely because there is no fucking way you're going to open the case faster than the water causes damage, no matter how quick or what screws you have. Even if you have the screw driver in your hand, with whatever head you want, and I drop your phone in glass of water in front of you, you will not get it open before the damage is done.

Re:why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[Above]

That's not quite accurate...

Phillips was designed for things that were generally designed to be assembled once, and not disassembled. For instance the "cam out" behavior is commonly used with special electric drivers for installing drywall in homes. If the drywall ever has to come down, there's no backing out screws. The drywall gets ripped down and the screws pulled out with a hammer.

If you look at the products that use phillips for assembly they are generally not intended to be field repaired. Think of a phillips as a replacement for a nail, or rivet, not some other sort of threaded fastener. In this context stripping the head was never a design concern, since removing the fastener was never a design concern. It's like saying rivets are bad because they have to be drilled out; that's kind of the point of using one.

Re:why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[BasilBrush]

So let me get this straight -- are you putting forth the argument that Apple chose to use pentalobe screws for their customers' convenience? That they wanted to ensure that the heads wouldn't be stripped by the frequent screwing/unscrewing that they could expect?

The world is more complicated than the single reason for everything attitude of most posters.

For sure Pentalobe was chosen to discourage ordinary users from opening their devices. Yet it presents no barrier for techies, whether in the employ of Apple or not.

And it IS a better screw design, less easily damaged, whoever opens up the device.

Re:why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[msauve]

Amateurtip:

I have pentalobe drivers from my father that are older than I am. They are not uncommon in older high end cameras where you need tiny screws that don't strip when you breath on them hard...
Oh, and my local Ace Hardware carries a pentalobe driver set...

Come back when you known the difference between Apple's proprietary pentalobe head, and whatever you're confusing it with.

Re:why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[wile_e8]

If you think Apple chose pentalobe (which has been a standard screw type available my entire life) to stop people from opening up their case to replace the soldered in battery, you're just a moron.

ProTip: I have pentalobe drivers from my father that are older than I am. They are not uncommon in older high end cameras where you need tiny screws that don't strip when you breath on them hard.

Are you sure about that? I thought Apple created and patented their own non-standard pentalobe screws and only sells the screwdrivers to Apple techs. It was specifically designed to not work with the screwdrivers available for camera repair or at Ace Hardware. There are many standard screws which are just as high-quality as the Apple pentalobe, going this route only serves to hinder any unauthorized "tampering" with the devices.

I guess I can never underestimate the spin Apple fans will go through to argue that Apple's user-hostile policies are actually good for you.

Re:why replace once you have the screwdriver?

[icebike]

Phillips was designed for things that were generally designed to be assembled once, and not disassembled.

Not true. Phillips was absolutely not designed for things that were never taken apart.

And drywall screws (ala buglehead screws) are easy to remove with a power driver, even those damaged by too much torque when installed, because the reverse plane of each slot is not damaged by to much forward torque. (I've removed entire walls of drywall which other workers put up by mistake before the insulation was installed.)

Yes, Phillips was designed to cam out before too much damage was inflicted, but that was only assured by screw hardness. Soft screws would often take the entire lobe out with too much torque.

Phillips is an industrial standard designed to solve the problem of the screw driver slipping out of the slot. It was never intended nor represented to be non-removable. That it occasionally is speaks to cheap materials.

Did Father Steve approve of this?!?!?

[TWiTfan]

The rest of you can burn in Hell if you want, but in THIS house, we stick to Father Steve's teachings.

Re:Problems with statutory rights

[cockpitcomp]

Just explain that replaced one screw at a time, therefore, the phone was never "open". The great thing about phone companies is they are always very understanding of their customers and willing to work with you rationally.

Re:I liberated myself from iPhone

[amicusNYCL]

I liberated myself from iPhone

It's such a weird promotion.

The latest iPhone designs use proprietary pentalobe screws that do not allow customers to open up their devices. Although you have purchased your phone, you do not have the ability to open it up to repair it.

Well yeah, if you have the right tools then you sure do have the ability to open it. It's not magic.

In the unfortunate event that your iPhone needs repair, you will be set to make any necessary fix.

No, not really. You'll be set to open up the phone using a different screwdriver. Congratulations.

For situations when you need to get the battery out of your iPhone as quickly as possible—such as after dropping the device into water—you will be ready.

Ready to go find a screwdriver. But not the one that opens the original screws, the other screwdriver that opens the new screws. Congratulations on your newfound freedom.

When people see your iPhone, in all it's liberated glory, they will know that you don't stand for restrictions on your hardware .

Not really. Since you have an iPhone at all then people will know that you really don't care about restrictions, or you wouldn't have gone with an iPhone. The kind of screws on the phone don't affect that.

You believe that repair choices should be up to the owner, that repair should be easy, accessible, and affordable.

But then you said "Fuck all that", and bought an iPhone anyway.

Re:Warranty

[gnasher719]

I assume with the turn of a screw you also void the warranty?

No. For warranty the manufacturer would have to prove that you caused the damage. For statutory rights in the EU after the warranty runs out _you_ have to prove that _you_ didn't cause it.

Re:you've not seen what most officers use, hinge c

[Cro Magnon]

I sure hope you typed that on an iPhone...

Or in handcuffs!