The pentalobe will always be associated with Apple. But recently, other manufacturers have piled on the five-point-screw bandwagon, too. A couple years ago, we spotted our first set of pentalobe screws outside of Apple’s ecosystem—first in Huawei’s P9 and then again in Meizu’s MX6. With no real functional reason for choosing this screw, I can only assume it’s to look more like Apple’s most popular devices. A rose-gold iPhone sits atop the Huawei P9—both featuring Pentalobe screws. Meizu’s MX6 (the silver one) sits in between two iPhones. From this vantage point, the three phones are almost indistinguishable—right down to the pentalobe screws. Apple chose this fastener specifically because it was new, guaranteeing repair tools would be both rare and expensive. Shame on them. So what is this screw? Apple is switching to a new type of tamper-resistant screw. This is not a standard Torx, and there are no readily available screwdrivers that can remove it. This isn’t the first time they’ve used this type of screw—it first appeared in the mid-2009 MacBook Pro to prevent you from replacing the battery—and Apple is using a similar screw on the outer case of the current MacBook Air. This screw is the primary reason the 11″ MacBook Air earned a lousy repairability score of 4 out of 10 in our teardown last October. Pentalobe screws reappeared in the mid-2012 version of the MacBook Pro. Eight 3mm and two 2.3mm pentalobe screws were used externally to attach the bottom plate of the case to the internal frame. [5] The late-2012 version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro was the first 13-inch model to have pentalobe screws; several were used externally in a similar fashion to the 15-inch mid-2012 MacBook Pro. [6] None of the three 17-inch models of the MacBook Pro have used any pentalobe screws.

When I was a kid, I begged my dad to let me help him with his weekend projects. I’d follow him around with a flashlight in one hand, his toolbox in the other. We sang Simon and Garfunkel’s “ Cecilia” in perfect harmony while we worked. Whenever he tasked me to shine my flashlight on something for further investigation, I felt like the chosen one. And when he’d ask me for a screwdriver, I’d reply: “ Phillips or flathead?” I immediately noticed something odd about the Japanese phones: they had different screws on the bottom! These new screws looked like very small Torx (I guessed T3 at the time) but were actually something far more insidious. An Evil Ascending Third-party manufacturers have marketed a variety of 5-point screwdrivers that fit pentalobe screws on MacBook models since pentalobe screws first appeared externally in the late-2010 MacBook Air.Kaneshige, Tome (January 20, 2011). "The Case of Apple's Mystery Screw". International Data Group. Archived from the original on January 18, 2012 . Retrieved January 28, 2012.

Sony used 5-point pentalobe screws (though mostly simply referred as 'star shaped' screws pre-dating the currently accepted name) on its Sony CLIÉ UX Series PDAs in 2003. MacBook Air 11" Late 2010 Teardown". Repair Guide. ifixit.com. October 10, 2011 . Retrieved January 28, 2012. It’s similar to a Torx—except that the points have a rounder shape, and it has five points instead of six. Apple’s service manuals refer to them as “Pentalobular” screws, which is a descriptive enough term. It’s certainly better than what I came up with, which was “Evil Proprietary Tamper Proof Five Point Screw.” It’s best I stay out of the naming business. This is the fourth article in our ongoing series of posts on the history of screwdriver bits. We’ll be posting one a day leading up to the launch of the Manta Driver Kit and Mahi Driver Kit on Tuesday, April 24. a b Wiens, Kyle (January 20, 2011). "Apple's Diabolical Plan to Screw Your iPhone". ifixit.com . Retrieved January 28, 2012.

Fortunately, our always-creative hardware acquisition team has been on this problem for a while. It’s our responsibility to provide you with all the tools you need to work on electronics, and we have a solution for you! iPhone 4 MacBook Pro 13" Retina Display Late 2012 Teardown". Repair Guide. ifixit.com . Retrieved January 28, 2012. All iPhone 4S models contain identical pentalobe screws to those found on the iPhone 4. The iPhone 5 has very similar 0.8mm pentalobe screws, but the screws have longer 3.6mm shafts. [11] Non-Apple manufacturers [ edit ]