iPhone fits device with screws impossible to remove
By IANSFriday, January 21, 2011
LONDON - If you want to repair your iPhone without the aid of Apple, you could be screwed!
The computer giant has started to use a rare type of screw that pretty much no one apart from them and their engineers has the screwdriver for.
The five-pointed ‘pentalobular’ fixing is currently being fitted to the iPhone 4 and MacBook Air, as well as other types of new hardware, the Daily Mail reports.
The tamper-resistant screw, which is similar to Torx security screws, will stop users easily taking off the outside case which protects the electronics of their devices. Instead, Apple product owners will have to take their piece of hardware to an Apple engineer or try to purchase a special screwdriver, which will no doubt be very expensive.
This unusual type of screw first appeared in the mid-2009 MacBook Pro to prevent the battery being replaced.
A smaller version was then seen on the Japanese version of the iPhone 4, which was released last June, and on some other non-US versions of the device.
Apple is currently using these five-pointed fixings on the outer case of the current MacBook Air, and the Phillips screws on the iPhone 4 are also to be replaced with pentalobe screws.
