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Apple Taking Heat for Switching to Custom Screws on iPhone 4 and Portables
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The whole smart part would be easier to accept if iFixit knew that Apple is swapping the ENTIRE PHONE most of the time. (really, shouldn't they know that...among the thousands of websites that have heard of Apple, shouldn't iFixit know that?)
I'm waiting for someone to come back from a Genius visit with one pentobular and one philips screw because they didn't swap that phone and just grabbed the nearest 2 screws. It'll blow the mind of MR whiny geeks!!!
Mute point, the video is a load blond geekbait pretending Apple has some evil plan to control the world, just to sell you a $10 kit you do not need. You can get a $2.- screwdriver to open it up. Complain about an issue with apple, fine. But if the video is just an selfimportant excuse to sell me an overpriced solution I call it being full of ####
Bad mouthing apple just to sell you're own crap is the only evil plan I see here.
Bad mouthing apple just to sell you're own crap is the only evil plan I see here.
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I like the look of those new screws,do you think they will swap my old ones out for the new ones?
I like the look of those new screws,do you think they will swap my old ones out for the new ones?
Apple is not the only company regularly doing this. Nintendo has used special screws for quite some time. Also, car companies use special screws all the time. Just because I can go down to the hardware store and buy the driver doesn't mean it's still not a pain to have to do.You don't get it. Apple is the only one who regularly does this sort of thing. THAT is why you don't ever hear it with anyone else! When have you ever heard of Chrysler using non-standard bolts in their engine or Sony using non-standard screws in their plasma tv??? You don't hear it because it doesn't happen! In other words, why don't you try using real world examples to make your point next time instead of just making crap up???
I'm sure by now someone is already ramping up to make a driver for the Apple screws.
There's something screwy in this thread.
C'mon people, most people don't give a rats ass about whatever the screw type is.
I still like taking things apart and repair them, just having to hunt down a special screw driver is more fun.
That way most inexperienced users will be more careful (or they will destroy the screw) with what device they open up.
Until the day they stop using screws altogether and use tabs like in ipods we should be happy. And that liberation kit looks like something that almost nobody would want.
Edit: Something I forgot: Philips head screws suck, it's very easy to wear the screw head, I would prefer that they started using torx screws everywhere.
C'mon people, most people don't give a rats ass about whatever the screw type is.
I still like taking things apart and repair them, just having to hunt down a special screw driver is more fun.
That way most inexperienced users will be more careful (or they will destroy the screw) with what device they open up.
Until the day they stop using screws altogether and use tabs like in ipods we should be happy. And that liberation kit looks like something that almost nobody would want.
Edit: Something I forgot: Philips head screws suck, it's very easy to wear the screw head, I would prefer that they started using torx screws everywhere.
I think I've lost respect for iFixIt. This is just a revenue ploy and not even a totally correct solution.
Everyone thinks Apple is so nefarious. Perhaps they just want to use screws and screwdrivers with rounded edges to reduce the chance of scratching or stripping screw heads by techs or geniuses? It looks better if it looks like it has never been tampered with, right?
No that can't be...it's an evil ploy to save you from yourself. Yep, that's it!
Everyone thinks Apple is so nefarious. Perhaps they just want to use screws and screwdrivers with rounded edges to reduce the chance of scratching or stripping screw heads by techs or geniuses? It looks better if it looks like it has never been tampered with, right?
No that can't be...it's an evil ploy to save you from yourself. Yep, that's it!
Huh?
Pretty much the entire consumer electronics industry has been using torx or other 'security head' screws for the precise reason that they make it harder for general-end-users to pop open the product and monkey around inside. That's why they use torx or 'security head' screws when a phillips-head would do! No one accuses Nintendo of being "anti-customer" for making it harder for general-users to replace the screens on a Nintendo DS.
Moving to a new type of 'security head' screw because torx screwdrivers are being included in thrift-store tool-kits now is not a surprising issue, and certainly not part of some master plan by Apple.
Pretty much the entire consumer electronics industry has been using torx or other 'security head' screws for the precise reason that they make it harder for general-end-users to pop open the product and monkey around inside. That's why they use torx or 'security head' screws when a phillips-head would do! No one accuses Nintendo of being "anti-customer" for making it harder for general-users to replace the screens on a Nintendo DS.
Moving to a new type of 'security head' screw because torx screwdrivers are being included in thrift-store tool-kits now is not a surprising issue, and certainly not part of some master plan by Apple.
Well the security head torx are a reason they increase it to make it harder and at least now limits it to people who want to get into it but not hard to get around.
Torx screws can be argue other reasons to use them. The biggest is it is near impossible to scrip the screw out providing you use the right tool. torx was made to make it easy to get the screws to the correct torx.
Hell security could be argue it was used to make sure the correct tool was used to get them out since to many people were stripping them out with normal head screw drivers.
Not a mute point, you just missed the point I was making. I agree about the video, especially as one of their reasons for complaining was that the new screwdrivers will cost alot, and yes they've conveniently got their own little kit to sell at the same time.
But I wasn't talking about that, but rather the actual reasoning behind Apple's move and how pointless it was.
THAT'S IT!! I will NEVER buy another apple product for as long as I'm alive~=! When my macbook dies, I will buy a new logic board and replace it myself. And when my iMac dies, I will buy a new logic board for it and replace it MYSELF!!
Steve jobs will be getting no money from me. When he dies and apple doesn't care about CONTROLLING their customers anymore, maybe I will change my mind.
Won't be long before you start seeing the pentalobe screwdriver on ebay and amazon. Oh, wait, someone beat me to it: http://www.amazon.com/Pentalobe-Screwdriver-iPhone-generation-Silverhill/dp/B004IU9EDM
As I've said with many other posts: WHAT IS APPLE TRYING TO PROVE? THAT THEY DON'T CARE? OBVIOUSLY.
Steve jobs will be getting no money from me. When he dies and apple doesn't care about CONTROLLING their customers anymore, maybe I will change my mind.
Won't be long before you start seeing the pentalobe screwdriver on ebay and amazon. Oh, wait, someone beat me to it: http://www.amazon.com/Pentalobe-Screwdriver-iPhone-generation-Silverhill/dp/B004IU9EDM
As I've said with many other posts: WHAT IS APPLE TRYING TO PROVE? THAT THEY DON'T CARE? OBVIOUSLY.
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Classic "make a problem out of nothing" to make sales. Ok, so they have alleged proprietary screws. Just researched "pentalobe screwdriver" and I get over 100 listings for this product.
Well played my friends. Well played!
I'm not fussed about the iPhone, MacBook Air or the battery but I would be concerned if in the future we start to see it being used to stop people from upgrading their hard disks and turning the computer into a locked appliance that only 'authorised Apple people' can upgrade. If in the future Apple goes down the road that as a MacBook Pro user I cannot open the back and upgrade the hard disk or memory myself then I think this will be my last Mac. Sorry, I love my Mac but I sure as heck not going to give Apple the final say over what I do with something I bought and own.
Kind of off topic, but I'd love to date this chick... Smart, Loves Tools, Sweet Voice, & Lets not forget Great Looking...
As for the screws, Given time we will be able to get a tool kit on ebay... I give it two or three months... If not I'm positive I could come up with a way to cast my own...
As for the screws, Given time we will be able to get a tool kit on ebay... I give it two or three months... If not I'm positive I could come up with a way to cast my own...
Moot, btw y'all.
Ok, now resume pointless discussion!
But... but I was merely referencing him
he's a bad teacher!
Tin foil hat time?
I thought they used Torx because
Our friends at Wikipedia say:
HP uses Torx screws for the few screws inside ProLiant servers - and includes a Torx wrench mounted inside each server.
I thought they used Torx because
- The fit is more secure and much less likely than Phillips to jump and strip out the screw head
- Torx screws fit more snugly onto the driver shaft, therefore during assembly it's easier to install a Torx screw into a hard to reach place, since it's much less likely to fall off the driver while moving it to the hole
Our friends at Wikipedia say:
HP uses Torx screws for the few screws inside ProLiant servers - and includes a Torx wrench mounted inside each server.
A) ZOMG IT'S AIDEN SHAW!
B) If Apple really wanted to keep us out of devices, they could easily make it much harder than putting screws in new devices that require a special tool. This thread has to be one of the funniest I've seen on here, and it's to the point that I don't know who's joking anymore.
B) If Apple really wanted to keep us out of devices, they could easily make it much harder than putting screws in new devices that require a special tool. This thread has to be one of the funniest I've seen on here, and it's to the point that I don't know who's joking anymore.
au contraire
While it sounds unlikely that they're sneaking in back, pulling out the old screws and swapping in the new ones, that's exactly what they're doing. How do we know? Because a few individuals that work for Apple explained the policy to us. That's right, it's a policy to swap the screws.
You're right about one thing: for many repairs, Apple does offer a replacement unit (meaning the customer receives an entirely new device). But, for something like a busted rear panel, they simply take the phone into the Genius Room, replace the rear panel, and swap the Phillips screws for the pentalobe screws as part of the repair. The customer is returned the same phone, but with a new rear panel and new pentalobe screws.
And I'm just going to repeat what I said earlier: While I don't appreciate Apple's standoffishness in using pentalobular fasteners from now on, who are they to swap my existing screws? It just doesn't make sense. I understand how petty this sounds. After all, I'm causing a fuss over two tiny Phillips #00 screws, but they are my tiny Phillips #00 screws. At the very least, the individual doing the swap should say something. The fact that their Geniuses are trained to swap the screws without saying a thing about it makes the issues much creepier than it would be if they just said something about it when they did it.
mj
While it sounds unlikely that they're sneaking in back, pulling out the old screws and swapping in the new ones, that's exactly what they're doing. How do we know? Because a few individuals that work for Apple explained the policy to us. That's right, it's a policy to swap the screws.
You're right about one thing: for many repairs, Apple does offer a replacement unit (meaning the customer receives an entirely new device). But, for something like a busted rear panel, they simply take the phone into the Genius Room, replace the rear panel, and swap the Phillips screws for the pentalobe screws as part of the repair. The customer is returned the same phone, but with a new rear panel and new pentalobe screws.
And I'm just going to repeat what I said earlier: While I don't appreciate Apple's standoffishness in using pentalobular fasteners from now on, who are they to swap my existing screws? It just doesn't make sense. I understand how petty this sounds. After all, I'm causing a fuss over two tiny Phillips #00 screws, but they are my tiny Phillips #00 screws. At the very least, the individual doing the swap should say something. The fact that their Geniuses are trained to swap the screws without saying a thing about it makes the issues much creepier than it would be if they just said something about it when they did it.
mj
Except for you, moaners on here who make it sound like Apple has stabbed them in the back, and a few other handfuls of geeks living in their parents basements (a lot of whom have posted on here professing their love for you!), nobody's going to notice or even care!
The screws cost pennies, if it pisses you off that much just swap them back! Mine has torx screws, I'll swap them with you if you like!
You broke your rear panel and needed their intervention to fix your mistake - part of the fix includes new screws to keep you from further screwing up your device.
Sounds alright to me.