3 ms·

While I'm sure the requirements of the engineering required custom screws to meet size and scale needs, I sure hope this doesn't turn out to be a "protection sc

While I'm sure the requirements of the engineering required custom screws to meet size and scale needs, I sure hope this doesn't turn out to be a "protection scheme" making custom screws to prevent user repairs. While an old article, it reminds us that Apple seemed to really love this approach, at least in the past: https://www.wired.com/2012/08/if-theres-a-screw-theres-a-way-custom-screws-wont-stop-the-diy-community/ https://www.wired.com/2012/08/if-theres-a-screw-theres-a-way...

javagram 8y ago
It was for the Mac Pro trashcan which was a compact design. Although Apple uses odd security screws in all their products, their pursuit of thinness and compactness also probably leads them to need precisely manufactured small parts. Of course if the Mac Pro had just used the old Mac Pro design or the previous Power Mac tower designs, perhaps the parts for a tower case might have been easier to find...
- TheForumTroll 8y ago
  That screw is no more compact than a normal screw.
floatingatoll 8y ago
Security screws don’t prevent repairs. Glue prevents repairs. iFixit has been releasing screwdriver kits for Apple for years, but the hardest part of taking apart modern Apple is dealing with the glue. Hair dryers, putty knifes, and forcing things that feel like they’re going to snap.
- pbhjpbhj 8y ago
  Security screws do inhibit repair (in general), certainly have prevented me repairing things in the past. I've seen "head stripping" too, damaging the head to prevent removal (stopped me replacing my multimeter battery - hugely immoral). Tri-screws (Nintendo), were one of the first things I had to buy "single-use" screw-drivers for.
  - justtopost 8y ago
    I tend to drill them out and replace them with standard fasteners. Ends up cheaper than having 3 trays of obscure bits that still somehow don't fit. Pay close attention to length however. Some laptops will ground out with a screw 1 thread too long.
JohnBooty 8y ago
Anecdotally, I've been told that the real reason for many "security screws" is that they simply facilitate higher-speed automated manufacturing -- the standard cross/phillips head isn't great for that. This makes sense to me since "security screws" are an almost entirely useless form of tamper prevention or tamper evidence. However I've no idea what the real story is. I'm wondering if somebody with knowledge can chime in....
- leakybit 8y ago
  yea, but there already exists a standardized 6pt screw design called Torx screws vs Apples 5pt screw.
writepub 8y ago
You better believe Apple intentionally curbs the ability to repair outside it's stores. The "right to repair" movement and subsequent legislation was squarely pointed at Apple. There's simply nothing Apple won't do to stymie user rights, from purposefully forcing app-devs into the app store by crippling the iOS browser, to retroactively modifying app store rules to kill competition (as with Steam), to making it next to impossible to repair hardware outside their store

javagram 8y ago

It was for the Mac Pro trashcan which was a compact design. Although Apple uses odd security screws in all their products, their pursuit of thinness and compactness also probably leads them to need precisely manufactured small parts. Of course if the Mac Pro had just used the old Mac Pro design or the previous Power Mac tower designs, perhaps the parts for a tower case might have been easier to find...

TheForumTroll 8y ago
That screw is no more compact than a normal screw.

floatingatoll 8y ago

Security screws don’t prevent repairs. Glue prevents repairs. iFixit has been releasing screwdriver kits for Apple for years, but the hardest part of taking apart modern Apple is dealing with the glue. Hair dryers, putty knifes, and forcing things that feel like they’re going to snap.

pbhjpbhj 8y ago
Security screws do inhibit repair (in general), certainly have prevented me repairing things in the past. I've seen "head stripping" too, damaging the head to prevent removal (stopped me replacing my multimeter battery - hugely immoral). Tri-screws (Nintendo), were one of the first things I had to buy "single-use" screw-drivers for.
- justtopost 8y ago
  I tend to drill them out and replace them with standard fasteners. Ends up cheaper than having 3 trays of obscure bits that still somehow don't fit. Pay close attention to length however. Some laptops will ground out with a screw 1 thread too long.

JohnBooty 8y ago

Anecdotally, I've been told that the real reason for many "security screws" is that they simply facilitate higher-speed automated manufacturing -- the standard cross/phillips head isn't great for that. This makes sense to me since "security screws" are an almost entirely useless form of tamper prevention or tamper evidence. However I've no idea what the real story is. I'm wondering if somebody with knowledge can chime in....

leakybit 8y ago
yea, but there already exists a standardized 6pt screw design called Torx screws vs Apples 5pt screw.

writepub 8y ago

You better believe Apple intentionally curbs the ability to repair outside it's stores. The "right to repair" movement and subsequent legislation was squarely pointed at Apple. There's simply nothing Apple won't do to stymie user rights, from purposefully forcing app-devs into the app store by crippling the iOS browser, to retroactively modifying app store rules to kill competition (as with Steam), to making it next to impossible to repair hardware outside their store