Ga door naar hoofdinhoud

Model A1369, 1.6, 1.7, or 1.8 GHz Processor, 64, 128 or 256GB Flash Storage

328 Vragen Bekijk alle

Replacement screws for the pentalobe screws

MacBook Air 13 Mid 2011

Is it possible to get Phillips screw replacements for the pentalobe screws on the bottom case of an Air?

Beantwoord! Bekijk het antwoord Dit probleem heb ik ook

Is dit een goede vraag?

Score 3
Voeg een opmerking toe

4 Antwoorden

Gekozen oplossing

Here's the screwdriver for $5.91 that you're trying to get around: P5 Pentalobe Screwdriver Retina MacBook Pro and Air

Here's the bottom screw set (Pentalobe): MacBook Air 13" (Late 2010-2017) Lower Case Screw Set

P5 Pentalobe Screwdriver Retina MacBook Pro and Air Afbeelding

Product

P5 Pentalobe Screwdriver Retina MacBook Pro and Air

$5.99

MacBook Air 13" (Late 2010-2017) Lower Case Screw Set Afbeelding

Product

MacBook Air 13" (Late 2010-2017) Lower Case Screw Set

$19.99

Was dit antwoord nuttig?

Score 2
Voeg een opmerking toe
Het nuttigste antwoord

I wish someone would fix this thread. It’s annoying because it shows up as the no.1 search result for ‘Philips equivalent for P5 Pentalobe’ and marked ‘SOLVED’. Neither of which is the case.

The thread title doesn’t actually mention that the original poster is looking for Philips equivalents/replacements for Pentalobe screws [it just says ‘replacement screws’]. The Philips aspect isn’t mentioned til the body of the post. And the ‘SOLVED’ answer just tells where to get replacement Pentalobes, which 30 seconds on eBay or Amazon would tell us anyway.

In addition there is advice for people to measure some existing P5 pentalobes with a caliper to get the correct dimensions / thread pitch, etc. But, as is often the case on the intarwebs, if anyone did this, they’ve not bothered to return and share with the rest of us.

I’ve also been trying to find the dimensions of the P5s so i can replace the ones on my MacBook Air with Philips screws and haven’t had much luck so far. I did find a seller on AliBaba offering replacement sets of pentalobes who had thoughtfully provided some sizing info. So here is what they put [I can’t vouch for its accuracy]:

  • 8 x P5 pentalobe screws - 2.6mm in length, 0.4mm thread pitch
  • 2 x P5 pentalobe screws - 8.9mm in length, 0.4mm thread pitch
  • [Diameter wasn’t given. Can it be inferred from the thread pitch, I wonder?]

I’ve also found that some tiny Philips screws I had kept from an old MacBook Pro [pre Unibody model] worked to replace the 2,6mm long pentalobes in my MacBook Air. So I have swapped those in. I’m still not having much luck tracking down a Philips equivalent for the two longer screws though.

Will report back if I ever crack this.

Was dit antwoord nuttig?

Score 5

5 opmerkingen:

Thanks Stuzzington, I didn't report back the data because I simply didn't have a caliper and gave up. I appreciate you posting this!

door

No problem. I never reported back either. So I might as well make good now:

I never did find replacements for the longer pentalobes. Last time I had to take the bottom off my MBA [to replace the battery], I had to actually grind the head off one of them, as it was so completely rounded out. So I've now only got one of the damned pentalobes left holding the base on. The rest are the Philips screws I previously mentioned, that I salvaged from an ancient MBP.

door

@stuzbot - These are custom Apple screws as such you get what they ordered. There is no Philips alternatives.


As far as risk of stripping, both can be stripped out so I wouldn't be so quick into thinking Philips where any better.


The trick is first make sure your drivers tip is not worn or cheap as the quality of the metal used can wear faster.


I always use a bit of acetone on the more difficult screws and often use the heat of a soldering iron to heat up the screw then use freeze spray to quacking cool it making sure I don't chill the case parts. The action first causes the screw to expand a bit and then the quick chill allows the case to hold the expanded hole and the screws contracts a bit it will either break the bond or give the threads a bit more space. If the screws had thread-tight on them the heat will also soften the bond.

door

>>These are custom Apple screws as such you get what they ordered. There is no Philips alternatives.

You could be right. The only Philips ones I found that fitted were off an older MacBook Pro

>>As far as risk of stripping, both can be stripped out so I wouldn't be so quick into thinking Philips where any better.

I'm not a great fan of Philips either. [I recently discovered just how much better hex head screws are than any other type]. But, if I unexpectedly needed to get the base off my laptop for some reason --especially while I'm away from home-- I'm far more likely to be able to find a Philips screwdriver than a Pentalobe one. I think that's the point here, rather than belief in any intrinsic superiority of Philips over Pentalobe.

door

@stuzbot - I have a small driver set which I have in my bag with my other gear. I have often strayed into the woods or fields quite far and have been caught in a downpour where I’ve needed to pop a cover off to blowout any moisture. As an avid photographer I know of needless loss of a camera or lens in the heat of a photo shoot. Even my MacBook needs a bit of TLC once and awhile too.


But todays M Series systems have less need of being opened as in the older Intel systems and for the most part are better sealed. That doesn’t mean they can’t get wet too!

Remember Apple has a motive here! They want to make it harder to fix your system! It feeds their repair service and if you don’t catch the wetness in time then it’s a new system! Which is also what they have the moisture detectors inside. But just like the Void if remove stickers they are not legally binding.

door

Voeg een opmerking toe

I know we’re all volunteers here, but i’m a little frustrated that the answer by Mayer is voted as “Chosen” and Dan as “Most Helpful” when they are quite far from answering the OP’s original question.

Pentalobe is a horrific design. It strips easily and is designed to annoy all of us here. To replace these screws with something better like phillips or torx, you can buy the screws from a site like https://www.laptopscrews.com/ and https://www.metricscrews.us/

And no you don’t need to purchase 50,000 screws. You can purchase the exact amount you need at a very affordable price.

The only thing is, you’ll need to measure the thread depth and pitch using a ruler or maybe a caliper. The websites above will explain how to do that.

Was dit antwoord nuttig?

Score 3

1 Opmerking:

Sadly Apples screws are all custom! These are not off the shelf screws.


While my answer was a bit flippant the point is you would need to get a screw maker to manufacture them for you with the Philips head. They need to have enough ordered to make it worth their effort!

door

Voeg een opmerking toe

Sure it's possible... It would be very expensive!

You would need to take all of the screws out and carefully measure each one then lookup and order (in bulk 5,000/10,000 per type) from a screw manufacture.

Don't know what you'll do with all of the extra screws though ;-}

Was dit antwoord nuttig?

Score 2

3 opmerkingen:

Package them neatly and sell them in a liberation kit to ifixit readers and others who would purchase them (like me).

door

Yeah. Sell it to other MacBook owners. Pentalobe is a bad design. Apple wanted to make money. I think that Phillips screws or Torx are much better and dont strip. I opened my MBA with the P5 iFixit Screw Driver 3 times and the screws are already stripped. And, if you are wondering: Yes, I know how to screw.

door

Biggest reason? Those dang batteries decide to expand and force the keyboard up. I don't want to be on the road somewhere and have to wreck the screws just to take out the battery to continue using my laptop

door

Voeg een opmerking toe

Voeg je antwoord toe

ahaukeboe zal eeuwig dankbaar zijn.
Weergavestatistieken:

Afgelopen 24 uren: 1

Afgelopen 7 dagen: 9

Afgelopen 30 dagen: 34

Altijd: 3,142