Pentalobe screw

Pentalobe screw

Pentalobe screw diagram
Launch year	2009
Company	Apple
Availability	In use
Notes Tamper resistant screw

The Pentalobe security screw (Apple nomenclature), or pentalobe screw drive, is a five-pointed tamper-resistant system primarily used by Apple in its products. Pentalobe screws have been used by Apple since 2009, when they were first implemented in the 15-inch MacBook Pro. They have since been used on other MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and iPhone models. Apple attracted criticism upon the introduction of the pentalobe screw; it was seen as an attempt to lock individuals out of their devices.

Pentalobe screw sizes include TS1 (0.8 mm, used on every iPhone after and including the iPhone 4), TS4 (1.2 mm, used on the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro with Retina display), and TS5 (1.5 mm, used on the 2009 MacBook Pro battery). The TS designation is ambiguous as it is also used for the Torq-set screw drive.

The first Apple product to include pentalobe screws internally was the Mid 2009 MacBook Pro 15-inch model. Three pentalobe screws were used to attach the battery to the internal frame. A 1.5 mm flat-blade (slotted) screwdriver could easily remove these screws, which were originally mistaken for 5-point Torx screws. This was the only internal usage of pentalobe screws; all following MacBook Pros use the "Tri-Wing" security bit to attach the battery to the internal frame.

Pentalobe screws reappeared in the mid-2012 version of the MacBook Pro. Eight 3 mm and two 2.3 mm pentalobe screws were used externally to attach the bottom plate of the case to the internal frame. 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. None of the three 17-inch models of the MacBook Pro have used any pentalobe screws.

The MacBook Air has seen more extensive use of pentalobe screws than the MacBook Pro. All five versions of the 11-inch MacBook Air (late-2010, mid-2011, mid-2012, mid-2013 and early-2014) include eight 2.5 mm-long and two 8 mm-long external pentalobe screws. The last five versions of the 13-inch MacBook Air (late-2010, mid-2011, mid-2012, mid-2013 and early-2014) use eight 2.6 mm-long and two 9 mm-long pentalobe screws. Pentalobe screws have only been used externally on MacBook Air models.