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?
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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
Produkt
P5 Pentalobe Screwdriver Retina MacBook Pro and Air
$5.99
Produkt
MacBook Air 13" (Late 2010-2017) Lower Case Screw Set
$19.99
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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.
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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!
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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 ;-}
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Package them neatly and sell them in a liberation kit to ifixit readers and others who would purchase them (like me).
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.
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
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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.
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