Pentalobe screw

Usage

iPod

Various models of the iPod Classic include pentalobe screws on its Toshiba hard drive.

MacBook Pro

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.{{cite web |access-date =January 28, 2012

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.{{cite web |access-date =January 28, 2012 |access-date =January 28, 2012

MacBook Air

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.{{cite web |access-date =January 28, 2012 |access-date =January 2, 2012

Third-party manufacturers have marketed a variety of 5-point screwdrivers that fit pentalobe screws on MacBook models since pentalobe screws first appeared externally in the late-2010 MacBook Air.

iPhones

The original iPhone had no screws holding the body together. The iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS had two #00 Phillips screws next to the 30-pin Dock Connector.

Pentalobe screws were first used in the iPhone 4. At first, #00 Phillips screws were used, but later iPhone 4 models had pentalobe screws.{{cite magazine |access-date =January 28, 2012 |access-date = January 28, 2012 |archive-date = January 18, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120118122518/http://www.cio.com/article/656322/The_Case_of_Apple_s_Mystery_Screw |url-status = dead

All iPhone 4S models contain identical pentalobe screws to those found on the iPhone 4. The iPhone 5 has very similar 0.8 mm pentalobe screws, but the screws have longer 3.6 mm shafts.{{cite web |access-date =January 28, 2012

Non-Apple manufacturers

Sony used 5-point pentalobe screws (though mostly simply referred as 'star shaped' screws pre-dating the currently accepted name) on its Sony CLIÉ UX Series PDAs in 2003.

Huawei used pentalobe screws for the Huawei P9, a decision criticised by Kyle Wiens writing for Wired, because using pentalobe screws instead of standard screws like Torx makes electronics more difficult to repair. Its successor, the Huawei P10, also used pentalobe screws to secure the back cover to the phone.{{cite web |access-date = February 26, 2017

Like Huawei P9, Meizu MX9 also uses the pentalobe screw next to the USB-C connector.

Sizes and measurements

Although there is no (known) official standard naming scheme, the size is commonly known as P-sizes. TS-sizes are sometimes used, but leave room for mixing up with regular Torq-set sizes. The following P and TS sizes are used by iFixit.com, and PL sizes by Wiha, a German tool company:

These pentalobe, 5 point heads are not to be confused with Torx heads which have 6 points. A "IPR" designation identical to "PL" is sometimes seen due to the confusion. It is possible that ambiguous "TS" nomenclature is the same as the "PL" designation when referring to Pentalobe screws.

Apple simply refers to the screws by their millimeter dimensions. For example, the PL2 screw used on the lugs that hold the Apple Watch Band is called "Pentalobe 1.1".

References

References

1. Clapp, Kay Kay. (2025-09-11). "Bit History: The Pentalobe".
2. (21 April 2018). "Bit History: The Pentalobe".
3. (2015-12-18). "Band Design Guidelines for Apple Watch, R3". Apple.