What screw heads are used in this laptop? I’m curious because I believe Torx is much more durable than Philips, and Philips screws (especially cheaper ones) strip easily, leaving you to have to superglue and potentially destroy a screwdriver to remove it on occasion. On the event a screw does strip, will replacement screw packs be available?
It looks like Torx T5 or T6 for everything intended to be removed, and Phillips PH0 or PH00 for some screws that require a very low-profile head:
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I just hope the screws are not too soft. I’ve had Dell services become nightmares because of that ::
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@jeshikat got it! All of the common repairs use only T5. Some of the uncommon ones that are very low profile use PH0. The Framework Screwdriver we include in the box has a double-sided tip to handle both fastener types.
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Noice. Alright then. Will screw packs be available to replace a stripped screw though? T5 is really small and has really small features that could round out after opening the laptop several times, especially if the metal is softer.
Our fasteners are pretty robust. Especially the larger T5 ones that get used the most. Nevertheless, we actually included 5 spare fasteners inside the machine!
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Spare screws are always good, I had to go lucky dip on eBay to get some screws for my Fair phone 3. It took several attempts because some people don’t know how to measure screws.
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@anon81945988 Yes, spare screws are nice, but given that the whole idea of the Framework is to be upgradeable and repairable, and thus to be able to use the “same” (cue arguments about greek ships and ancestral axes) computer pretty much forever, the relevant concern here is not how many I expect to strip “soon”, but how many I expect myself and my heirs to strip before the primary segment of the lower case (the part most likely to outlast every last other thing on it, possibly including even a lot of the screws) finally comes up as the next thing to need an upgrade.
I haven’t checked for these specific screws but McMaster Carr has been my go-to for various , tools, and other misc special items over the years. And I always get exactly what I order.
Quick question(s)
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I stripped one of the external captive screws and actually had to do a quick job of drilling it out, there’s no spare for that particular size included, right?
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I assume the softness/grade of the screw is primarily to make it the failure point rather than the threads which would be a bigger problem if they stripped, right? so replacing them with something more hardened would be a false economy…
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From what I can tell these screws are made captive by tiny little circlips, right? Is there anything special to getting a replacement screw into the same place, or should I just put it in, and accept that that one screw is no longer captive?
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Correct, there’s no spare. If you drilled it out, you probably damaged the threads and will be unable to get a new screw in there. There’s very little you can do to fix this short of buying a new bottom cover. You might also need a new input cover because you likely damaged those threads too.
Were you by chance using power tools to remove the screw?
For anyone experiencing the same thing, contact support and they can send you new screws. And please, do NOT drill it out! Use a screw extractor set (like these) to get it out without damaging the threads.
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Nah, I hand-drilled the cap off (w/ pin-vise) and then took the shaft out carefully with needlenose pliers, the threads in the input cover are fine. Will email support for a new screw.
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If I have to remove the captive screws, what is the proper procedure to do so?
edit: nothing wrong with my FW, only curious
You really don’t have to remove the captive screws unless there’s something seriously wrong (and you should tell the forum what it is so that the community can better help you).
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Oh sorry I should clarify in my previous response… it’s a hyperthetical situation when (or if) the screw strips, how would I remove it.
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