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Where can I buy this exact Apple Store tool?

This is from an Apple Store, it belongs back in the Genius repair room. Don’t ask me how I got my hands on it.

It has no visible branding. The handle is thick and “soft-touch”, like some adult toys, lol. The “scraper” or “spudger” is plastic and really wide compared to many other tools, and also very robust. Great design. It’s awesome, but it’s getting worn out after years of use.

I just want to know where I can find this exact tool. Anyone?

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What does it do?

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It's a plastic scraper or a spugder/spludger.

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Well now I wanna know how you yoinked that from an Apple Genius repair workshop..?

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I'm moving this question to Meta to see if the tool personnel at iFixit know.

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This question was migrated from https://www.ifixit.com/Answers.

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Other than the handle, this looks very similar to the “gTool Screen Jack Pallet Tool” no longer made. Similar tools are readily available as nylon automotive trim removal tools, basically giant spudgers.
https://www.google.com/search?q=nylon+tr...

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It is common and a black one will surely joye-d the OP but he needs theexact. (ofc no offense to you) (I even voted your answer bcuz you provided an alternative!)

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Thanks for the tip! I would love to get my hands on a tool like this, but I can't find it anywhere lol.

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Interesting search, @jashiu! I'll start looking around and let you know if I can come up with any leads.

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Hi again, @jashiu! As of now, I've gotten some ooh's and aah's at your tool but no one knows where to get one short of hiring a spy to sneak in and get a replacement from the original source (we don't, however, condone stealing.) Hopefully someone else will chime in here with a better idea!

Good luck on your search!

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@amber reverse engineering? @jashiu have the tool gurus from iFixit take a real close look at it. Measurement, materials used to build it etc. I am certain they can come up with something as good if not better and create something that will not interfere with any copyrights/patents etc. Maybe we can find a patent issued to Apple about this tool :-)?

@salvagedcircuit you still around every now and then? You are pretty crafty. What's your take on this?

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Judging by the longtudinal seam line in the tip, this certainly looks to be made of plastic. From first glance, I thought this was a carbide scraper (they usually have nice thick overmolded handles), but that would likely be more of a hazard than a help for apple techs.

I think this tool is just an up-sized ergonomic spudger. If you have a technician replacing 30 screens a day, 5 days a week, using a small plastic spudger may create hand strain / cramps. Removing all leftover adhesive around an iphone frame when a new screen is installed is imperative or the screen won't sit flush.

I do find the size a bit large for iphone repair though. Maybe it's for opening up imacs and removing / repairing the display. Do you know what the apple tech actually used it for?

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I can imagine apple sent a design to a tool maker in china and just produced a bunch for their apple store techs. Granted, apple could have just purchased an existing tool that right from the Shenzhen markets. I am continually surprised at the crafty tools and jigs that come out of the Shenzhen markets specifically for the cellphone repair industry.

I searched through taobao, aliexpress and alibaba and unfortunately could not find a plastic pry tool that resembled the one in your image.

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Can anyone tell me what tools like this are called professionally? (The terms "spudger", "spludger" and perhaps "scraper" all feel a bit "off" to me.) I would like to search too. :)

It's used by the Apple Geniuses for opening/prying/detaching. The width compared to a regular iFixit spudger just feels "safer" because the pressure has a wider distribution. The wide and rounded soft-touch handle is very comfortable to work with. You're probably most certainly right about the ergonomics, Anthony.

It's also super nice to use for removing adhesive from stickers and regular + double-sided tape. The plastic material of the scraper seems to be "softer" than the carbon of an iFixit spudger, so it's less prone to scratch stuff. On the other hand, it does wear out.

Let me know if you would like measurements, more photos etc. It would be really cool if we could make this tool happen ourselves. :)

It couldn't be copyrighted/patented right? lol

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NOTE this answer is organaized by headers scroll to find out more.

I am giving pull steam to find this - Remember I did this without the US knowledge and no info about Apple stores!!!

the photo

original - d225i93lhigkl1.cloudfront.net/igi/YCGaICTYgikVg4Vb.full

EXIF data of the photo

These are the EXIF data on your photo:

The dates might help @danj to find it in a apple service manual. (but it is the day I looked it up lol.)

But, I am genuinely wondering how

'''copyright: Copyright Apple Inc., 2021'''

got here?

EXIF data by exif-viewer.com

'''create: 2021-08-18T07:05:29+00:00'''
'''modify: 2021-08-18T07:05:29+00:00'''
'''copyright: Copyright Apple Inc., 2021'''
description Display
bKGD chunk was found (see Background color, above)
cHRM chunk was found (see Chromaticity, above)
gAMA gamma=0.45454544 (See Gamma, above)
IHDR.bit_depth 8
IHDR.color_type 6 (RGBA)
IHDR.interlace_method 1 (Adam7 method)
IHDR.width,height 893, 1200
pHYs x_res=5669, y_res=5669, units=1s
RGB intent=0 (See Rendering intent)
text 4 tEXt/zTXt/iTXt chunks were found

Using Google Lens

This photo can be scanned (for more effecient results crop it, want to search the deepest? remove the back \ground) using Google Lens on an android phone. But update the google app to latest so it contains the latest neural-alogorithm things.

Unforunately My android was sent for repair.

The file name and other meta’s

accesible thru meta.ifixit.com/Guide/Image/meta/YCGaICT...

Here are the data I was able to view/get/pull.

Image Metadata

Uploaded By - iRobot

File - YCGaICTYgikVg4Vb

Type - Source

Size - 1064x1430

Ratio - Variable

Post References - Where can I buy this exact Apple Store tool?

Formatted Exif (<- good to erase the location but allowing the device, camera date is acceptable)

File Name - Screen Shot 2021-07-26 at 19.10.25.png

So an screenshot(yo wtf?) was taken on 2021-07-26 at 19.10.25 so maybe:

  • the OP couldn’t get the image to ifixit
  • or he screenshoted it from the camera screen??

So that will help @dan over of the exif data above.

Our google brothers image searching was acceptable - but you mght need to waste some MBs and time to scroll, other wise it is fulled of random russians knifes and stuff.

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jashiu will be eternally grateful.