Please Don’t Take a Drill to Your Brand New iPhone 7

Please Don't Take a Drill to Your Brand New iPhone 7
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Rumors surfaced over a year ago that Apple would not include a traditional 3.5mm headphone jack in the iPhone 7. Opting to do away with the “ancient, single purpose, analog, big connector”, as Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller put it, was met with quite the backlash among Apple users. When the iPhone 7 was actually introduced, it was revealed that Apple would not only include Lightning-compatible EarPods in the box with the device, but they would also include a 3.5mm-to-Lightning adapter for users who still had 3.5mm headphones that they preferred to use. Although Apple has made every attempt to offer a smooth transition into life without a 3.5mm jack, it appears as if people are still longing for the traditional headphone port…and they will go to great lengths for it.

Amazingly, following the ill-advised instructions of a YouTube prankster, people are actually drilling holes into the bottom of their iPhone 7 devices, in hopes of revealing a “hidden” headphone port. In the “very simple tutorial” video, YouTuber Taras Maksimuk places a new iPhone 7 in a vice, claiming that the shaking on the screen caused by the pressure of the vice is “perfectly normal” and that it “means you’re on your way to getting a brand new headphone jack”, and proceeds to drill a hole with a 3.5mm bit right into the speaker grille on the bottom of the device. Maksimuk then proceeds to plug a pair of ill-fitting headphones into the newly-drilled hole and playing music from the device, which is clearly coming from the speakers as opposed to the headphones.

It should go without saying that drilling a hole into your device will absolutely not reveal a “hidden” headphone port, and will definitely ruin the aesthetic and likely the functionality of your brand new device. As hard as it is to believe, however, it appears as if some people have taken the bait. The comments section of the video, which has been viewed over 11 million times, is rife with people complaining that the “secret hack” ruined their devices. “Help! Now my old headphones fit but the phone doesn’t work anymore!” one user claimed. “Ummm… My sound isn’t working! Is this a bad joke?” another claimed.

Even more of the comments, however, are coming from fellow pranksters confirming the troll. “THIS WORKS. The reason this works is because the iPhone 7 actually has the internal components of the headphone jack (the contacts) built inside. Apple only removed the outer part of the jack for cosmetic reasons. There are reports of people damaging their phones, which means they did it wrong. You have to use the correct size drill bit and you have to drill in exactly the location TechRax shows in the video to avoid damaging the jack inside the phone.” Other comments claim that drilling a second hole into the top of the phone will reveal another headphone port, perfect for sharing music with a friend. Or that making a horizontal cut with a blade will allow for expandable storage, or reveal a hidden HDMI port.

It’s unclear if any of the users complaining in the comments section of the video were actually gullible enough to drill a hole into their phones, or if they’re just having some fun trolling for replies. This isn’t the first time that gullible phone users have been duped by an online hoax, however – a similar hoax that originated on popular anonymous forum 4chan claimed that iOS 8 included a new feature called “Wave”, that would allow users to quickly charge their phones “using any standard household microwave”. The admittedly well-designed ad made the rounds on Facebook and other social media sites, with hundreds of users tweeting photos of their ruined iPhones sitting in the microwave.

In short, don’t drill a hole into your iPhone. Don’t put it in the microwave, either. Don’t do anything that common sense holds will clearly do damage to your phone in the hopes that you’re taking advantage of a “secret hack” that Apple has been hiding from their users for no discernible reason. Always remember – if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

What would you like to say to someone who tried this “hack”?
Let us know in the comments section below.

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