When Apple unveiled the iPhone 7 earlier this month, it confirmed the phone has no traditional headphone jack. In a controversial move, the company has pushed consumers towards using digital Lightning or wireless headphones instead of 3.5mm analogue ones.
Not everyone is impressed by the lack of a headphone jack. While an official adapter is available, there’s no shortage of parodies and pranks that purport to reveal how you can connect 3.5mm headphones to an iPhone 7. One video has gone a step further, claiming to prove that drilling a 3.5mm hole into the bottom of the handset exposes a “hidden” headphone jack.
The video now has over 10 million views. In the short clip, an iPhone 7 is placed into a metal vice. A standard 3.5mm drill bit is then used to create a hole in the bottom of the phone. According to video creator TechRax, drilling over the second hole on the left, where the headphone jack used to be, reveals a hidden headphone jack inside the phone.
With the iPhone still turned on, the hole is created and a pair of headphones attached to the device. Music is then played from YouTube, although it comes out of the phone’s speakers rather than the supposedly connected earphones.
Needless to say, there is no hidden headphone jack inside the iPhone 7. No amount of “secret hacks” will ever reveal one. Apple removed the analogue port entirely, installing the iPhone 7’s enhanced Taptic Engine vibration system in its place. That hasn’t stopped people from actually drilling into their brand new phones though. Several users in the YouTube comments section claim to have followed the video’s advice and created their own headphone jack.
Sophos’ Naked Security blog collected a few of the most telling responses, although their authenticity cannot be verified. “I tried this and ended up with display destruction and it not working,” wrote one poster. “I really committed the biggest mistake of my life by watching this video.”
Other commenters decided to expand on the video’s advice, further tricking mislead viewers. One person claimed the video creator “missed the part about cleaning the phone after drilling,” advising the phone should be soaked “in soapy water for around 15 minutes” once the jack is created. This is said to clear the new 3.5mm socket of metal shavings.
The iPhone has been subject to annual pranks for almost as long as it’s existed. Back in 2013, the internet’s trolls managed to convince thousands of people that the iOS 7 software update added waterproofing to existing iPhones. A “smart-switch” would automatically shut off critical components to prevent them being flooded by water.
For iOS 8, enterprising 4chan users created “Wave,” an “Apple exclusive” fast charging feature that could recharge an iPhone to capacity when placed in a household microwave for a minute and a half. According to the legitimate-looking advert, iOS 8 contained new drivers allowing it to “synchronize with microwave frequencies” to recharge the battery.
