Hardware What is the best way to remove a stubborn screw?

[Sonic Angel Knight]

If anyone can give some advice, that would be wonderful. I want to upgrade my SSD which is a M.2 apparently. But I can't get the screw out. I looked up some ways which is all stuff I never done before. But I saw some screw extracting pliers I was thinking about getting but not really sure if it would work or which one to get. So if some experience person out there knows what to do can explain to me, that would be nice.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

If anyone can give some advice, that would be wonderful. I want to upgrade my SSD which is a M.2 apparently. But I can't get the screw out. I looked up some ways which is all stuff I never done before. But I saw some screw extracting pliers I was thinking about getting but not really sure if it would work or which one to get. So if some experience person out there knows what to do can explain to me, that would be nice.

I tried everything to get a stripped screw out. Ended up YOLO-ing it and gouging out the entire screw hole (the part the screw is holding onto) with my screwdriver. Which I could do since a replacement shell for the JoyCon I was trying to open was just $7.50, but might not be a viable option in your situation. I had all the other screws out with no problem but that one screw was really stubborn.

Is the screw stripped? If it's only partly stripped stop what you're doing and find a proper sized screwdriver first of all before you try anything else. Using the correct size will grip the screw much better and it should unscrew easily. The problem was in my case it was triwing and the exact correct size is really hard to get. And my numerous attempts with different methods and different screwdrivers had made the screw so stripped there wasn't much hope of getting it out.

Many people have reported success with using a wide rubber band for extra grip. However in my case the screwdriver went right through the rubber band and it didn't help at all. Might work better on larger screws (not sure how large the screw on those m.2 drives is) or maybe my screw was simply too stripped.

I also read that a flathead can grip a slightly stripped philips screw better than a philips head so that's worth trying.

But whatever you do don't keep trying to unscrew it using force like I did or it will just become more stripped. See if you find a more correct size screwdriver, it should easily grip the screw and you shouldn't have to apply force.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Is it completely stripped out?

If not, try 1-4 on this guide: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/How+to+Remove+a+Stripped+Screw/13213

If so, you may need to start cutting into it. You can either use the rotary tool as mentioned in the above guide, or perhaps try a screw extractor kit with a cordless screwdriver/drill https://www.lowes.com/pl/Screw-extractors-Drill-bits-Power-tools-Tools/4294607735 < like one of those.

iFixit also sells "precision screw extractors" that are basically the same thing, but hand powered and for small screw: https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/Precision-Screw-Extractor-Set/IF145-118-1

I've had the best luck with screw extracting pliers myself, but of course they're really only useful if you can get a grip on them.

The glue trick has also worked for me, but only on screws that are slightly stripped out that I just didn't have the right sized screwdriver for.