Prank video destroying new Apple smartphone receives 10m views, with some seemingly tricked into making 3.5mm hole in the bottom of their devices

A video claiming that users can add a headphone socket to the iPhone 7, which only has a Lightning port, by drilling into the bottom of their phone has been watched almost 10m times.



The prank video shows a man drilling a 3.5mm hole into the bottom left edge of the iPhone 7 held in a vice. It points to the row of small holes on the left side that replaced the headphone socket present on the iPhone 6S and claims that drilling into the second hole on the left reveals a hidden socket.

Once the hole has been drilled the video shows an iPhone 7 playing music, although the sound comes out of the speakers, not the white headphones now inserted in the DIY hole.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘This video is for those who don’t want to get $159 wireless AirPods or have to insert your headphones into an adapter every time you listen to music’ says the caption of the video.

The video was produced by Sacramento, California-based Ukrainian YouTuber Taras Maksimuk who “specialises in smashing technology for your pleasure” according to his profile. Some of Maksimuk’s other videos include “what happens if you microwave an iPhone 7” and “can the iPhone 7 survive in liquid nitrogen for five minutes”.



In total Maksimuk has seven separate videos showing him destroying iPhone 7s, but that seemingly hasn’t stopped people drilling holes into the bottom of their new iPhones and causing irreparable damage.

The YouTube video’s comment section – normally a place filled with vitriol and despair for humanity – was full of people claiming to have performed the operation and destroying their iPhone 7 in the process, the sincerity of which is questionable.

Some Dude said: “WTF??? Fuck you! My screen turned black the moment I started drilling and now I can’t even open it.”

“TECHRAX YOU PIECE OF SHIT I DID THIS AND THE SOUND DOESN NOT WORK AT ALL,” said Artur.

Lukelaluke123 said: “ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I WAITD TILL MY DAD WAS SLEEP THEN I WENT TO THE GARAGE AND GOT HIS DIRLL AND DID THIS ND NOW MY IPHONE WONT NOT EVEN WORK!!!!! YOU ARE SUCH ASCUM BAG WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS IM GOING TO MAEK SURE YOURE UTUBE CHANNEL IS GETS SHUT DOWN.”

The video received over 134,000 likes, but just under 88,000 dislikes. It’s unclear how many of the dislikes were from people who had been tricked into drilling a hole into their £600-plus smartphone.

Not only will drilling a hole into the bottom of the iPhone 7 not reveal a hidden headphone socket, but it will also ruin the waterproofing of the smartphone, which requires the membranes covering the holes in the bottom of the phone to be undamaged.

Maksimuk’s video is the latest in a long run of pranks targeting gullible iPhone buyers. Pranksters managed to convince some users that the iOS 7 update magically made their iPhones waterproof in 2013, while some iPhone 6 users were tricked into microwaving their smartphones while seeking longer battery life. Both pranks only led to destroyed smartphones.