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Due to losing everything in her pockets following her regeneration and fall, the Thirteenth Doctor lost her previous incarnation's sonic screwdriver (and sonic sunglasses). As a result, the Doctor chose to build one of her own in a workshop in Sheffield. This one was far simpler in appearance than the last screwdriver with a simple steel body, and a crystal on the tip that glowed amber while in use, taken from a Stenza transport chamber. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)
It was unique from previous sonic screwdrivers in the fact that design-wise the handle was now the unique part of the sonic[statement unclear], as opposed to the emitter, (TV: The Woman who Fell to Earth) which had previously either had interchangeable heads, (TV: The Sea Devils - The Visitation) an extendable emitter, (TV: Smith and Jones - The Eleventh Hour) "claws" deployed when the sonic was activated, (TV: The Eleventh Hour - Last Christmas) or a large emitter glowing in a rotating fashion. (TV: Hell Bent - Twice Upon a Time) It was also the first of the Doctor's sonic devices to have a curved handle, allowing for a more natural grip.
Comparing it to a Swiss Army knife, but without the knife, the Doctor explained that it functioned not only as a screwdriver, but as a scanner and a tin opener, and it could be used for diagnostics. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)
It had a self-rebooting feature, allowing it to restore power if drained. (TV: The Tsuranga Conundrum) It could not work on machinery if the power cells were fluctuating. (TV: Kerblam!)
When a Thijarian remnant sample overloaded the sonic, for having too many inputs, the Doctor noted that this had never happened before. This was because of the immeasurably high density of this substance, containing the remains of Thijar and all their ancestors. (TV: Demons of the Punjab) On another occasion, the sonic could calculate such an impossible density, but that "density [blew its] mind". (TV: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos)
To the Doctor's extreme surprise, her sonic could be rendered inoperative by recon scout Daleks. (TV: Resolution)
Uses
Diagnostic
- Scanning technology, like the Stenza transport pod. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)
- Scanning for artron energy. (TV: Rosa, Demons of the Punjab)
- Determining the current location as Northern Punjab. (TV: Demons of the Punjab)
- Scanning reanimated corpses to find out what is animating them. (TV: The Witchfinders)
- Scanning objects to understand their components and properties. (TV: Kerblam!, The Witchfinders, The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos)
Security
- Reactivating the Morax prison lock. (TV: The Witchfinders)
Technology
- Removing DNA bombs from Graham, Grace, Ryan and Yaz's collarbones and installing them into a Stenza gathering coil. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)
- Signalling and summoning the TARDIS. (TV: The Ghost Monument, COMIC: A New Beginning, TV: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos)
- Accessing spacecraft databases. (TV: The Tsuranga Conundrum, Demons of the Punjab)
- Reprogramming a robot. (COMIC: A New Beginning)
- Operating a transmat or teleport. (TV: Demons of the Punjab, Kerblam!)
- Creating false data on a computer. (TV: Kerblam!)
- Blocking a Dalek's connection to its gunstick while not fully synchronised. (TV: Resolution)
Utility
- Opening a hatch. (TV: The Ghost Monument)
- Unlocking a padlocked door. (TV: Rosa)
- Unlocking an apartment door. (TV: Arachnids in the UK)
- Untying a knot in a rope. (TV: Demons of the Punjab)
- Lighting a candle. (COMIC: Dr. Thirteenth)
Other
- Erasing and restoring marker writing. (TV: Rosa)
- Creating and playing audio recordings. (TV: Spyfall)