IFixit Teardown Finds Apple’s AirPods 5 Are Slightly More Repairable, Earning First-Ever Non-Zero Score Despite ‘Disaster’ Charging Case

In its traditional deep-dive disassembly video, repair authority iFixit has taken apart Apple’s newly launched AirPods 5, revealing that the latest iteration of the tech giant’s popular wireless earbuds offers a slight improvement in repairability compared to its predecessors. While opening and servicing the tiny audio devices remains a challenging endeavor that is far from a simple home fix, the inner architecture of the AirPods 5 reflects a notable departure from previous generations, earning the model a 2 out of 10 on iFixit’s repairability scale. Though modest, the score represents a historic shift for the standard AirPods lineup, which had consistently received a zero out of ten repairability rating across all prior versions.

According to iFixit, the key factor behind the upgraded repair score lies in how the earbuds themselves are constructed and assembled internally. Accessing the internal components of the left and right earbuds requires heating the outer adhesive using a hair dryer to soften the glue bond, combined with the application of a specialized clamp to hold the earbud securely in place. Once properly heated and clamped, the earbud housing can be pried open with significantly less friction than earlier designs. Notably, iFixit observed that while the AirPods 5 are noticeably easier to open than the AirPods 3, getting inside the earbud shell still demands carefully applied force, patient application of heat, and appropriate holding tools.

Once inside the earbud housing, technicians encountered an internal component layout built around a pronged battery architecture. This specific battery design was previously utilized by Apple in the AirPods 3, though it was omitted in the intervening AirPods 4 model. In the AirPods 5, this pronged battery design is paired with an internal structure that makes the power unit substantially more accessible once the outer shell is breached. iFixit highlighted that the battery is "intuitive to unplug" from the main assembly and can be safely extracted using what the repair site described as a "nifty pair of tongs."

This structural layout marks a substantial departure from the original implementation seen in the AirPods 3. When Apple first introduced the pronged battery in the third-generation AirPods, there was no straightforward or safe method to open the earbud housing without inflicting heavy damage on the casing, effectively rendering battery replacement impossible for average users and professional technicians alike. The refined casing assembly of the AirPods 5 bridges that gap, allowing the earbud shell to separate cleanly enough for the internal connectors to be safely reached and detached.

However, the teardown also uncovered critical hardware nuances that self-repair enthusiasts must keep in mind when attempting any component replacements. Most prominently, iFixit discovered that the left and right earbuds utilize distinct batteries that feature reversed polarity. Because of this reversed electrical orientation, the battery from a left AirPod cannot be swapped into a right AirPod, nor can a right battery be used inside a left earbud. Anyone attempting a repair must source side-specific replacement batteries tailored precisely to the corresponding earbud.