SNACK: 3-line summary
SNACK in 3 lines
- iFixit’s AirPods 5 teardown awards 2/10 for repairability, its highest AirPods score yet.
- The earbud batteries could be removed, but the left and right batteries are not interchangeable.
- A destructive charging-case teardown and unavailable parts and manuals leave this far from an easy DIY repair.
iFixit’s September 29, 2026 AirPods 5 teardown reached the earbud batteries and awarded a repairability score of 2 out of 10—its highest for AirPods. The teardown footage shows the improved access, but the charging case and missing repair parts still prevent a straightforward battery repair. This is a repairability score, not a rating of sound quality.
Cleaner access to the earbud batteries
iFixit opened both earbud housings cleanly and removed the batteries after removing the adhesive holding them in place. The batteries use prong contacts rather than soldered leads, a design also found in AirPods 3. The improvement is the more feasible opening of the earbud housing, rather than a new type of battery connection.
That access still required delicate work. iFixit’s first attempt through the stem melted plastic, and the team explicitly says this is not an easy home repair.
Snackgirls react
Red I’d rather keep a familiar pair playing game soundtracks than replace earbuds that still work. Now I want to see that easier battery access backed by real repair support.
AIKO I’d want to map the contact positions and polarity side by side. A future parts catalogue would need very clear left/right labels—“looks similar” is not a specification.
Left and right are not interchangeable
When iFixit put the left battery into the right earbud, it found no usable charge; restoring the original batteries brought back a partial charge. The team found reversed polarity and slightly off-center prong positions. It attributed this failed swap to those physical differences, not software parts-pairing.
The charging case did not survive
iFixit destroyed the charging case while reaching its battery and found plastic welds inside. At the time of its report, replacement batteries were unavailable, Apple offered no replacement parts or repair manuals for these earbuds, and Self Service Repair provided no repair route for them.
For anyone hoping to keep a pair longer, the earbud findings offer a prospect for skilled repair. Suitable parts and a workable repair route would still be needed; this teardown does not establish a ready-to-use battery replacement service.
Sources and checked date: October 1, 2026 (KST)