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iFixit Rates AirPods 5 Repairability 2/10, Batteries Replaceable

By Drooid · Sep 30, 2026, 2:18 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

iFixit gave the AirPods 5 a repairability score of 2 /10, up from 0 /10.
iFixit’s teardown showed the earbuds’ batteries can be removed and replaced without destroying them.
The left and right AirPods use batteries with reversed polarity, so they cannot be swapped.
The charging case remains hard to open and still gets destroyed during repair attempts.
CT scans revealed densely packed batteries, MEMS microphones and the H2 chip inside each earbud.

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Story summary

iFixit gave the AirPods 5 a repairability score of 2 /10, up from 0 /10.
iFixit’s teardown showed the earbuds’ batteries can be removed and replaced without destroying them.
The left and right AirPods use batteries with reversed polarity, so they cannot be swapped.
The charging case remains hard to open and still gets destroyed during repair attempts.
CT scans revealed densely packed batteries, MEMS microphones and the H2 chip inside each earbud.