Apple TV 4K Very Easy to Repair but Siri Remote Battery Difficult to Replace, Teardown Shows

iFixit has released its teardown of the second-generation Apple TV 4K, revealing an easy to repair, modular design, alongside a laborious process to dismantle the redesigned Siri Remote.


As with previous ‌Apple TV‌ models, the entire plastic shell of the device is transparent to IR light, allowing the ‌Siri‌ Remote to be used from any angle.

The large fan inside the ‌Apple TV‌ is not connected with a cable to the logic board, using four metal contact pins instead, making disassembly even easier. iFixit noted the easy teardown of the ‌Apple TV‌ since each of its components are simply layered in place and easy to remove with a screwdriver.

In the redesigned ‌Siri‌ Remote, the battery is located in the bottom half, with circuitry taking up the top half. To get inside, two screws have to be removed from a panel on the bottom of the remote where the Lighting port is located, but iFixit found that it is not possible to access anything meaningful here without removing even more screws elsewhere.

The Clickpad and buttons had to be removed with brute force, revealing more screws to remove. Once these were taken out, the battery and circuitry could be slid out of the bottom of the remote. iFixit noted that the entire disassembly of the new ‌Siri‌ Remote was made difficult by "super tight" tolerances.

iFixit discovered that the ‌Siri‌ Remote uses a "tiny" 1.52 Wh battery and it is not glued in place, which should make replacement somewhat easier.

Like the previous model, the second-generation ‌Apple TV‌ scored an eight out of 10 for repairability. The new remote, on the other hand, was very difficult to repair. Even a simple battery replacement requires total disassembly and risks damage.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Tag: iFixit
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

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Top Rated Comments

adrianlondon Avatar
45 months ago
If they made it easier to get at the battery, kids in Australia would eat them.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Heelpir8 Avatar
45 months ago
So if the remote is fully recharged once a month that'd be 60 cycles over 5 years. If it's fully recharged once a quarter, 20 cycles.

Is it really a problem if its battery isn't easily replaceable?
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iBluetooth Avatar
45 months ago

No excuse for making the remote battery difficult to replace. That's a deliberate act on Apple's part.
This is not a replaceable battery. You charge it through the lightning cable, thus it is highly unlikely to need a replacement.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
imMango Avatar
45 months ago
I think I’ve charged my Siri remote 3-4 times since launch (with daily use). They don’t need to be replaceable.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jarman92 Avatar
45 months ago

No excuse for making the remote battery difficult to replace. That's a deliberate act on Apple's part.
All part of Apple’s secret plot to make another $59 when the remote battery dies in roughly 20 years.

Seriously, the current remote needs to be charged max twice a year. That battery will never need to be replaced.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LFC2020 Avatar
45 months ago
Here we go again ? first the angry invisible ipad bloomers haters, here come the Apple TV remote haters ?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)