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)

Popular Stories

Mayday Calendar

Apple Acquisition Hints at Upgraded Calendar App on iOS 19 or Beyond

Friday May 9, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple acquired Canadian startup Mayday Labs in April 2024, according to a European Commission listing, spotted by French blog MacGeneration. The acquisition had not received widespread attention from tech publications until now. Apple is legally required to report certain acquisitions to the European Commission, under the terms of the EU's Digital Markets Act. Mayday Labs founder Jeremy...
Nineth iOS 19 Feature

iOS 19 Beta is a Month Away With These New Features for Your iPhone

Thursday May 8, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is just one month away, and there are already many new features and changes that are expected with it. Apple should seed the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors...
fortnite apple featured

Epic Games Submits Fortnite to U.S. App Store

Friday May 9, 2025 9:57 am PDT by
As promised, Epic Games today submitted Fortnite to the U.S. App Store, and if approved by Apple, it will mark the first time that the Fortnite app has been available in the United States since 2020. Fortnite will include options to purchase in-app currency from the web rather than through in-app purchase, which is what got the game banned to begin with. This time, though, Apple has been...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full iOS 18.5 Release Notes

Tuesday May 6, 2025 2:17 pm PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.5 to developers and public beta testers, giving us a look at the final version of the update that will be provided to the public next week. With the release candidate, Apple provided release notes, so we have a more complete look at the new features that are included in the update, including those that weren't found during the beta...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Apple's Foldable iPhone Display Tech May Set New Industry Standard

Thursday May 8, 2025 3:29 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone will feature a new type of display panel developed by Samsung that has never been used in a foldable product, claims a source with links to Apple's supply chain. According to the account yeux1122 on the Korean Naver blog, the foldable iPhone will use a custom display process for which Apple will hold branding trademark rights, and that meets Apple's stringent ...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
top stories 2025 05 10

Top Stories: iOS 18.5 Release Imminent, iPhone Rumors for 2025 and Beyond, and More

Saturday May 10, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
With Apple's developer conference where it will show off iOS 19 just a month away, the company is wrapping up work on iOS 18.5 ahead of an imminent release to deliver a few new features and updates. This week also saw a number of iPhone-related rumors, encompassing not only this year's iPhone 17 lineup but also Apple's plans for 2026 and 2027, even as Apple's Eddy Cue suggested AI could make ...

Top Rated Comments

adrianlondon Avatar
52 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
52 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
52 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
52 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
52 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
52 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)