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Switching the battery in the AirPods case is made easier by an iPhone tweak.
Ken Pillonel, the modder best known for building an iPhone with a USB-C connection, is attempting to improve the design of the charging case for Apple’s AirPods Professional in his most recent endeavor. The real wi-fi earbuds have drawn criticism from right-to-repair proponents for a construction that heavily relies on glue, making it difficult to exchange out pieces without damaging the case.
In a news release, Pillonel states, “I’m undertaking a major project to show how one of the key common devices at the moment — Apple’s AirPods Professional — may have been easily made repairable with minimal effort.” “My main objective is to encourage consumers to be more conscious of their choices and producers to put sustainability first.”
Pillonel attempted to replicate every component of the AirPods Professional charging case for his project before changing them to be fastened together using nuts and screws rather than glue. No soldering is necessary because of the improvements, which make it simpler to reach inside the charging case and replace the battery without damaging it.
A render of Pillonel’s design.
Picture: Ken Pillonel
The project concentrates on the AirPods Professional charging case; Pillonel hasn’t yet figured out how to make the earphones themselves easily repairable. The engineer tells The Verge, “The earbuds themselves are smaller, and it’s a lot more durable for me to reproduce their design with the tools I’ve got right now. However, Pillonel is optimistic that he will be able to make similar improvements to the earbuds in the future and thinks that similar design concepts will be applied to them.
Although there is less adhesive in the modified casing than in Apple’s original design, Pillonel acknowledges that he still uses a small amount of glue to hold some magnets in place. But he adds, “when you still need to replace them for some reason, I use cyanoacrylate glue that can easily be removed by soaking it in acetone, in contrast to Apple’s green glue which looks like concrete.”
Additionally, this update only applies to first-generation AirPods Professional. Pillonel claims that he has not yet been able to remove the second-generation earphones’ charging case without damaging it.
As with his previous projects, Pillonel is making his schematics available for anyone who wants to complete the project themselves. You can find instructions for accessing the material at the end of his video, but keep in mind that if you want to see them for free, you’ll need to sign up for a ProtonMail account. Through his Patreon, Pillonel may be disseminating information about his venture.
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