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

[MacRumors]

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.

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

 

[IG88]

No excuse for making the remote battery difficult to replace. That's a deliberate act on Apple's part.

 

[AppleTO]

Seems like a relatively high score considering there is nothing to replace (on the tv itself)…

 

[LFC2020]

Here we go again 👀 first the angry invisible ipad bloomers haters, here come the Apple TV remote haters 😂

 

[iBluetooth]

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.

 

[nwcs]

I don’t know of any place that repairs remotes. At least none I’ve come across over the years. Typically if a TV remote gets damaged, you just get another one. The cost of shipping plus repair is probably the same or more than the replacement cost.

 

[Heelpir8]

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?

 

[imMango]

I think I’ve charged my Siri remote 3-4 times since launch (with daily use). They don’t need to be replaceable.

 

[Wackery]

I don’t know of any place that repairs remotes. At least none I’ve come across over the years. Typically if a TV remote gets damaged, you just get another one. The cost of shipping plus repair is probably the same or more than the replacement cost.

Replacing a battery shouldn’t be this hard on a remote.

do you throw out your tv remotes when the battery runs out or goes bad?

 

[djc6]

Replacing a battery shouldn’t be this hard on a remote

Especially a remote Apple allegedly made larger, to make it harder to lose.

 

[adrianlondon]

If they made it easier to get at the battery, kids in Australia would eat them.

 

[Spock]

No excuse for making the remote battery difficult to replace. That's a deliberate act on Apple's part.

I’m guessing that the assumption is that by the time the remote battery no longer holds a charge, it’s most likely time for a new Apple TV. My third generation Siri remote still holds an acceptable charge and is technically two generations behind.

 

[Surfer13134]

I wonder if Apple has future plans for the bottom of the remote, why else would it have the bottom plate that can be removed by the 2 screws.

 

[djc6]

I don't understand the 8/10 repairability score. Seems the only thing you can replace is the enclosure and the fan. Everything else would require Louis Rossmann level skills to repair anything on the logic board.

 

[George Dawes]

Got the remote works great on YouTube, very impressed

 

[Andromeda_Andy]

I'm actually shocked how long the Apple tv remote lasts in between charges. Having a touch pad, motion sensors, being so thin and light...I go 4-6 months before it needs to be charged and I use it every day.

 

[Return Zero]

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.

Doesn't the remote use bluetooth? I have the ATV mounted on the back of my TV, no line of sight whatsoever, and it works flawlessly.

 

[DanTSX]

Shame they couldn’t stuff an airtag in the ugly remote

 

[lkrupp]

I don't understand the 8/10 repairability score. Seems the only thing you can replace is the enclosure and the fan. Everything else would require Louis Rossmann level skills to repair anything on the logic board.

Well, if iFixit had its way manufacturers would be thrown back into the electronic stone age with discreet components, massive, single sided printed circuit boards, and all ICs would have to be socketed. Imagine what a remote would look like if it were designed by iFixit.

 

[bpb]

Doesn't the remote use bluetooth? I have the ATV mounted on the back of my TV, no line of sight whatsoever, and it works flawlessly.

Yes but it can "learn" to use IR remotes as well. Up until I got the new 4K we swapped back and forth between using the supplied siri remote and the remote for our sound system. Both worked pretty well though some features arent available when using IR remotes.

 

[bpb]

I'm actually shocked how long the Apple tv remote lasts in between charges. Having a touch pad, motion sensors, being so thin and light...I go 4-6 months before it needs to be charged and I use it every day.

Same. Since we use another IR remote intermittently I would say we maybe use the touch pad remote 1/3 of the time. I don't think I've plugged mine in once this past year.

 

[DanTSX]

Well, if iFixit had its way manufacturers would be thrown back into the electronic stone age with discreet components, massive, single sided printed circuit boards, and all ICs would have to be socketed. Imagine what a remote would look like if it were designed by iFixit.

If that was the case, ifixit wouldn’t have a business model...

 

[theluggage]

This is not a replaceable battery. You charge it through the lightning cable, thus it is highly unlikely to need a replacement.

Unless it's like the Apple Pencil, which turns into a (pencil-shaped) brick if you don't use it for a while and the battery fully discharges & dies.

Now, I mostly use a Logitech Harmony* to control my TV stuff, only using the original remotes when I need to do something tricky, so "not using it for a while" is quite a likely scenario.

(*but I guess the Harmony shouldn't start any long books either, now Logitech has abandoned it...)

 

[ColdShadow]

I’ve never heard if anyone needing to repair a streaming box Apple TV,Nvidia Shield,or any other Android TV box..why they bother?

 

[citysnaps]

Here we go again 👀 first the angry invisible ipad bloomers haters, here come the Apple TV remote haters 😂

That helps some get their day going.