{"id":1218,"date":"2026-05-31T12:18:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T12:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=1218"},"modified":"2026-05-31T12:18:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T12:18:46","slug":"user-replaceable-batteries-eu-european-union-legislation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=1218","title":{"rendered":"User-replaceable batteries are coming back in a big way"},"content":{"rendered":"


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This is <\/em>The Stepback<\/a>, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more news about gadgets and smartphones, follow <\/em>Dominic Preston<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>The Stepback arrives in our subscribers\u2019 inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for <\/em>The Stepback here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In 2023, the European Union agreed on two landmark pieces of legislation mandating how portable tech products with batteries must be designed, aiming to improve longevity, repairability, and recyclability. Commission Regulation (EU) 2023\/1670<\/a> came into force last year and applies specifically to smartphones and tablets, while Regulation (EU) 2023\/1542<\/a> takes effect next year and covers almost every other piece of technology with a battery inside.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The wider rules, which kick in from February 18th, 2027, are simple: Users must be able to remove and replace batteries with basic tools, or specialized tools that are provided with the product for free, and compatible spare batteries must be sold for at least five years. The tool requirement means swapping the battery doesn\u2019t need to be as simple as popping off a clip-on cover, but can\u2019t be much more complicated than removing a few standard screws. The regulation applies to headphones, e-readers, portable game consoles, laptops, and more. If it\u2019s got a battery, it\u2019s probably covered.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There are a few exemptions. Smartphones and tablets are the big two, simply because they\u2019re already covered by that other law, which requires manufacturers to make a variety of spare parts for phones available for at least seven years. Some of those parts need only be available to professional repairers, but others must be provided to end users, and must be designed to be replaceable by a layman with basic tools. Batteries are covered by that requirement, but with a specific, and important, exemption: If a battery still has 83 percent capacity after 500 charging cycles, 80 percent after 1,000 cycles, and the device has an IP67 rating, then battery replacement can be limited only to professionals. Essentially, if your phone is waterproof, and its battery will last at least three years with minimal capacity loss, then it doesn\u2019t need to be user replaceable. For years there was ambiguity about how these two sets of regulations would interact, but in a notice published last year<\/a> the EU confirmed that the existing smartphone and tablet rules \u201cprevail over\u201d the new, wider regulations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Some other devices are entirely exempt from either set of rules, including certain medical devices and products that are designed for use in an environment \u201cregularly subject to splashing water, water streams or water immersion,\u201d for example. That\u2019s not intended to catch any product with waterproofing, but would cover swimming and diving gadgets, or bathroom appliances like electric toothbrushes. The EU has just finished collecting feedback on a further set of proposed exemptions<\/a>, which could include wearables like smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smart glasses, on the basis that their battery enclosures are often so small that there\u2019d be a real risk of damaging the batteries during removal. Campaign group Right to Repair Europe is one of the voices opposing further exemptions, pointing to the example of the user-removable battery on the Pixel Watch 4<\/a> to prove that it\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We\u2019re already seeing some manufacturers prepare for the change. Over-ear headphones with replaceable batteries are rare, but have existed for years<\/a>, though launches this year suggest they\u2019re about to become much more common. Fender was one of the first with its Mix headphones<\/a>, which hide easy access to the battery under one of the ear cushions. Sennheiser just followed with the launch of its Momentum 5 headphones<\/a>, which allow for battery-replacement using nothing more than a Phillips-head screwdriver.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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And of course, Fairphone has been beating this drum for years. Its smartphones and headphones have long had user-replaceable batteries, including the latest Fairphone 6<\/a>. Most impressively, it also managed to make earbuds with easily replaceable batteries, the Fairbuds<\/a>. Despite the exemption for other wearables, as it stands wireless earbuds are included in next year\u2019s incoming rules, giving the rest of the industry less than a year to figure out how to pull off the same trick.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cOur current products already match and even exceed these upcoming requirements because we have focused entirely on repairability and longevity since day one,\u201d Fairphone\u2019s public relations manager Alon Brandt told me. \u201cWe have actually been a driving force behind these new EU regulations, shaping them by actively partaking in discussions and meetings to show the rest of the industry what is possible when you prioritize longevity. We design our devices to walk the walk on the circular economy from the very start, which makes baseline legal compliance just a starting point for us rather than a difficult milestone to reach.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There are more products coming, too, and not just in audio. Code snippets suggest that Amazon is planning to introduce Kindle e-readers with user-replaceable batteries<\/a>, though we\u2019re not sure exactly when. Leaked images of an upcoming Xbox Elite 3 controller<\/a> suggest it too will have a user-replaceable battery, while it\u2019s been rumored for months that Nintendo is working on a version of the Switch 2 with a removable battery<\/a> \u2014 though it\u2019s only expected to launch in Europe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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And that is one of the risks for buyers who live elsewhere. While Sennheiser made a single, user-replaceable version of the Momentum 5 to release worldwide, other manufacturers may find it more economical to make distinct versions for the EU and other markets. Buyers in the US may not always reap the benefits of these EU policies. In\u00e9s Alberico, campaign manager at Right to Repair Europe, thinks that\u2019s unlikely to happen often though. \u201cWhile there is always a possibility that some brands could attempt to limit certain repairability features to EU models,\u201d she said, \u201cin practice, manufacturers usually prefer global product designs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The flipside is the risk that some companies may go the other way and skip the EU rather than comply with the rules. It\u2019s already been reported<\/a> that Meta is holding off on launching the Ray-Ban Display smart glasses in Europe with the battery rules in mind, and it wouldn\u2019t be a surprise to see smaller manufacturers decide the EU isn\u2019t worth the bother too. It\u2019s a big market, so that\u2019s potentially leaving a lot of money on the table, but redesigning to meet the EU\u2019s requirements isn\u2019t as easy as swapping one type of screw for another.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhen designing for battery accessibility, it\u2019s really a balancing act between user convenience, product size, and structural durability,\u201d Fairphone\u2019s Brandt told me. \u201cMaking a battery easy to replace means we have to factor in extra clearance around it and carefully plan for contact wear over time, which directly impacts the overall form factor and layout of the device. Finally, choosing to skip glue in favor of pop-out components completely changes how the device handles everyday impacts and drops, meaning our mechanical architecture has to be incredibly precise to distribute those forces safely without sacrificing serviceability.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Outside of the Fairphone, smartphones have mostly been unaffected \u2014 since last year\u2019s regulation doesn\u2019t require user-replaceable batteries so long as the battery longevity is sufficiently high, it\u2019s unlikely that we\u2019re able to see a return to the halcyon days of quick-access battery compartments on phones. Instead, we\u2019re seeing more manufacturers emphasize batteries that can retain capacity over years of use \u2014 Realme and Oppo have both touted batteries holding 80 percent of charge after 1,600 cycles<\/a> \u2014 while high IP ratings are becoming ubiquitous even at low price points, and not just in Europe: Last year\u2019s Moto G Power 2025<\/a> offered an IP69 rating for less than $300.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The only other change we have <\/em>seen is Apple\u2019s move to a new electrical-release adhesive<\/a> for the battery compartment in its most recent iPhones, which requires only a small electrical charge from another battery to unstick the cell. Apple declined to comment on the record about whether this change was in response to the EU\u2019s latest rules, though it\u2019s not clear why it would be \u2014 modern iPhone batteries are designed to retain 80 percent of their capacity after 1,000 charging cycles<\/a>, meeting EU requirements. The company has already sold spare parts and repair kits to users for several years, though not for every product type, and it doesn\u2019t always make the process easy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Since the upcoming law doesn\u2019t actually come into force until February 18th, 2027, companies still have plenty of time to get their ducks in a row. Still, it\u2019s likely that before then we\u2019ll see more and more manufacturers launch products with user-replaceable batteries, across audio, e-readers, gaming handhelds, and more. Only time will tell whether most of those products are EU only, or whether the new European laws shape the nature of tech worldwide.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That may impact to what extent we see similar legislation enacted elsewhere. Multiple US states have right-to-repair laws either on the books or in the works, and it wouldn\u2019t be too surprising to see state lawmakers issue copycat requirements as a way to force companies to bring those EU-designed products to the US.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s likely that some product categories will move slower than others. Tech companies will have breathed a sigh of relief that wearables look likely to be exempt, but if wireless earbuds aren\u2019t carved out as well then there may be a scramble to adapt the miniature designs for easy replaceability. \u201cThe in-ear form factor demands extreme miniaturisation, to fit the driver, antenna, processor, microphones and battery,\u201d notes a recent report from consultants Futuresource<\/a>, going on to suggest that meeting the requirements will make earbuds both bigger and more expensive to manufacture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There also remains uncertainty about how some elements of the law will be interpreted. The law requires that user repairs be possible using \u201ccommercially available tools,\u201d which are \u201ctools available on the market to all end-users.\u201d Right to Repair Europe\u2019s Alberico points out that this is a broad definition, likely to include a lot of tools not found in most houses, so there will likely be nothing to stop manufacturers requiring the sorts of less common screws that require dedicated electronics tool kits<\/a>. There\u2019s also no strict definition of the \u201creasonable\u201d price that manufacturers are required to set for spare parts. \u201cThat will likely take time \u2014 and possibly litigation \u2014 to clarify in practice,\u201d Alberico says. \u201cBut without fair access to affordable spare parts, repair will struggle to become the simplest and most attractive option for consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The big disappointment is that the separate phone and tablet legislation means we won\u2019t see any real changes there, so long as manufacturers make their batteries and devices durable. \u201cThis creates a false tradeoff between durability and repairability,\u201d Alberico says. \u201cRobust, waterproof devices should not have to come at the expense of user-replaceable batteries. While the ecodesign legislation requirements meant an improvement in battery durability and replaceability, at Right to Repair Europe we\u2019ll continue to advocate for all products to be designed with user-replaceable batteries.\u201d Whether the EU will listen remains to be seen. Otherwise, the main product people seem to want<\/em> to replace the battery in may remain one of the only ones where they can\u2019t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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