However, the EU uses “readily replaceable” as the exact term in its legislation. Now, a former iFixit employee says that this term is open to interpretation as the EU never clearly defined it exactly in the 129-page text that was presented with the law. Before we move further, let’s see what the EU’s new law says exactly: “A portable battery should be considered to be removable by the end-user when it can be removed with the use of commercially available tools and without requiring the use of specialised tools, unless they are provided free of charge, or proprietary tools, thermal energy or solvents to disassemble it. Commercially available tools are considered to be tools available on the market to all end-users without the need for them to provide evidence of any proprietary rights and that can be used with no restriction, except health and safety-related restrictions”.
What is “Readily Replaceable”?
Writing in ArsTechnica, Kevin Purdy, an ex-iFixit employee says “Readily replaceable” is quite an ill-worded statement. Most smartphones with a battery that is glued to the board using adhesives and to reach a battery for replacement, the glue needs to be heated. Even when you reach the battery after removing the sticky solution and screws, it still needs prying. While it is not much of a task to reach the battery in modern day smartphones, the process could lead to several complications. First, you will most likely damage the pressure seal of the smartphone that provides it its water resistance capabilities. Purdy says does damaging the pressure seal counts as something “affecting the functioning or the performance of that appliance” according to the regulation? If you are not using a proprietary toolkit like the one Apple provides under its Self Service Repair program, you will receive service warnings, does it count as affecting the functionality of the device? The vague and undefined terms like “readily replaceable” and “portable battery” could have adverse effects on device manufacturers. It is very unlikely that companies would create two versions of products – one that’s compliant with the new EU laws to be sold in Europe and another for the rest of the world. The portable battery legislation will still not be applicable until 2027 and the authorities have a long time to define the vague terms. But, would it even be possible to make a device with a removable battery?
