The EU Is Forcing Phone Makers to Bring Back Replaceable Batteries

Once upon a time, you could slide the back off your phone and swap in a fresh battery. That all changed when phones got thinner, started surviving toilet drops (why's your phone in the bathroom?) and manufacturers started sealing everything tight.

Now the EU is bringing it back. Starting February 2027, any new phone, tablet, or similar device sold in Europe has to have a battery that regular people can remove with regular tools.

What That Actually Means

The rules: nothing fancy, no proprietary screwdrivers or heat guns, just stuff you can find at a hardware store. The regulation also bans software tricks that block replacement batteries from working, so manufacturers can't use parts pairing to lock you into their own expensive replacements.

Companies also have to keep selling replacement batteries for at least five years after the last unit of a model is sold, and post free instructions online showing you how to actually do the swap.

The Hard Part

Waterproofing and removable batteries don't really get along. A phone that's sealed against dust and water is hard to open by design, and the EU knows that so products built for wet environments can apply for a partial exemption, but the bar is high. Manufacturers have to prove there's genuinely no way to redesign the thing without breaking safety or performance. Samsung is reportedly working on battery pouch designs that use less glue. Apple made the iPhone 16's back glass easier to remove. But the hardest category might be wearables. Wireless earbuds and smartwatches with glued-in batteries are facing an expensive redesign, and Meta has already been lobbying the EU to leave its Ray-Ban smart glasses out of the new rules.

What Doesn't Change

You're still not popping the back off with your thumb. The regulation says 'readily removable with commercially available tools,' not *tool-free*, so you'll probably need a small screwdriver. One more thing: products launched before February 2027 are lumped in, so that means a company could release a glued-shut phone in January 2027 and keep selling it for years, but any new model after the deadline has to comply.

The EU has been pushing right-to-repair for years, so this is a win for anyone who just wants to keep their device working without paying for a new one. The deadline is February 2027, so manufacturers have some time to figure it out. Link below for more info.