Whenever regulation passes that seems to herald the dawn of a new age of repairable devices, there is almost always a catch, a loophole, or at least an “it depends.” In the case of recent headline-grabbing battery legislation out of the European Union, we’re waiting to see what counts as “readily” when it comes to removing and replacing device batteries.
Last week, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of new rules for handling batteries of all sizes in the EU, due to be implemented within 3.5 years of passage or as early as 2027. Along with measures addressing carbon footprints for electric vehicle and industrial batteries and stricter waste and recycling targets, there was a particular line in Article 11 regarding the “Removability and replaceability of portable batteries,” that likely got smartphone, tablet, and laptop manufacturer lobbyists moving:
Portable batteries incorporated in appliances shall be readily removable and replaceable by the end-user or by independent operators during the lifetime of the appliance, if the batteries have a shorter lifetime than the appliance, or at the latest at the end of the lifetime of the appliance.
“Readily replaceable,” as addressed in the next paragraph, is when, after removing a battery, you can substitute a similar battery “without affecting the functioning or the performance of that appliance.” For all the things specifically defined, outlined, and estimated in the 129-page “COM(2020) 798 final,” there’s not much more about what the phrase exactly means.
The word “appliance” is used in a broader context than you might assume, as laptops, printers, and cell phones are all included. As the European Parliament’s press office puts it, these regulations mean that portable batteries must be designed “in such a way that consumers can themselves easily remove and replace them.”
Later in the document, regarding battery disposal, it notes that end users have a responsibility to properly sort out those batteries that are “readily removable by the end user without the use of professional tools.” Does that clarify what “readily replaceable” means, or is this no-tools line specific only to keeping people from throwing out batteries inside their electric shavers? There’s no clear answer yet.
There’s already wiggle room in pricing and “wet conditions”
Even assuming the European Parliament negotiates its proposal with the Council of the European Union and European Commission, the bodies reach an agreement, and the new rules are sent to all EU member countries for national implementation, there’s lots of wiggle room for manufacturers to work in. There’s also time for them to appeal and demand more time to reach these design goals.
As noted by Repair.EU, a leading European right-to-repair advocate, manufacturers must make batteries available as spare parts for five years after the last model is sold and at “a reasonable and non-discriminatory price.” That’s something that the group, along with other watchdogs, will have to monitor and report on to ensure compliance.
Some manufacturers are already eyeing an exemption for batteries used in “wet conditions” to opt out electric toothbrushes and possibly wearables like earbuds and smartwatches. The exemption is “based on unfounded safety claims,” states Thomas Opsomer, policy engineer for iFixit, in Repair.EU’s post.
One person’s “readily removable” is another person’s nightmare
Asking whether a smartphone battery is “readily removable” raises a whole host of sub-questions about what counts as “readily” or even “removable,” really. It’s a very wide spectrum.
It starts on one end, with the Fairphone devices, the latest of which has a battery you can remove with a thumbnail by prying off the back cover and simply pulling it out. On the other end is any number of obscure-brand phones, typically running Android, with no repair manuals available (whether first-party or user-made), no replacement batteries offered anywhere, and no visible points of entry.
In the middle is where the vast majority of phones are situated. Almost all smartphones require significant heat to soften the adhesive that holds either their front display or rear cover onto their frame. Once softened, you must typically pry and slice at the adhesive while taking care not to nick any cables or fragile camera components inside. Samsung, notably, presumes that damage is so likely during repair that it sells the screen and battery as a single unit, then it has you transfer your phone’s guts into that new shell.
If you’ve done that kind of work a few times and have a good manual, it’s not too challenging. If you haven’t, you, your nerves, or your too-strong force can damage something.
Even if you succeed in reaching the battery, the vast majority of them are held in place by strong adhesive, typically requiring the careful application of solvent, and more slicing and prying, to get the battery out. Some phones secure their batteries with Command-Strip-like stretch adhesives, but those can easily snap and leave you stuck on the alcohol-and-force route.
If you succeed, you have still damaged the factory glue and pressure seal that provides much of the phone’s water resistance. Does that count as “affecting the functioning or the performance of that appliance,” per the regulation? What about when you replace the battery in an iPhone without using Apple’s own batteries and software tools? You lose your battery health readout and receive service warnings. Is that functioning, performance, both, or neither?
Let’s take it as a given that prying at a delicate screen or glass back with strong solvents on hand doesn’t meet the definition of “readily removable.” We might also accept that “readily” includes the “without professional tools” provision. What counts as a “professional tool?”
Here again, is a fairly wide range. Are an iFixit heating tube, guitar pick, and spudger professional tools? Apple’s Self Service Repair program, which has you rent a suitcase with custom tools and use specialized software to register parts, might seem to hit the mark of “professional tools.” Some might hope that this language all but heralds the return of pre-iPhone cellphones, the kind with a back you could remove with your thumb and spare batteries you could keep in a bag. That seems unlikely, but it’s also not excluded by the language.
The language: vague, the implications: huge
Repair regulations in Europe can have a real impact on the US. The European market is big enough that most device makers aren’t likely to create two designs of their major goods, one EU-compliant and one more battery-greedy. Apple, facing another EU rule mandating the use of USB-C charging by 2024, seems to have prepared for it by reportedly testing USB-C iPhones for future release. If the EU wants to see drastically more efficient battery economies within the next few years—like 95 percent of materials recovered from portable batteries—a farewell to tough glue and gentle prying might need to happen.
Source: arsTechnica | By: Kevin Purdy | June 20, 2023 | https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/06/eu-wants-readily-removable-batteries-in-devices-soon-but-what-does-that-mean/?comments=1&comments-page=1
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Roberto Baires
