Google’s Pixel 5a famously has a headphone jack, however you’d higher hope that the USB-C port by no means breaks. The undeniable fact that it is soldered on to the motherboard fairly than being a separate part is one contributing consider its middling 5/10 repairability rating, in line with a brand new teardown from YouTube channel PBKreviews.

The Pixel 5a is Google’s midrange 5G smartphone and a direct successor to the favored 5G Pixel 4a. Though a bit bigger than the latter and now waterproof, it is outfitted with practically the identical inside elements, together with a Snapdragon 765G, 6GB of RAM and a 60Hz panel. It’s a stable mid-range cellphone for $449, although basically a stopgap system till Google unveils the Pixel 6 household that may use its all-new Tensor cell chip. 

The excellent news is that the 6.34-inch OLED show is comparatively simple to switch, as you may pull it off just by heating it up and utilizing a pry device to pop it off. It’s additionally pretty simple to get entry to the battery and motherboard, when you take away the quite a few screws and pry off the big steel cowl.

From there, nonetheless, issues get trickier. The battery is glued solidly to the case and the pry tab meant to assist take away it’s “pretty useless,” in line with PBKreviews. Instead, that they had to make use of isopropyl alcohol to loosen the glue earlier than they might pry the battery out. The different challenge is that the USB-C port is connected on to the motherboard, so making repairs to it could be “difficult,” in line with the video. 

All instructed, nonetheless, the Pixel 5a seems to be barely simpler to restore than its predecessor. While you won’t attempt to repair it your self, meaning it might be a bit simpler to seek out native service in the event you’d fairly not ship it away to Google. The teardown additionally reveals a solid-looking system with water resistance as a giant new profit — so hopefully, all that may add as much as a dependable system that will not want repairs within the first place.