New teardown video gives Google Pixel 5a middling repair score

Google recently launched a successor to last year’s Pixel 4a 5G in the form of the Pixel 5a. The Pixel 5a features a similar spec sheet as the Pixel 4a 5G with a few differences, the most obvious of which are the addition of the headphone jack and IP rating for water resistance. However, a recent teardown by PBKreviews, suggests that the Pixel 5a might not be the most repair-friendly device.

To Google’s credit, PBKreviews noted that the Pixel 5a’s screen is pretty simple to repair but that may not be the case with the other components. The teardown revealed that the USB Type-C port was directly soldered to the motherboard rather than being a separate component, making it more difficult to repair.

The other issue was with the battery, which was glued solidly to the case, apparently making the pull tabs for removing the battery useless. Additionally, there’s a lot of metal, plastic, and ribbon cables that make repairs quite tricky. Watching the video confirms that disassembling the Pixel 5a was pretty complicated but seemed to be easier than previous Pixel phones.

The complex repair process earned the Pixel 5a a repairability score of 5/10, according to PBKreviews. However, the teardown also revealed a solid device with a new water resistance design, so hopefully, you may not have to repair the device at all. Check out the full teardown here.