Apple M5 MacBook Pro battery replacement: Easier, but still not easy
- Oct 26, 2025
- 2 min read
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Apple’s latest M5 MacBook Pro offers laptop fans a small step forward in repairability—specifically, battery replacement. According to iFixit’s teardown, this is the first MacBook Pro model that lets you swap out the battery without pulling out the trackpad. But don’t grab your screwdriver just yet: Apple’s “official” method still requires MacBook users to navigate a frustrating labyrinth of screws, parts, and a mandatory Top Case + Battery + Keyboard assembly, meaning a truly user-friendly fix remains out of reach.
Tech-savvy owners willing to tackle the challenge themselves now have a slightly better shot, thanks to a redesigned trackpad mount. But the only way to buy a replacement battery through Apple’s Self Service Repair Store involves ordering the entire keyboard, battery, and top case unit as a single part. It’s progress—since you no longer need to touch the trackpad—but you’re still forced to tear down a surprising amount of the laptop, and most people won’t have the patience or nerve.
The M5 Pro does see a small but real hardware upgrade, bumping the battery from 72.4Wh to 72.6Wh. Still, iFixit’s assessment lands the machine with just a 4 out of 10 for repairability—actually a step down from the M1 MacBook Pro’s 5/10 score, despite Apple’s incremental improvements in the latest model. For now, it's possible to swap out a battery on your own, but it’s clear Apple’s highly integrated designs mean “easy” is still a stretch, even by 2025 standards.
