USB-C iPhone mod creator builds first fully repairable AirPods Pro case

Back in 2021, Robotics engineer Ken Pillonel was the first to transform iPhone’s Lightning port to USB-C. Since then he’s created a way to do the same for the case for AirPods and AirPods Pro and even open-sourced his process. Now Ken’s latest project has copied Apple’s AirPods Pro case but he’s redesigned every piece of it so it’s fully repairable.

Beyond adding the convenience of USB-C to AirPods in Ken’s previous projects, a major part of his motivation was showing that opening up and replacing the battery in an AirPods charging case was possible – a much more eco-friendly alternative compared to Apple’s recommendation of buying a new one.

Apple doesn’t design its AirPods Pro case to be opened as it’s built with adhesives (and rated 0/10 for repairability by iFixit). But it is possible – although the process may create some damage.

Now instead of creating just the parts needed to swap the port and build the outer shell, Ken has copied and improved every component of the AirPods Pro case to make it accessible and repairable.

And just like he did before, he’s filmed the process and made the resources for anyone to do the same available for free (instructions at the end of the video below).

Check out the fascinating and impressive process Ken went through to figure this out.

Repairable USB-C AirPods Pro case