Other than the MagSafe back glass, the teardown process for the iPhone 17e is very similar to that of its predecessor. Opening the smartphone involves undoing two screws at the bottom and then separating the backplate, which is secured with clips and adhesive, from the frame. Once the internals are accessible, the device’s 4,005 mAh battery, 48 MP main camera, and 12 MP front-facing camera can be replaced with relative ease.
iFixit criticises that replacing the USB-C port remains very time-consuming, as it requires the phone to be almost completely disassembled. On the bright side, the iPhone 17e can also be opened from the front for screen replacement, eliminating the need for unnecessary teardown work. Since many spare parts for the iPhone 16e are compatible with the iPhone 17e as well, Apple’s latest budget-focused iPhone earned a respectable repairability score of 7/10 from iFixit.
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