Just adding this…. I bought the battery and tool kit without examining this guide too closely. When I sat down to do it, I changed my mind and decided to send back the battery. I have 40+ years experience in electronic design, a lot of lab equipment, good lighting, excellent skills, magnification, small parts management assets, and all the time I need. I would not hesitate one minute to replace a home button or LCD or digitizer on this. The battery, however, is the first thing to go in the iPad Air case. It requires a complete disassembly, and IMO, is of questionable value to save $50 in cost. iFixit.com however, is a top notch outfit and my go-to place for Apple hardware parts that are more manageable. I am completely satisfied with this outfit and 100% behind the concept of self-maintenance. iFixit does what it does extremely well.

DIY is standard for me . I’ve fixed much Apple hardware with iFixIt.

iPad Airs were packed, and my experience has convinced me that some are easier than others, but they all use things like kapton tape to do miracles of assembly that are one way.   Put it on, no big deal.  Take it off, you wrinkle and damage it. (Kapton is resistant to damage, but usually really difficult to remove without damaging whatever it’s attached to.  Adhesive gaskets?  100% sacrificial.)  Apple has fixtures to position parts for alignments, but a DIY guy has luck and one chance to do it right.

There is literally not enough space inside an iPad Air to put a business card.  Every piece comes out for battery replacements.

I could take it apart no problem.   Getting it back together?  Almost certain to screw something up.

 Apple charged me $100 to fix it, and iFixit accepted my unused battery for return (A+++ iFixit! I love you guys.)

iFixit rating “very difficult” at 111 steps, 1-3 hours.    Most other iPads are “difficult”.