How to fix a dead iPod?

[t0p]

A friend has given me a couple of dead iPod: one I think is a Nano (it's a small grey thing with a small screen on the front and a circular button marked "Menu" and with rewind, fast-forward and play/pause icons on the front, and "2GB" written on the back), and the other an iPod Touch (larger, black thing with a big touchscreen, a small button under it with a square on it, and on the back it says "16GB").

These iPods are seemingly dead: they won't turn on, they won't charge up, nothing. I suspect maybe dead batteries; but of course the iPods are sealed units so I can't get in there, and I wouldn't know where to get new batteries anyway.

Is there a way to fix these things without paying an exorbitant fee to Apple? Or should I just chuck 'em in the trash?

[Spr0k3t]

If you can get an exact bit of information on the different players themselves, you should be able to find a replacement battery for your needs. However, I haven't seen any replacement ipod battery for less than $40 which happens to be more than what you can get a decent mp3 player for these days. So if you want to spend the extra on seeing if they will work, go for it. Otherwise, just chuck'em... more hassel than they are really worth on any Linux distro if you ask me.

[Decatf]

pfft my original reply got mangled up

Any who... if you're lucky and the ipod touch doesn't have any hardware damage it may be that it's just stuck in recovery mode. It can happen in some cases when jailbreaking that it gets stuck and it looks dead. Plug it in and see if anything shows up on lsusb.

Other than that there's not much to do other than identifying the faulty part and cracking it open to replace it.

[oldsoundguy]

Attach to a fishing line and use for a weight.

[t0p]

Attach to a fishing line and use for a weight.

Heh. Sounds like a plan.


if you're lucky and the ipod touch doesn't have any hardware damage it may be that it's just stuck in recovery mode. It can happen in some cases when jailbreaking that it gets stuck and it looks dead. Plug it in and see if anything shows up on lsusb.

Other than that there's not much to do other than identifying the faulty part and cracking it open to replace it.

It seems to me that it is a battery issue. I made a mistake in my OP: when I plug in the iPod Touch charger, the battery charging icon appears, and it goes to a certain (very low) level; then I can do stuff with the iPod (playing music that's already on it, using apps); but the charge will not go above a certain (very low) level, which means I can only use it while it's plugged into my computer's USB port charging.

I don't want to go to too much trouble or expense getting the thing fixed, as my money would be better spent on a device that actually works and will work without iTunes and the rest of the Apple tie-in stuff. So, unless I learn of a cheap way to get it going... I'll be off fishing, per oldsoundguy's suggestion! :)

[Anduu]

I would at least hold on to them.You never know...you might run across someone with say a water damaged or dropped one that doesn't work and scavenge the battery.

[treesurf]

http://www.ifixit.com/Browse/iPod

[t0p]

http://www.ifixit.com/Browse/iPod

Thanks treesurf!

That link led me to identifying my iPod Touch as a "2nd generation" model, and I can buy a 2 gen battery for $14.95 (http://www.ifixit.com/iPod-Parts/iPod-Touch-Gen-2-Replacement-Battery/IF140-000) (including a "free set of iPod opening tools").

15 bucks and a bit of disassembly/soldering/reassembly work doesn't seem too much to pay for an iPod Touch. So I may give it a go. Anyway, my question has been answered so I shall mark this thread [SOLVED]. Thanks again treesurf!