DIY Fix Broken iPod!

whats an i-pod

it's a small device (different types like iPod nano,shuffle,iPod touch...) that allows you to put music on it and listen to it anywhere...

its this race of alien from mars

apple.com

I cannot believe it, but it actually worked. I was about to buy a new hard drive for my ipod, but one little buisiness card did the trick. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

...so I nailgunned my dead iPod for nothing? damnit! I'll know better next time.

when i plug in my ipod to my laptop itunes comes up. my ipod doesnt show up on the itunes page. then a message comes up sayin,

"itunes cannot read the contents of the ipod "daniels ip". go to the summary tab in ipod preferences and click restore to restore this ipod to factory settings".

i dont know what it wants me to do, ive tryed everything i know to do
music is my life...please help, how can i fix it?
thank you

1800 My apple, Laugh out loud :P

Thanks a lot this work great!
I got my ipod free from a friend cause he had the sad ipod sign and didn't want to send it in so i took it off his hand and now...FREE IPOD! lol

thank you, i follow your instructions and it worked.
So say to vote for you but where do i VOTE???

thanks again
T

I made an account just to add this comment

Dear sir,
You are an genius. I will love you forever :D
My problem was that one of the headphones had died (no it wasnt the actual headphones), but the other still worked fine.
I used a standard sized buisness card (90mm x 55mm) folded in half once and placed it directly in the centre of the iPod on the blue sponge, with the fold facing towards the bottom of the iPod (i doubt that matters). I tried to put two folded buisness cards in, they fit but the case wouldn't close - so I used just one in the end.

Only fault I can see with the article is it doesn't really say what it fixes, which is, as far as I can see, any minor problem (not cracked screen or corrupted hard drive obviously).
Only difficulty was getting the case off but after 15 minutes of wiggling and rude words it finally popped off :)

I had already bought a new touch unfortunately, but I can sell/keep this one now.

I love you xxx

just an update - the problem didn't completely go away (tapping on the centre of the screen would turn 1 of the headphones off) so i opened it up again, added a second buisness card further down the case and now it works perfectly :)

How the heck does this work, I don't even have one of the old classics but I really just can't figure out how putting a bent business card in an ipod will make it work, what does it fix? and how?

apparently the old ones eventually need more pressure to work than the buttons can apply without breaking, so the business card packs everything tighter under the click-wheel and allows it to work again...

Could you help me out here? I was biking along a back route in my semi-rural neighborhood when I came across a silver gen.2 (I thiink thats the best moodivation fr exercise I've heard thus far XD). Anyway, there's 323 songs on the ipod and it regesters as 'Tims iPod', will work on a dock, and will reset and the backlight wiill turn on when I put it on hold.(it also charges fine). The center button and click wheel dont respond,though, and I'd like to try thiiss. How do you open the nano, though, for that is my only ddilemma.(sorry it kinda sounds like broken English, I'm typing this on a Nokia XD) Thanks ffor reading!

This post is amazin... OMG i am sooooo stoked i canot explain how happy i am. Over 5000 songs i almost cried when my iPod wouldnt start up..... = ) = ) = ) THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY

Thanks, I just repaired my 5 year old 30 GB ipod. Your instruction were great!!

OMG..im speakless....i was about to go an new ipod and one little business card and it worked immediately !!!!!!!! after months of trying other methods......I love you x

OMG, thank you so much! the only problem I had is when I opened up my ipod a small plastic gray piece and a very tiny screw fell out, from what I can tell there's no affect. your my hero.

Great little tutorial if you are competent with a screw driver and dont mind breaking your ipod! I had a cracked screen and looked up a site on google, it was called http://www.ipodsfixed4u.com I think.. they were pretty good and reasonably priced : )

Failing that.. why not just buy a new ipod?!!

Absolutely brilliant! Just about to spend MORE money on Apple - but no, you saved the day!!

MANY thanks!!!!

That's why Apple designed them to break, because you'll probably buy another iPod. Instead, you should threaten to buy a better mp3 player if it breaks.

does anyone know if there is a trick to fixing the input jack on the ipod (specifically the video ipod). i can listen to music, but not through both sides of the headphones, only one (and yes, i've made sure that its not my headphones)

If you want a temp fix without having to buy the audio jack this is what I tried and it works fine. Take a small piece of aluminum foil and put it down it the jack. This will allow it to get full connectivity where it was missing and that should work. I did it to mine and it works fine. Note eventually I will replace it but for now it works great for me and its been over 6mths already and it is still going strong.

Hope this help and helps anyone else that is having this kind of issue.

Good Luck Guys !!!! :-)

That sounds like you would be getting mono sound.

Hey my ipod video had the exact same problem (also same ipod, video). The problem is the contacts in the barrel lose their spring and can't maintain pressure on the plug you put into the ipod. I fixed it by buying an ipod with a cracked screen that would start (same type of ipod) off my friend for $20. and then you have to pop it open and swap the whole piece pictured at this link http://www.rapidrepair.com/shop/1626-headphone-jack-ipod-video.html. that is just my expierience i hope it helped

-Jason

that happened to my nano. but no i got a touch and a jailbroken one at that with the help of instructables so i dont care anymore.

I have had this problem with my video ipod for a couple of years. My "solution" was to buy the Apple FM Tuner/Corded Remote. It was around $25-30. It plugs into the bottom of the ipod and has a separate headphone jack of it's own. It has allowed me to listen in stereo and to the radio to boot!

try sticking a q-tip in the jack and twisting it around a bit, the parts where the headphones touch the jack could be dirty

I'd just open it up and check the connection. Maybe part of it came loose?

My friends all told me there was no way this would work . . . but it did. Amazing! Thanks so much.

PS: I actually only folded the card once. Twice just seemed too thick, and I had trouble closing it back up.

it worked great thank you

AMAZING. I was so broken heart-ed when my iPod died 30 days after my extended warranty was up.... apparently I'm not the only one that had a problem, but it's fixed. THANK YOU

Nice.. it worked! I thought my ipod was going to turn into an expensive paper weight.

I know that Global Repair Solutions 1-888-354-1477 does quick, correct and cost effective repair work. They offer a free diagnostic service and call to tell you what is wrong. They do all their repairs on site at their location. www.globalrepairsolutions.com Trust them for your iPod repair needs.

wow works with sansa too

Wow I tried it just now and my ipod is fully working! Thank you very much :D

what is the blue sponge anyway? What purpose does it serve?

The same purpose as the business card and cushioning for the hardrive (kinda like are skull is to are brain. Actually, more like the juice liquid stuff between are brain and the skull)

Thanks. Now I know why

wait what is the purpose of the blue sponge and how does the bissness card help?

Very interesting.
I opened up mine (even tho it was still working but you could shake or bump it and it would go off) and this looks like it could have been avoided by using a different material.
Anyone suspect foul play on Apple's behalf? ;)
It would be interesting to see how long they have been using this foam as a part of their design, as it would have become obvious to them very quickly it was a problem.

You just blew my mind! I thought for sure my ipod was a goner. you just saved me hundreds.

SUPERB! Thank you so much! My I pod had been out of commission for two years, but this technique worked like a charm. I wish I had known about this earlier.

You need to say what you are trying to fix.
Otherwise, good instructable.

OH MY GOD it really worked. YOU THE MAN.

will this work even if it "broke" because my kid dropped it into a glass of SODA POP????? My fingers are SO crossed!