Introduction: How to Fix a "bricked" Ipod Touch

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Recently i was brought an iPod Touch 3g 8Gb to fix. The issue? This iPod was running 3.1.2 firmware and was jailbroken and under some unknown circumstance ended up bricked (I say unknown because it is not mine). Normally when a 3g is jailbroken it is teathered, meaning that if turned off it must be connected to the computer and re-jailbroken to turn it back on. This could be a big number of the problems that drew you to this instructable so i will cover that as well.

Note: I have only performed this on the aforementioned iPod so i do not know if this works on others.

Step 1: Tell the Difference Between Bricked and Tethered.

If you are seeing a plug and disc on the screen like the one below go to step 2 for instructions to fix this.

If your screen is black and will not come on at all skip to step 3 and go from there.

Step 2: Tethered


First off if you have a jailbroken iPod and you turn it back on you may see a screen with a plug and a disc like the picture below. This does not mean that your iPod is "bricked". the fix to this is actually quite easy. Just plug it into the computer and run thew software that you used to jailbreak it. For example, I use Blackra1n so i would plug in the ipod and wait for it to be recognized and then click the button thats says "make it rain" click okay at the popup window and wait.

Step 3: Bricked


This was a tricky fix as i could not find much info on it. The iPod was black and would not turn on, show the tethered icon, go into recovery mode or DFU mode. When i plugged it into itunes and tried restoring i got a error everytime. If you are having the same problem move to the next step.

Step 4: Get the Files You Need


You need to obtain a download of the ipod firmware. For example i used 3.1.2

Go to http://www.felixbruns.de/iPod/firmware/ and go to the second drop down box and pick the firmware. The trick here is not to pick the 3g firmware. Pick the 2g even though your device is a 3g trust me i tried the 3g and nothing worked.

Step 5: Itunes Work


Next, open up iTunes and plug in the bricked iPod. you should get a message saying the ipod needs to be restored. If not your in bigger trouble then i my friend.so instead of just clicking the restore button, hold down the "shift" key and click it. this will bring up a popup menu like in the picture. Navigate your way to your newly downloaded firmware.

Step 6: Sit Back, Grab a Soda, and Watch.

What this will do is run through the process of reinstalling the new firmware on the ipod. at this point you should notice the screen turning on. YAY! let it do its thing and when all is said and done, you will have a brand new, fixed ipod that you can update to the newer firmware if desired.

Again this has only been done by me on a iPod 3g 8gb 3.1.2
I am not guranteeing its validity on any other iPod version.