Flash mod + new battery, installed by iMods

iPod flash mod service

We replace your iPod’s hard drive with flash storage (a memory card on a flash adapter) and can fit a new battery at the same time: nothing left to click, stall or seize, a lighter iPod, and longer play on a charge. Mail it in; we fit it, restore it and test it.

Installed from $139.90 · with a new battery from $167.15

  • Satisfaction guaranteed
  • New battery option
  • 1-year limited warranty
  • Typically 3–5 business days on our bench
Start your flash modHow it works
iPod Video 5th Gen, black and white

Prices, installed

The price includes the flash adapter, the memory card, fitting, restore and test. Add our shipping box and prepaid label for $14.95 when you order. Not sure which iPod you have? Identify it

Why flash

  • No more hard-drive failures

    Flash storage has no heads, platters or motor, so the clicking, stalling and seizing that end an old hard drive can’t happen. The hard drives in full-size iPods were rated for five years; the newest are now about 12 years old, the oldest over 20.

  • Longer battery life

    Your iPod spins its hard drive up again and again to load more music, and a spinning drive draws two to three times the power of a memory card. With flash, your iPod plays longer on a charge.

  • Up to 1TB of room

    Up to 1TB on the 7th Gen and the 60GB and 80GB iPod Video: over six times the biggest iPod classic. 128GB on the 6th Gen, the most Apple’s software sees on it; up to 256GB on the 3rd Gen, 4th Gen, Photo, both Minis and the 30GB iPod Video.

  • No spin-up wait

    A hard drive has to spin up before it can load your next songs. Flash storage is ready in a split second, so a new album starts without that wait.

  • Silent

    No spinning, no clicking: flash storage makes no sound at all.

  • Lighter, with no drive to crash

    A drop most often damages the hard drive, and a hard drive is most fragile while it spins. Flash storage has no heads or platters to crash, and with no hard drive inside, your iPod weighs less. The screen and case can still break in a fall.

  • Better for workouts

    No spinning drive for a run, a ride or a bumpy commute to jolt. A hard drive is most easily hurt while it spins, and it spins up again and again to load more music.

  • Room for a bigger battery

    On the 6th and 7th Gen and the iPod Video, flash frees room for our 2000mAh extended-life battery, which won’t fit beside a hard drive.

Why keep your iPod? Apple no longer repairs these iPods. We do: Apple now repairs only the last two iPod touch models, and a flash mod from us keeps your iPod playing, instead of in a drawer or a landfill. If it stopped working because its hard drive failed, a flash mod brings it back. And it plays your own music, offline: no subscription, no algorithms, no notifications.

How it works

  1. Order online

    Pick your iPod, the size and the battery. Add our shipping box and prepaid label if you need one.

  2. Mail your iPod

    Pack it with your order number. No printer? Write the order number on a note in the box.

  3. We fit and test it

    Flash storage, a new battery if you chose one, Apple’s software restored, then tested: it plays, charges and syncs. Typically 3–5 business days on our bench.

  4. It comes back to you

    Shipped back with a 1-year limited warranty, satisfaction guaranteed.

What’s included

  • A flash adapter and a memory card, tested before we fit them
  • Fitting by us: no soldering, and nothing left to click, stall or seize
  • Apple’s software restored on the new storage, so it starts clean
  • A new battery if you choose one: standard, or the 2000mAh extended-life battery on the 6th and 7th Gen and the iPod Video, or the 1200mAh extended-life battery on the 4th Gen and Photo
  • Tested before it ships: it plays, charges and syncs
  • 1-year limited warranty from the date of delivery, satisfaction guaranteed

Which size fits my iPod?

Flash sizes by iPod
iPod 3rd Gen, 4th Gen and Photo128GB or 256GB
iPod Mini 1st and 2nd Gen128GB or 256GB
iPod Video 5th Gen128GB up to 1TB on the 60GB and 80GB models; 128GB or 256GB on the 30GB model, which has half their memory, so it holds fewer songs
iPod Classic 6th Gen128GB
iPod Classic 7th Gen (Late 2009)128GB up to 1TB

Flash mod questions

How many songs fit?

That depends on the iPod’s own memory and on how much your library stores about each song (titles, artwork), not on the card: by the adapter maker’s rough figures, about 20,000 songs on the 3rd Gen, the 4th Gen and the 30GB iPod Video, and about 50,000 on the 60GB and 80GB iPod Video.

Want more room later?

We can fit a bigger card in the same flash mod, up to the largest size we offer for your iPod; ask us for a price. The 6th Gen stays at 128GB.

Does it work with my Mac or PC?

Yes. It syncs like any iPod: in the Finder on a Mac with macOS Catalina or later, or in iTunes on a Windows PC or an older Mac.

What happens to my music?

The flash storage replaces the drive, so the music on it does not carry over on its own. Sync or back up your library with iTunes or Finder before you send the iPod, or add our music transfer ($129) when you order: if your old drive still reads, we copy everything on it onto the new flash storage (if it won’t all fit, we ask you first). If it won’t read, we refund the $129.

Will the battery last longer?

Yes. Flash uses less power: a spinning drive draws two to three times the power of a memory card, so a flash build plays longer on a charge. How much longer depends on what you play: lossless files gain the most, while the screen light (and video, on the iPods that play it) uses far more power whatever the storage. On the 5th, 6th and 7th Gen, flash also frees room for a 2000mAh extended-life battery. On the 4th Gen and Photo you can choose a 1200mAh extended-life battery.

Does flash make syncing faster?

Not on a full-size iPod: its USB 2.0 or FireWire link and the flash adapter set the speed, so a sync runs at about the pace of the original drive or a little slower. Filling a big card the first time takes hours, and the biggest cards can take half a day or more.

Does playing music wear the card out?

Barely. Memory cards wear when data is written to them, and playing music only reads.

Does it work in the cold?

The hard drive in a full-size iPod is rated to run only above 5 °C (41 °F), and a cold drive may refuse to start. The memory card we fit is rated from -25 °C (-13 °F), so the cold no longer stops the storage. Apple still rates the iPod itself for 0 to 35 °C (32 to 95 °F), and play time can shorten in the cold.

Heading for the mountains?

Hard drives can fail in the thin air above about 10,000 feet, because their heads ride on a cushion of air. Flash storage has no drive heads, so thin air does not affect the storage. (Apple’s 10,000-foot rating for the iPod itself still applies.)

Do you test the memory card?

Yes. We test every memory card before we fit it. Fake cards that claim more space than they have are common, and they lose music once they fill up.

How long does it take?

Typically 3–5 business days on our bench after your iPod arrives, then the trip back to you. The music transfer adds 1–2 business days.

Can a flash mod still fail?

Flash ends hard-drive failures, not every fault: a memory card, the adapter or a cable can still fail. They are covered by our 1-year limited warranty.

What does the warranty cover?

Parts and repairs carry a 1-year limited warranty from the date of delivery, covering the specific component we repaired or replaced.

4.6 out of 5 · Read our customer reviews

Buying a flash-modded iPod? What to check

  • What’s inside. Flash storage is a flash adapter and a memory card in place of the hard drive. Ours is new flash storage, fitted and tested by us.
  • The card. Ask how it was tested: a fake card loses music once it fills up. We test every card before we fit it.
  • The battery. Flash runs on the iPod’s own battery, and an old one still limits it. Ask whether the battery is new: if you choose one, we fit a new standard battery, or an extended-life battery on the 4th Gen, Photo, 6th Gen, 7th Gen and iPod Video.
  • Tested. It should play, charge and sync before it ships. Ours ship with Apple’s software restored, and tested: it plays, charges and syncs.
  • Model limits. The size should suit the model: the 6th Gen sees no more than 128GB, and the 30GB iPod Video takes up to 256GB. How many songs fit depends on the iPod’s own memory, not the card: about 50,000 on the 6th and 7th Gen and the 60GB and 80GB iPod Video, about 20,000 on the 3rd Gen, 4th Gen and 30GB iPod Video.
  • Warranty. Ours carries a 1-year limited warranty from the date of delivery.

Rather buy one already built?

Free diagnostic

Broken iPod? We can help.

Mail us your iPod and we will test it and send you a free repair quote. If you don't like our price, we will ship your iPod back at our expense.

Get your free repair quote

How mail-in repair works

  1. Order the free diagnostic

    Choose your iPod. Add our shipping box and prepaid label if you need one.

  2. Mail us your iPod

    Pack it with your work order. No printer? Put a note in the box with your name, return address, email, order number and what is wrong.

  3. Approve your quote

    We test it and email your free repair quote. Most repairs are finished within 3 to 5 business days after you approve the quote.