Repair guide · iPod 3rd Gen
How to open the iPod 3rd Gen
This guide covers the iPod 3rd Gen sold in 2003 and 2004 (model A1040, 10GB to 40GB), the one with a touch wheel and a row of four touch buttons above it. Opening the case is the first stage of every iPod 3rd Gen disassembly, and usually the hardest. No screws hold the seam: plastic clips join the white front to the polished steel back, and an orange ribbon still links the two halves once they part. Don't be surprised if it takes a few tries. Every repair guide we have for this model starts from here.
Before you start
- Very hot or smelling? Leave it shutIf the iPod is very hot or smells, unplug it from any charger and leave the case shut. If you can move it safely, set it on a non-flammable surface, at least 2 feet (60 cm) from paper or anything else that burns, with a container of dry sand within reach, and let it cool completely. Then contact us.
- A flat case is no proof of a healthy batteryA swollen battery almost never pushes this case out. You'll see the battery as soon as the hard drive is lifted away: look at it before you go on. If it is swollen, stop charging it, and never press, bend or pierce it.
- Handling the battery or the board? Run the battery downIf your repair handles the battery or the logic board: unless the iPod is hot, smells or acts strangely, let it play until it switches itself off before you open it. A discharged lithium battery is less likely to overheat or catch fire if something damages it.
- Ground yourselfStatic can kill the logic board. Wear an anti-static wrist strap, or at least touch bare metal, before you start, and keep replacement parts in their bags until you fit them.
- Keep dry sand at handWork on a non-flammable surface, at least 2 feet from paper and anything else that burns, with 8 to 10 cups of dry sand in a wide container within reach. If the battery ever smokes, sparks, hisses, pops or suddenly puffs up, pour all the sand over it at once. Get out of the room for at least half an hour and stay out until the smoke has gone; open a window or door to air it out. Call the fire service if it keeps burning. Give it half an hour before you touch the iPod, then lift it out with safety glasses on and heat-resistant gloves.
- Clear a soft, roomy work areaSpread the cloth on a firm table, with enough room to lay the two halves side by side.
Tools
- Plastic opening tools (two)One works the seam, the other holds the gap. Each of our 3rd Gen parts comes with one plastic pry tool. Never put a metal screwdriver or anything metal in the seam.
- Plastic spudgerFor easing connectors up off the board.
- T6 Torx screwdriverOnly for jobs that go deeper than opening: it turns the black screws that hold the logic board.
- Phillips #00 screwdriverOnly for headphone jack and back panel jobs: it turns the three silver screws.
- Anti-static wrist strap or matProtects the logic board from static while the case is open.
- Soft clothThe polished steel back marks and dents easily.
- FireWire chargerFor the test before you close up. A USB cable syncs this iPod but never charges it.
Step by step
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Step 1: Unplug it, switch it off, lock it
Unplug any cable, then switch the iPod off: press and hold Play/Pause. Slide the Hold switch to locked, so the orange shows, and lay it face up on the cloth.
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Step 2: Find the spot to begin
The clips run along the two long sides. Press inward on the edge of the steel back along one long side, near the middle, and feel along it: usually one place gives a little more than the rest. Begin there. If the tool won't go in at first, a thumbnail can open the first sliver of a gap.
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Step 3: Release the clips along that side
Come in from the front: slip the thin end of a plastic opener into the gap where the white front meets the steel back, with its edge angled toward the metal so it stays off the plastic edge. Lever the front gently up and away from the back, then slide the tool toward the top end, and after that toward the bottom, letting the clips go one by one. There are five on each long side. Leave the second tool in the gap behind you so it can't spring shut.
Don't lever so hard against the steel back that its rim bends out of shape. Keep anything metal out of the seam: the polished back scratches and dents easily. Once the case is open, keep tools away from the battery.
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Step 4: Free the other side and the bottom edge
Repeat along the second long side. Two more clips sit on the bottom edge beside the dock connector; slide the tool along that edge to free them. Take your time. This case often needs a few attempts, and forcing it only bends things.
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Step 5: Open it like a book, never straight apart
The halves are loose now, but an orange ribbon still runs from the headphone jack in the back half to the logic board in the front half. Holding both halves together, turn the iPod over so the screen rests on the cloth, with the dock connector pointing away from you. Lift the back half a little to see which side the orange headphone ribbon runs on, then swing it up and over like a book cover, hinged on that side, and lay it flat beside the front half, close enough that the ribbon stays slack.
Yanking the halves apart can tear that ribbon or rip its connector.
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Step 6: Unplug the headphone ribbon only if your repair needs it
For a battery or hard drive swap, leave it plugged in and keep the back half flat and steady beside the front half. Headphone jack, back panel, screen, touch wheel, front panel and logic board jobs need it unplugged.
Its connector is unusually tall and delicate. Work a plastic tool in under the connector's base, where it meets the socket on the board, and lift it straight up off its socket. Never pry between the two layers of the connector itself, and never tug the ribbon.
This connector can come away from its ribbon, and every unplugging wears it a little. Leave it in place unless the repair calls for it.
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Step 7: Get to know the inside
In the front half the hard drive lies on top, the battery sits under it, and below both is the logic board, fixed to the front panel with six black T6 Torx screws. The back half holds the headphone jack, with the Hold slider on the same part, fixed by three silver Phillips screws.
To release a connector, hold it by its body and lift it straight up off its socket; if it has a latch, raise the latch first and slide the ribbon straight out. Never pull on wires or ribbons.
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Step 8: Check the edges and the cables
When the repair is done, look along the rim of the steel back. If prying pushed it out of line anywhere, ease it back gently with your fingers. Then make sure every cable lies flat where it belongs and nothing loose, such as a screw, is left inside.
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Step 9: Reconnect the headphone ribbon
If you unplugged it, hold the connector square over its socket and press straight down until it is fully home. A connector that is only part of the way in can leave the iPod dead, silent or locked on Hold.
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Step 10: Line up the Hold slider
The Hold slider sits in the back half, but the switch it works is a small black nub on the logic board, and the nub has to drop into the slot in the slider. Move the slider until its slot sits in line with the nub, then rest the back half in place without snapping it shut. Holding both halves together, turn the iPod face up.
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Step 11: Test it before you close
Slide Hold off, so no orange shows, and connect the FireWire charger: a FireWire wall charger, or a computer's 6-pin FireWire port with the computer on and awake. A USB cable won't charge it.
If it doesn't start, reset it: slide Hold on and back off, then keep Menu and Play/Pause held down together for 5 to 10 seconds, until the Apple logo comes up. Move the Hold switch and watch the lock icon appear and go, try the touch wheel, the center button and the four buttons, and play a song through headphones. If your repair unplugged the battery, unplug the charger at the end: it should keep running. Before you reseat anything: unplug the charger and switch it off (press and hold Play/Pause), then open the case as in steps 2 to 5. If the connector sits under the drive, or your repair unplugged the battery, follow that repair guide's own steps: unplug the drive cable at the board, then the battery, and reconnect them in that guide's order.
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Step 12: Snap it shut
Look once more for any wire or ribbon lying across the seam. Then press the halves together and work around the edges until every clip catches. It should close without force; if it won't, open it and look for a caught ribbon or a bent rim.
Close it up and test
- The seam is even all roundNo gap at the corners, and the back sits flat.
- Hold worksSlide it both ways: the lock icon should come and go.
- Everything else worksTouch wheel, center button, the four buttons, sound, and charging from FireWire.
- Nothing left overEvery screw you took out is back where it came from.
If it doesn't work afterwards
- Before you reseat anything, power it down
- Unplug the charger and switch it off (press and hold Play/Pause), then open the case as in steps 2 to 5. If the connector sits under the drive, or your repair unplugged the battery, follow that repair guide's own steps: unplug the drive cable at the board, then the battery, and reconnect them in that guide's order.
- It's stuck on Hold, or shows a lock and ignores you
- Most likely the headphone ribbon, which also carries Hold, isn't fully in, or the slider missed the nub on the board as the case closed. Power it down as above, press the ribbon straight down onto its socket, and line the slider up again. If both look right, the board may be damaged where that ribbon plugs in. Hold switch not working
- It won't turn on
- Give it time on a FireWire charger (USB won't charge it), then reset it with Menu and Play/Pause. Still nothing? Power it down as above and push every connector you touched fully back in. Not working after a repair
- The touch wheel or buttons don't respond
- After the case has been opened, the touch wheel cable is easy to leave half in. Power it down as above, then seat it squarely and close its latch. Touch wheel not working
- It gets hot after the repair
- Very hot or smelling? Unplug it, leave the case shut, set it on a non-flammable surface if you can move it safely, and contact us. Only warm? Let it cool, then open it and check that no cable is pinched and nothing presses on the board: either can short and make it hot. Not working after a repair
- The case won't close flat
- Look for a ribbon or wire caught in the seam, a bent rim on the steel back, or a replacement battery that sits higher than the old one.
Questions
Are there screws holding the case shut?
No. Only plastic clips hold the halves together: five along each long side and two on the bottom edge by the dock connector. The screws are all inside. Six black T6 Torx screws fix the logic board in place, and three small silver Phillips screws keep the headphone jack assembly (it carries Hold too) on the back.
Which screwdrivers do I need?
None just to open it. Beyond that, a T6 Torx for the black screws and a Phillips #00 for the three silver ones. Use the right driver for each: the wrong one rounds off the screw head. Our screw set covers both types; it doesn't include a screwdriver, and we don't list how many screws are in the bag, because published counts for a full set disagree. If a screw spins without tightening, the thread in the part has stripped, and a replacement screw won't grip there either.
How do I keep from scratching it?
Work on a soft cloth, use plastic tools only in the seam, and keep the tool's edge angled toward the steel back so it doesn't dig into the white front.
Why does the Hold switch need lining up?
The slider you push is in the back half, but the switch it moves is a small nub on the logic board in the front half. If the two don't meet as the case closes, Hold reads wrongly or the iPod stays locked.
Can you open it for me?
Yes. Choose We Fix It on the part page and mail your iPod in. We fit the part and send it back, usually within 3 to 5 business days, with a 1-year limited warranty.