Repair guide · iPod 4th Gen and iPod Photo
How to open the iPod 4th Gen and iPod Photo
This guide shows how to open the iPod 4th Gen (A1059, gray screen, 2004) and the iPod Photo (A1099, color screen, 2004 and 2005, later sold as the iPod with color display), and how to close it again. Both share one case: a white plastic front snapped into a polished steel back, with no screws keeping it shut. Once the clips let go, an orange ribbon from the headphone jack still ties the back to the logic board, so you swing the back open beside the front, unplug the battery, free that ribbon and only then lift the back away. Every repair on these iPods, from a battery swap to a full iPod 4th Gen disassembly, begins here.
Lost or damaged a screw? Which screw set fits
A gray screen means the 4th Gen; a color screen, the iPod Photo. Inside, black T6 Torx screws hold the logic board, two silver T6 hold the headphone jack board and three silver Phillips hold the jack bracket to the back. The lengths differ, so keep each screw next to its own hole and turn every one in by hand at first. Not sure which you have? Identify your iPod
Before you start
- Think about the battery firstOn these iPods the battery sits right behind the click wheel, so a swelling battery rarely shows on the case. The usual sign is a center button that sits low or feels jammed; the wheel may also scroll by itself or stop responding. If you suspect it, unplug the iPod, stop charging it, and never press on, bend or pierce the battery. If the iPod is very hot or smells, don't open it: set it on a non-flammable surface away from anything that can burn, keep dry sand nearby, wait until it has cooled, and contact us. If the battery smokes, sparks, hisses, pops or suddenly puffs up, cover it with all the sand at once, then get out of the room for half an hour and air it out. If it's still burning or you can't smother it, call the fire service. Don't touch the iPod until the half hour is up.
- Run the battery downIf there's no sign of swelling and you will handle the battery or the logic board, use the iPod until it is nearly flat. A discharged cell is less likely to overheat if it gets damaged.
- Ground yourselfStatic can kill the logic board. Wear an anti-static wrist strap, or at least touch bare metal before you start, work on an anti-static mat, and leave replacement parts in their bags until you fit them.
- Set up the benchUse a hard, non-flammable surface with a soft cloth on it so the polished steel doesn't scratch, and keep a small tray handy for screws.
Tools
- Plastic opening tools, one wide and one thinThe wide one starts the gap and holds it open; the thin one travels along the seam. Each of our parts comes with one plastic pry tool.
- Plastic spudgerFor the connectors inside. Keep metal tools off the white front and away from every ribbon.
- T6 Torx and fine Phillips (#00 or PH-000) screwdriversNot needed to open the case, but the repairs inside use them: T6 for the logic board and the jack board, Phillips for the jack bracket.
- Anti-static wrist strap or matProtects the logic board once it is exposed.
- Soft cloth and a small trayThe cloth spares the polished back; the tray keeps screws in order.
- Wall chargerFor the test before you snap it shut.
Step by step
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Step 1: Unplug it, switch it off and lock Hold
Disconnect any cable, charger or computer first. Switch the iPod off by holding Play/Pause until the screen goes dark, then slide the Hold switch to locked, so its orange bar shows.
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Step 2: Know where the clips are
Nothing is screwed shut. The white front snaps into the steel back with five tabs down each long side and two clips on the bottom edge, one either side of the dock connector. Both models are built the same way here, so they open and close alike.
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Step 3: Make the first gap
Lay the iPod screen up on the cloth, dock connector toward you. On the right-hand long side, press the wide plastic tool into the join between the white front and the steel back, its edge tilted toward the steel. If the tool slips, it then marks the back rather than gouging the white plastic. This first gap is the hardest part of the whole job; expect a few tries.
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Step 4: Free the right-hand side
Leave the wide tool in so the gap can't close. Slip the thin tool in beside it and run it along the seam toward each end, letting the five tabs come free one at a time. Starting on this side is simply our bench habit: any long side works, as long as every clip ends up free.
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Step 5: Ease round the bottom edge
Carry the thin tool round the corner onto the bottom edge and free the two clips beside the dock connector. Around the dock opening the steel is thinner than anywhere else on the back, so glide past it lightly.
Never lever against the steel around the dock opening: that is where the back bends first.
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Step 6: Then the left side and the top
Release the five tabs on the left-hand side the same way, then run the tool across the top edge, past the headphone jack and the Hold switch, freeing any clip there, until the back is loose all the way round.
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Step 7: Turn it over and open the back like a book
An orange ribbon from the headphone jack board, which also carries the Hold switch, still links the back with the logic board. Holding the two halves together with your fingers, turn the iPod over so the screen faces the cloth, dock connector away from you; don't let the front drop away from the back. Lift the back along one long side like a book cover and lay it flat on the cloth beside the front half, inside up. Keep an eye on the ribbon as it goes: it should stay loose. If it tightens, stop and ease the back closer to the front.
Never lift the back straight off or yank it away. That can rip the ribbon's socket off the logic board, and the fix is then a replacement board.
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Step 8: Unplug the battery first
Find the small white plug where the battery's wires meet the logic board. Hold the plug itself, with your fingertips or the flat end of the spudger, and ease it out of its socket. Do this before you touch any other connector.
Grip the white plug's body. Never pull the battery's wires.
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Step 9: Free the headphone ribbon
Where the orange ribbon meets the logic board, lift its connector straight up off the socket with the flat end of the spudger or a fingernail. Leave the ribbon itself alone. The back is now free: lift it away and set it down, inside facing up.
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Step 10: Closing: headphone ribbon back first
Lay the back next to the front again, as it was when it came off. Headphone ribbon next, jack-board end first: that end sits under a small black latch on the jack board's underside, you can't see it, and it slips out easily while the case is open. If you aren't sure it is fully in, reseat it now, while the logic-board end is still unplugged: take out the jack board's two silver T6 screws, turn the board over, flip the latch up, push the ribbon fully in, close the latch and screw the board back. Then press the ribbon's connector straight down onto its socket on the logic board. The Hold check in the test confirms both ends: the lock icon must come and go with the switch. If that end isn't fully in, the iPod shows a lock icon and ignores the wheel.
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Step 11: Battery back in last
Push the white battery plug fully into its socket, holding it by its body, not the wires.
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Step 12: Test it before you snap it shut
With the back resting loosely in place, switch Hold off and connect a wall charger. The iPod should wake with a clear picture on the screen. Slide Hold on and off: the lock icon should appear and disappear. Scroll the wheel, press every button, the center one included, and play a song through headphones to check both ears. Then disconnect the charger: it should keep running on its battery.
If it won't wake, reset it: slide Hold on and off, and then press and hold Menu with the center button until the Apple logo comes up. Still nothing? Disconnect the charger, unplug the battery, reseat the headphone ribbon (lift it off the logic board, reseat the jack-board end, then press the board end back down), and push the battery plug firmly back in last.
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Step 13: Snap it shut
Check nothing is caught at the edges. Line the back up with the front, then press the two together, working steadily from one side across to the other with even pressure all round, until every clip has caught. Last, look into the dock opening: nothing should block the connector.
If the case only closes when you squeeze hard, stop: something inside is out of place, and a pinched cable can short.
Close it up and test
- An even seamThe back sits flush all the way round, with no gap at a corner and no bend by the dock opening.
- Everything respondsWheel, center button, Hold, sound from the headphone jack, and charging.
If it doesn't work afterwards
- A lock icon shows and the wheel does nothing
- The headphone ribbon is almost certainly not fully in at one end; it comes out easily when the case is first opened. Disconnect the charger, open it and unplug the battery. Lift the ribbon's connector off the logic board first, then reseat the end under the jack board (two silver T6 screws out, board turned over, latch up, ribbon fully in, latch closed, screws back), press the connector back down onto the logic board, and plug the battery in last. Hold switch not working
- It won't turn on after closing
- Leave it on a wall charger for a while and try a reset (slide Hold on and off, and then press and hold Menu with the center button until the Apple logo comes up). If it still won't start, a connector you touched is not fully seated: disconnect the charger, open it, unplug the battery, reseat the headphone ribbon (lift it off the logic board, reseat the jack-board end, then press the board end back down), and push the battery plug firmly back in last. Not working after a repair
- The case won't close flat
- Something is caught at the seam: a ribbon, a cable or a part not sitting flat. Open it and look before pressing harder.
- The back picked up a scratch or a dent
- The polished steel marks easily. A replacement back fixes it; our back panel guide shows the swap. Scratches
- The headphone ribbon's socket came off the board
- It can't simply be plugged back. Our fix is a replacement logic board; a free repair quote tells you what it involves. Free repair quote
Questions
How do I open an iPod Photo?
Exactly like the 4th Gen. The two share one case, with the same clips and the same headphone ribbon inside. What differs is what you find inside, for example five logic-board screws on the Photo against six on the 4th Gen.
How do you open an iPod Classic 4th generation?
Apple never called it a Classic: its name for the 4th Gen is iPod (Click Wheel), and the Classic name only arrived with the 6th Gen in 2007. It opens as shown above, with plastic tools and no screws.
Can I take apart an iPod 4th Gen without marking it?
Usually, yes, with patience and the right tools. Keep the tool's edge tilted toward the steel back, never lever at the dock opening, and work on a soft cloth.
Which screwdrivers do the screws inside need?
A T6 Torx driver for the logic board and the headphone jack board, and a fine Phillips driver (#00 or PH-000, whichever seats without slipping) for the three screws holding the jack bracket to the back. Neither comes with the screw set.
Can you do the repair for me?
Yes. Choose We Fix It on the part's page and mail your iPod in: we do the repair and send it back. Turnaround is typically 3 to 5 business days, with a 1-year limited warranty.