Repair guide · iPod Classic 6th/7th Gen

How to open an iPod Classic 6th/7th Gen

  • DifficultyVery difficult
  • Time20 to 30 minutes the first time, plus closing
  • Steps12
  • SolderingNone

All about this iPod: The iPod Classic 6th/7th Gen guide

Quick answer

This guide shows how to open and close the iPod Classic 6th and 7th Gen, the all-metal models from 2007 to 2009 (80GB, 120GB and 160GB). No screws hold the case shut. Metal clips on the inside of the steel back grip the aluminum front, and the skill is freeing them without denting the back or bending a clip. Two ribbons still join the halves once the clips let go, so the case swings open from the top, hinged on its bottom edge. Expect 20 to 30 minutes to get it open the first time (a few minutes with practice), plus the time to close it. Every repair on this iPod begins and ends with these steps. Have an iPod Video 5th Gen instead? It has guides of its own.

Before you start

  • Look for a swollen battery firstThe battery sits right behind the screen. Dark blotches near the top of the display, a screen that bows or lifts, or a back that bulges mean it is probably swelling. If you see that, unplug the iPod and stop charging it; it needs a new battery before any other repair (see our battery guide), and a swollen cell must never be pressed, bent or pierced. If the iPod is very hot or gives off a smell, don't open it at all: unplug it, set it on something that can't burn, away from anything that can, with a container of dry sand close by; let it cool, and contact us.
  • Ground yourselfA static spark can kill the logic board. Wear an anti-static wrist strap or work on an anti-static mat; at the very least, touch bare metal before you begin. Keep any replacement part in its bag until you fit it.
  • Work on a soft, clean surface that can't burnLay a soft cloth on a hard table that can't burn. The polished steel back scratches at a touch, and the small screws and caps are easy to lose. If your repair lifts the battery, keep a container of dry sand within reach: If the battery smokes, sparks, hisses, pops or suddenly puffs up, tip all the sand over it in one go, 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 down for most repairsIf your repair lifts the battery out of the back, or lifts out the metal frame that carries the logic board (screen, click wheel, center button, logic board, front panel) and there's no sign of swelling, play the iPod until the battery icon is nearly empty first. A battery with little charge left is less likely to flare up if a tool nicks it. A hard drive swap ends with a restore, so leave the battery charged for that one.

Tools

  • Plastic opening picks (two or three)They keep the seam open. Metal edges chew them up quickly, so have spares; each of our parts comes with one plastic pry tool.
  • Thin metal opening toolFrees the clips. A thin, flat blade such as a thin putty knife works; keep it shallow.
  • Tweezers or a plastic spudgerFor the small latches on the ribbon connectors.
  • Soft clothSo the polished back doesn't pick up scratches.
  • Anti-static wrist strap or matThe logic board is exposed once the case is open.
  • Phillips #00 screwdriverNot needed for the battery or the hard drive. The screen, click wheel, center button, logic board, front panel, headphone jack and back panel jobs all need it. The screws inside are tiny Phillips, not Torx; a bigger driver strips them.
  • A small dish or a marked sheet of paperInside screws differ in length by position, so keep them in the order they came out.
  • Charger and headphones you know workTo test the iPod before you close it.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Switch it off and lock it

    Unplug any cable. Hold Play/Pause for about two seconds, until the screen goes dark. Then slide the Hold switch to locked, so orange shows, and press any button to check: the screen should stay dark. That way it can't wake up while it's open.

  2. Step 2: Start on one long side

    Lay the iPod screen-down on the cloth. Press a plastic pick into the seam between the aluminum front and the steel back, about halfway down one long side. Push a second pick in further along the same side, so the gap stays open between the two.

  3. Step 3: Free the clips along that side

    Between the picks, slide in just the tip of the metal tool, about 3 mm (1/8 in). The clips sit on thin rails just inside the back's rim. Push the tool in toward the front panel, using the steel rim as the pivot, and the clips let go one at a time. Work toward each end, moving the picks with you. The clips near the corners hold hardest: take those slowly, and don't bend the corner of the back.

    Never pry the steel back outward. That dents the polished metal and bends the clips, and a bent clip keeps the case from closing flat.

  4. Step 4: Then the other side and the top

    Repeat along the second long side. The top edge has a single clip, in the middle, between the Hold switch and the headphone jack: free it the same way. Leave the bottom edge (the dock connector end) alone. Its clips act as the hinge in the next step.

  5. Step 5: Hinge it open a little

    Hold one half in each hand and part the top ends, keeping the bottom ends together. Two ribbons still join the halves: the battery's, and the headphone jack's, which also carries the Hold switch. Open only far enough to see where the battery ribbon plugs into the logic board, and stop as soon as either ribbon starts to tighten.

    Now and then the hard drive comes away stuck to the back half, or the battery plug pops out as the case opens. Check for both before you go on, and ease a stuck drive back down into the front half.

    Pulling the halves apart fast or far can tear a ribbon.

  6. Step 6: Unplug the battery

    Follow the battery's ribbon to its connector on the board. A small latch lies across the connector (usually brown; it can look black). Note which way up the ribbon sits, or take a photo.

    With tweezers or a plastic tool, raise the latch about 1 mm, straight up, lifting both ends evenly. Then slide the ribbon straight out, the way it went in. If you hold the ribbon with metal tweezers, grip its edges well back from the contacts.

    Don't push the latch sideways and don't lever on the connector itself. A connector torn off the board is the worst mistake in this job; our fix for it is a replacement logic board.

  7. Step 7: Lay the halves side by side

    Lift the back half clear of the bottom edge and lay the two halves next to each other like an open book, tops level and close together. Turn the back half over toward the side its headphone ribbon runs on, so that ribbon stays slack. The hard drive now lies loose in the front half: keep a finger on it whenever you move that half, and never let it dangle on its ribbon.

  8. Step 8: Free the headphone ribbon when the repair needs it

    Every repair that lifts the hard drive or takes the back half away needs this ribbon unplugged as well; our battery guide explains how a battery swap can leave it connected.

    Lift the hard drive by the edge away from its ribbon and turn it over like a page, its ribbon end staying put, so it lies flat beside the front half with its connector facing up. The headphone ribbon plugs into the board under where the drive sat. Flip that connector's small black tab up, through about 90 degrees, note which way up the ribbon sits, and slide it out. The back half is now completely free, and it's the best moment to straighten its clips (see step 11).

  9. Step 9: Reconnect in reverse order

    When the repair is done, plug things back in the opposite way round. If your repair unplugged the drive, reconnect it first, while it still lies beside the front half. Then push the headphone ribbon fully into its connector and press the tab down flat, and lay the drive back in its place.

    The battery ribbon always goes in last. With the latch still raised, slide it fully in, the same way up as before, and press the latch down: it should close with almost no pressure. If it resists, the ribbon isn't straight, so lift the latch and line it up again.

  10. Step 10: Test before you close

    Slide Hold to unlocked and plug the iPod into a charger. With the halves still apart, check that it starts, then try the click wheel, the center button, sound through headphones you know work and the Hold switch. To see the front, turn the front half over slowly, a finger on the drive, without stretching either ribbon. Then unplug the charger: it must keep running on its battery. If it shuts off, the battery ribbon is most likely not fully in or its latch is open; if it already did this before you opened it, the battery itself is worn.

    If something doesn't work, unplug the charger and release the battery ribbon first. Reseat the ribbon involved, plug the battery ribbon back in last, and test again. Fixing it now is far easier than after the clips are closed.

  11. Step 11: Straighten the clips

    Ideally while the back half is free, and in any case now: run your eye along the inside edges of the steel back. Press any clip that has bent out of line, and any side lip that has bowed outward, gently back into place with a fingertip or the flat of a plastic tool. Bent clips are the usual reason a back won't sit flush.

  12. Step 12: Close it

    Check that the drive lies flat and that no ribbon crosses the seam. Bring the halves together, hook the bottom edge in first, then swing the top shut and press around the edge until the clips snap home.

    If it only closes when you squeeze hard, stop and look. A pinched ribbon, a part out of place or a bulging battery is in the way, and a pinched ribbon can make a working iPod fail once it's shut.

Close it up and test

  • The seam is even all roundNo gap at the corners and no bulge in the back.
  • The screen is cleanNo dark marks from pressure behind it.
  • Everything worksClick wheel, center button, Hold switch, headphone sound and charging, and it stays on when unplugged.
  • No screws are left overIf your repair took screws out, every one is back in the spot it came from.

If it doesn't work afterwards

It won't turn on after closing
Check that Hold is unlocked and leave it on a wall charger for a while; a flat iPod can be slow to wake. Try a reset: slide Hold on and off, then press Menu with the center button and keep both down for roughly 8 seconds, till the Apple logo comes up. If it worked while open, a ribbon was probably pinched or pushed out as the case closed: open it again, release the battery ribbon first, reseat that ribbon, and plug the battery ribbon back in last. Not working after a repair
No sound, or the Hold switch does nothing
The headphone ribbon carries both. It is most likely not fully in its connector, or its tab was left open: open it again, release the battery ribbon first, reseat the headphone ribbon, and plug the battery ribbon back in last. Headphone jack not working
It shuts off as soon as it's unplugged
Most likely the battery ribbon isn't fully in or its latch is open: unplug any charger, open it, raise the latch, slide the ribbon fully in and close the latch. If it did this before the repair too, the battery is worn and needs replacing. Not working after a repair
It gets very hot or smells after the repair
Leave it shut. Unplug it, put it on something that can't burn, away from anything that can, and contact us before you do anything else.
The back won't sit flush
Look for a bent clip or a bowed side lip on the steel back, a ribbon caught in the seam, or a swollen battery pushing out.
A dent or scratch in the back
The polished steel marks easily. A new back panel is a purely cosmetic fix. iPod scratches
The battery connector came off the board
A new battery won't help then. 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 Classic without special tools?

You don't need a kit. Plastic picks (a guitar pick will do) hold the seam, and a thin, flat metal blade such as a thin putty knife frees the clips. Avoid anything thick or sharp, and never pry the back outward.

Are there screws holding the case together?

No. The case is held shut by clips only. The screws are all inside: they fasten the inner metal frame to the aluminum front, the logic board to that frame, the headphone jack assembly (Hold switch included) to the steel back, and the small plastic dock-port trim at the bottom, which has two of its own.

What screwdriver do I need for the screws inside?

A Phillips #00. They are not Torx, and a larger driver strips them. Keep them in order as they come out, and don't overtighten them going back: the frame's screw posts are soft. If yours are lost or stripped, our screw set fits every 6th and 7th Gen.

How many clips are there?

Write-ups count them differently, so don't go by a number. Work along each long side until the gap stays open, then free the single clip in the middle of the top edge. The bottom clips stay engaged until the end and act as a hinge.

Will opening it damage my iPod?

It can, which is why it's rated very difficult. The usual damage is dents or scratches in the steel back, bent clips, and torn ribbons. Slow, shallow work with the tool pushed toward the front avoids most of it, and bent clips can be straightened before you close it.

Can you open and repair it for me?

Yes. Choose We Fix It on the part page and mail your iPod in; we do the repair and send it back. Turnaround is typically 3 to 5 business days.