Repair guide · iPod 4th Gen and iPod Photo
iPod 4th Gen and iPod Photo headphone jack replacement
This guide covers the headphone jack of the iPod 4th Gen (A1059) and the iPod Photo (A1099), 2004 to 2005. The Hold switch sits on the same small board as the jack, so the two are replaced as one assembly, and a thin orange flex cable, also sold on its own, joins that board to the logic board. All of it lives inside the steel back, so the logic board stays where it is. Choose the assembly by the depth of your case, thin or thick. There is no soldering, and it is a Moderate job.
Which jack fits: thin or thick, 4th Gen or Photo?
Thin and thick builds take different jack assemblies: match the depth of the back that is actually on your iPod, since a back swapped in the past can show another capacity. The flex cable is a different part on each model, but within a model one cable fits every capacity. Buy from the page for your model. Not sure which you have? Identify your iPod
Before you start
- Try other headphones firstPlay a song through a pair you know works and move the plug gently. Sound that cuts out, crackles or plays in one ear points to the jack board itself, then to the logic board.
- Stuck on Hold? Try the cable firstIf the lock icon stays whatever the switch says, the jack's flex cable is the first suspect, often simply not fully in at one end after the case was opened. Reseat it at both ends before you buy parts; the steps below show how to reach each end.
- Check for a swollen batteryA center button that sits low or feels jammed is the usual sign that the battery behind the wheel is swelling. If so, 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: put it on a non-flammable surface away from anything that can burn, keep dry sand nearby, let it cool 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. If it is swollen, replace the battery first (our battery guide), then carry on with this repair.
- Set up the benchWork on a hard, non-flammable surface with a soft cloth on it, and keep a container of dry sand within reach.
- Ground yourselfWear an anti-static wrist strap, or at least touch bare metal first, and keep the replacement part in its bag until you fit it.
Tools
- Plastic opening tools, one wide and one thinFor the case clips. The part comes with one plastic pry tool.
- Plastic spudgerFor the flex cable's connectors and the battery plug.
- T6 Torx screwdriverFor the two silver screws on the jack board.
- Fine Phillips screwdriver (#00 or PH-000)For the three silver screws that hold the jack assembly's plastic bracket to the back.
- Anti-static wrist strap or matThe logic board is exposed while the case is open.
- Headphones you know workFor the sound test before and after.
- Wall chargerFor the test before closing.
Step by step
New to opening this iPod? How to open the iPod 4th Gen and iPod Photo (13 steps)
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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: Release the case clips
Our opening guide has the detail. In short: with the screen up and the dock connector toward you, start on the right-hand long side with the wide plastic tool, its edge tilted toward the steel back, and free the five tabs on that side. Then the two clips beside the dock connector (lightly past the thin steel there), the five tabs on the left-hand side, and the top edge.
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Step 3: Turn it over and open the back like a book
The jack's orange flex cable 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), then lift the back along one long side like a book cover and lay it flat beside the front half, inside up, keeping that cable loose. If it tightens as the back opens, stop and ease the back closer to the front.
Never pull the back straight off: the cable's socket can tear off the logic board.
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Step 4: Unplug the battery, then the jack cable
Ease the small white battery plug out of its socket on the logic board by its body, not the wires. Then lift the flex cable's connector straight up off the logic board with the flat end of the spudger, and lay the back down, inside facing up.
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Step 5: Unscrew the jack board
Inside the back, two silver T6 screws hold the jack board. Take them out, keep them apart from any other screws, and lift the jack board out; the flex cable comes with it, still plugged into the board's underside.
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Step 6: Unplug the cable from the jack board
Turn the jack board over, flip up the small black latch on its underside and draw the cable out.
Only changing the cable? Fit the replacement to your old jack board now: slide it fully in, press the latch down, then put the board back as in step 8.
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Step 7: Bracket and Hold slider: two cases
The small white Hold slider, the piece you see through the case, rides on a plastic bracket that three silver Phillips screws hold to the back.
If your replacement is the jack board alone, leave the bracket and its slider in the back. If it comes on its own bracket, also take out the three Phillips screws and lift the old bracket out; if the replacement bracket has no slider, move yours across, as a replacement may not include one.
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Step 8: Fit the replacement jack board
Plug the flex cable into the replacement board's underside connector, all the way in, and close its latch. If your replacement came on its own bracket, screw that bracket in first with the same three Phillips screws, starting each by hand.
Then set the board where the old one sat, so the white slider works the switch as it did before, and turn the two silver T6 screws in, starting each by hand.
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Step 9: Reconnect: jack cable, then battery
Lay the back beside the front again. Press the cable's connector straight down onto its socket on the logic board until it seats, check it is still fully in at the jack board, where you latched it in step 8, and plug the battery in last, by the plug's body.
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Step 10: Test before closing
Rest the back loosely in place, switch Hold off and connect a wall charger. Check the screen shows a clear picture. Play a song through the known-good headphones and move the plug gently: the sound should stay steady in both ears. Slide Hold on and off: the lock icon should come and go. With Hold off, scroll the wheel and press every button, the center one included. Then disconnect the charger and check it keeps running on its battery.
Still locked, or no sound? Disconnect the charger, unplug the battery, lift the cable off the logic board, reseat the jack-board end (two silver T6 screws out, board turned over, latch up, cable fully in, latch closed, screws back), press the board end back down, and plug the battery back in last.
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Step 11: Snap the case shut
Line the halves up and press them together from one side across to the other with even pressure until every clip catches. Then check the dock opening: nothing should block the connector.
If it only closes when squeezed hard, stop and look for the cable caught at the edge.
Close it up and test
- Clean sound in both earsNo crackle when the plug moves.
- Hold worksThe lock icon follows the switch, and the wheel wakes the iPod when Hold is off.
- The seam is evenNothing caught at the edges.
If it doesn't work afterwards
- It stays on Hold
- The flex cable is most likely not fully in at one end. Disconnect the charger, open it and unplug the battery. Lift the cable'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, cable 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
- Still locked with a good cable and switch
- Try a reset first (slide Hold on and off, and then press and hold Menu with the center button until the Apple logo comes up). If it stays locked, the logic board may be damaged where the cable plugs in. A free repair quote tells you what it needs. Free repair quote
- Still only one ear with the replacement jack
- If a known-good pair still plays in one ear only, the replacement jack itself is likely faulty. Only plays in one ear
- No sound from headphones or a speaker dock
- Disconnect the charger, unplug the battery, lift the flex cable off the logic board, reseat the jack-board end, press the board end back down and plug the battery back in last, then 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 a replacement jack still doesn't bring sound back, or the dock is silent too, the logic board is the likely fault. No sound
- Very quiet at full volume
- There is no Volume Limit menu on these iPods. If several pairs sound quiet, first clean out the jack's opening and try a reset; then, with the charger disconnected and the battery unplugged, lift the flex cable off the logic board, reseat the jack-board end, press the board end back down and plug the battery back in last. Still quiet? Suspect a worn jack, then the logic board. Volume too low
Questions
Is the Hold switch part of the headphone jack?
Yes. On these iPods the Hold switch sits on the headphone jack board, so a broken or stuck Hold switch is fixed with a replacement jack assembly. If it is stuck on Hold, try reseating the flex cable first.
Do I need the thin or the thick jack?
Go by the depth of the back fitted now: about 0.57 in (4th Gen 20GB) or 0.63 in (Photo 20GB, 30GB) is thin; 0.69 in (4th Gen 40GB) or 0.75 in (Photo 40GB, 60GB) is thick.
Does the 4th Gen use the same jack cable as the iPod Photo?
No. The 4th Gen uses 632-0260-A; the iPod Photo has its own cable, and that one fits every Photo capacity.
Will a Hold slider come with it?
Don't count on it. Keep your old white slider and move it across.
Do I need to solder?
No. The jack board is held by two screws, and the cable plugs in at both ends.
Can you do it for me?
Yes. Choose We Fix It on the jack page and mail your iPod in: we fit the part and send it back. Turnaround is typically 3 to 5 business days, with a 1-year limited warranty.