Repair guide · iPod 4th Gen and iPod Photo
iPod 4th Gen and iPod Photo logic board replacement
This guide covers the logic board, or motherboard, of the iPod 4th Gen (A1059) and the iPod Photo (A1099), including the iPod with color display. The 30-pin charging port is soldered to this board, so a broken port is fixed with a replacement board too. A replacement board arrives bare: the battery, drive, ribbons, screen and screws all move over from your iPod. Black T6 screws and a handful of ribbon connectors hold it, so there is no soldering. Match the replacement board to the number printed on your old one. It is a Moderate job; on the iPod Photo we allow about 30 minutes.
Which logic board fits? Read the number on yours
Order the board whose number matches the one printed on your old board, under the screen ribbon (step 9 shows where); it is right even when a previous owner swapped parts, which capacity tables are not. Never move a board between a 4th Gen and an iPod Photo. On the Photo we bench-tested both boards: the mid-2005 board runs either color screen, so it also fits an iPod with an 820-1642-A board, while the late-2004 board stays black with the mid-2005 screen. Not sure which you have? Identify your iPod
Before you start
- Is it really the board?Rule out the easier parts first, 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). Then try a charger and cable you know work: if it starts on the charger but dies once unplugged, suspect the battery; if it is dead even on the charger, the board is more likely. If the trouble began right after a repair, reseat every ribbon that was touched, and the battery's plug, before anything else (charger off and battery unplugged first, battery back in last).
- iPod Photo: which board?Not opened yet? The order number on the box or receipt tells you too. Board 820-1642-A: M9586LL/A, M9829LL/A, PS493AA, M9585LL/A, PS492AA. Board 820-1764-A: MA215LL/A, M9830LL/A, MA079LL/A, MA127LL/A. The mid-2005 board fits every iPod Photo. Opened or repaired in the past? Then go by the board's own printed number instead.
- After liquid, clean firstOpen it and unplug the battery first (steps 1 to 3). Then look for corrosion where the ribbons plug into the board, clean it with 90% or stronger isopropyl alcohol and let it dry completely. A board corroded beyond cleaning needs replacing.
- 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 the battery is swollen, replace it before you work on the board (our battery guide).
- 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.
- Run the battery downIf there's no sign of swelling, use the iPod until it is nearly flat first. A discharged cell is less likely to overheat if something goes wrong.
- Ground yourselfStatic can kill the board. Wear an anti-static wrist strap, or at least touch bare metal first, work on an anti-static mat and leave the replacement board in its bag until you fit it.
Tools
- Plastic opening tools, one wide and one thinFor the case clips. The board comes with one plastic pry tool.
- Plastic spudgerFor the connector bars and the battery plug. A slipped metal tool can knock a part off the board.
- T6 Torx screwdriverFor the black board screws: six on the 4th Gen, five on the iPod Photo.
- Anti-static wrist strap and matEssential here: static can kill a board.
- Soft cloth and a small trayFor the polished back and the screws.
- 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)
-
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.
-
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.
-
Step 3: Turn it over, open the back, unplug two things
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 beside the front half, inside up; the orange headphone ribbon still links them, so never pull the back straight off; if it tightens as the back opens, stop and ease the back closer to the front. Ease the small white battery plug out of its socket on the logic board by its body, not the wires. Then lift the headphone ribbon's connector straight up off the board and set the back aside.
Yanking the back away before the headphone ribbon is free can tear its socket off the logic board.
-
Step 4: Take out the hard drive
Raise the drive at the dock-connector end; its orange ribbon stays attached at the far end. Holding the drive, pull the ribbon's connector straight off the drive's pins, rocking it gently if it sticks, and set the drive on the cloth.
Don't bend the drive's pins.
-
Step 5: Release the drive ribbon at the board
Peel back the black adhesive strip over the ribbon's connector on the logic board, flip the connector's black bar up (it swings through 90 degrees toward the ribbon) and slide the ribbon out.
-
Step 6: Open the screen and wheel latches
Flip up the two black bars holding the screen ribbon and the click wheel ribbon. The wheel connector's lock sits on the side away from where its ribbon enters and tilts up a quarter turn. On the iPod Photo the screen connector sits nearer the middle of the board.
-
Step 7: Unscrew the board
Remove the black T6 screws: six on the 4th Gen, five on the iPod Photo, which has one fewer. Lay them out in the pattern they came from.
-
Step 8: Slide out the wheel ribbon
With its lock open, draw the click wheel ribbon gently out of its connector.
Never force it: this ribbon tears easily during a board swap, and a torn one means a dead wheel.
-
Step 9: Lift the board and read its number
Raise the board at its large end and slide the screen ribbon out of its open connector. Note the board number printed where that ribbon lay, and check it against your replacement board. Ease the unplugged battery cable clear of the board's end, then lift the old board out.
If the numbers differ on an iPod Photo: a mid-2005 (820-1764-A) replacement runs either screen, but a late-2004 (820-1642-A) one needs the two-bar screen (count the dark bars on the glass edge next to the screen cable).
-
Step 10: Check the rest while the board is out
With the board out, look the battery over for swelling or damage, and check the screen's ribbon and its connector area for dirt or corrosion.
If the battery is swollen, dented or punctured, don't build the iPod back up around it: replace the battery (our battery guide), and tape or bag the old one for a battery drop-off, never the trash or a recycling bin.
-
Step 11: Fit the replacement board
Hold the replacement board above the panel, slide the screen ribbon squarely into its connector and press the black bar down. Lower the board into place, with the battery cable running round its end as before. Slide the wheel ribbon fully home and close its lock, then turn the screws back in, starting each by hand.
On the iPod Photo look twice at the screen connector: sitting nearer the middle of the board, it is easily left half in.
-
Step 12: Drive and plugs back
Slide the drive ribbon into its connector on the replacement board and press the black bar down to lock it. Push the ribbon fully onto the drive's pins, the same way round as before, and seat the drive on its plastic guide pin.
Lay the back beside the front. 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. Plug the battery in last.
-
Step 13: Test before closing
Rest the back loosely in place, switch Hold off and connect a wall charger. Check that the screen shows a clear picture, a song plays in both ears through headphones, the wheel scrolls and every button responds, the center one included, and the lock icon comes and goes with Hold. Connect it to the computer and check it syncs. Then disconnect the charger: it must also run on its battery.
If it won't wake, 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. Still nothing, or a part not working? Disconnect the charger, unplug the battery, reseat the connectors you touched (the headphone ribbon (lift it off the logic board, reseat the jack-board end, then press the board end back down)), and plug the battery back in last.
-
Step 14: 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 a ribbon caught at the edge.
Close it up and test
- Power both waysIt runs on the charger and on its battery, and it charges.
- Everything else worksScreen, sound, buttons, wheel, Hold and syncing.
- No screw left overEach one went back into its own hole.
If it doesn't work afterwards
- Dead, even on the charger
- Try a reset on the charger first (slide Hold on and off, and then press and hold Menu with the center button until the Apple logo comes up). Then disconnect the charger, unplug the battery, reseat every ribbon (the headphone ribbon (lift it off the logic board, reseat the jack-board end, then press the board end back down)) and plug the battery back in last. If it stays dead, static or a slipped tool may have damaged the board during the repair; a free repair quote will tell you. Free repair quote
- The wheel or center button does nothing
- The wheel ribbon is probably half seated or its lock open, or it tore while it was being unplugged. Disconnect the charger, unplug the battery, reseat it and look along it for a tear; battery back in last. Click wheel not working
- The screen stays black
- Reseat the screen ribbon first: charger disconnected, battery unplugged, drive lifted out (step 4), ribbon squarely in, bar closed, drive back, battery in last. On the iPod Photo also check the pairing: a late-2004 board (820-1642-A) stays black with the mid-2005 screen. Black screen
- A lock icon shows
- The headphone ribbon isn't fully in at one end. 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
- The computer doesn't see it, or a sad face
- The drive ribbon isn't fully in at one end or its bar is open, or the drive went back the wrong way round. Disconnect the charger, unplug the battery, reseat it, and plug the battery back in last. Not showing up in iTunes
- It gets hot
- If it gets very hot or smells, leave it shut and unplugged on a non-flammable surface and contact us. If it is only warm, unplug it and let it cool, then open it, unplug the battery and check that no cable is pinched and no part presses on the board; battery back in last.
Questions
Which logic board do I need?
The one whose number matches the number printed on your old board, under the screen ribbon. The 4th Gen board reads 820-1535-A (on some, 820-1723-A); the iPod Photo's reads 820-1642-A or 820-1764-A.
Does the board come with screws or cables?
No. It arrives bare, and everything moves over from your iPod. If screws are missing, the screw set is sold separately.
My charging port is broken. Do I need a replacement board?
Yes. The 30-pin port is soldered onto the board itself, so we fix a broken port by fitting an original Apple board rather than soldering on a lesser aftermarket port.
Can an iPod Photo board go in a 4th Gen?
No. The two models' boards are different parts, so never move one across.
Do I need to solder?
No. The board is held by screws and every part plugs into it.
Can you do it for me?
Yes. Choose We Fix It on the board page and mail your iPod in: we fit the board and send it back. Turnaround is typically 3 to 5 business days, with a 1-year limited warranty.