Repair guide · iPod Classic 6th/7th Gen
iPod Classic 6th/7th Gen back panel and dock bezel replacement
All about this iPod: The iPod Classic 6th/7th Gen guide
This guide covers fitting a new steel back panel (backplate) to the iPod Classic 6th and 7th Gen, the 2007 to 2009 models (80GB, 120GB and 160GB), and moving or changing the small plastic dock bezel at the bottom. A new back comes as the bare steel shell: the battery, the headphone jack with its Hold switch, and the dock bezel move across from the old back, unless you order a standard engraved back with the jack and battery already fitted. The back has to match your case depth, thin or thick, and the battery and drive inside. No soldering. Opening the case is the hardest part: allow 20 to 30 minutes for that alone the first time. Have an iPod Video 5th Gen? It has its own guide.
Which back panel and bezel fit?
Measure the case first. Thin backs are 10.5 mm deep and fit the 2007 80GB, the 2008 120GB and the 2009 160GB alike; only the capacity engraved on them differs, and that is cosmetic, so pick the engraving you want. The thick back, 13.5 mm, belongs to the 2007 160GB alone. A back must match the case depth and the battery, drive and headphone jack it will hold: a thick back won't close on a thin iPod, and we don't support fitting a thin back to a thick 160GB. The bezel comes in thin and thick versions too; black and white fit the same way. Not sure which you have? Identify your iPod
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.
- Confirm the back you needEvery one of these iPods says A1238, so go by depth, capacity and order number. If the back has been changed before, the engraving may not match what is inside: trust the depth of the case and the parts in it.
- Run the battery downIf there's no sign of swelling, play the iPod until the battery icon is nearly empty before you start. A cell with little charge left is less likely to flare up if a tool slips into it.
- Keep dry sand within reachThis job lifts the battery out of the back. Work on a hard surface that can't burn and keep a container of dry sand within arm's 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.
- 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.
Tools
- Plastic opening picks (two or three)To hold the seam open; spares help, since the metal wears them down.
- Thin metal opening toolFrees the case clips.
- Phillips #00 screwdriverFor the headphone jack, the Hold switch and the dock bezel screws.
- Plastic spudgerLifts the taped battery out of the old back. Never use metal under a battery.
- TweezersFor the connector tabs and the battery latch.
- Isopropyl alcohol (optional)A few drops soften the tape under the battery.
- Anti-static wrist strap or matThe logic board is exposed during the job.
- Soft cloth and a container of dry sandThe cloth keeps the new back unmarked; the sand is there in case the battery is damaged.
- Headphones you know work and a chargerFor the test before you close it.
Step by step
New to opening this iPod? How to open an iPod Classic 6th/7th Gen (12 steps)
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Step 1: Open the case
Unplug any cable. Switch the iPod off (hold Play/Pause until the screen goes dark) and slide Hold to locked. Open it as our opening guide shows: plastic picks keep the seam open along one long side while the tip of a thin metal tool pushes each clip in toward the front panel, rocking on the steel back's rim. Free both long sides, then the one clip in the middle of the top edge, between the Hold switch and the headphone jack. Leave the bottom edge clipped: it is the hinge.
Don't pry the steel back outward: it dents, and a bent clip keeps the case from closing flat.
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Step 2: Unplug the battery first
Part the top ends a little, no further: the battery ribbon and the headphone ribbon still join the two halves. Now and then the drive comes away stuck to the back half, or the battery plug pops out as the case opens, so check for both, and ease a stuck drive back down into the front half.
Follow the battery's ribbon to its connector on the logic board. Raise the connector's small latch about 1 mm, straight up and level, then slide the ribbon straight out. Note which way up it was. If you use metal tweezers, grip the ribbon by its edges, well back from its contacts.
Never push that latch sideways or pry on the connector. If the connector comes off the board, our fix for that is a replacement logic board.
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Step 3: Free the back half
Lift the back half off the bottom edge and lay it next to the front half, on the side its headphone ribbon runs, tops level, so the ribbon stays slack. Lift the hard drive by the edge away from its ribbon and turn it over like a page, its ribbon end staying put, until it rests beside the front half with its connector facing up. Don't let it hang on its ribbon.
Under where the drive sat, the headphone ribbon plugs into the logic board. Flip that connector's small black tab up (it turns about 90 degrees), note which way up the ribbon sits, and slide it out. The back half is now free.
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Step 4: Lift the battery out of the old back
Ordered one of our standard engraved backs with the headphone jack and battery already fitted? Skip to step 8.
Otherwise, the battery is taped to the inside of the old back, with the jack's orange ribbon running underneath it. Its ribbon is already unplugged. If it is stubborn, run a few drops of isopropyl alcohol along its edge and wait a minute. Work a plastic spudger under it from the side away from the orange ribbon and lift slowly, keeping it flat. No heat: it is bad for the cell. A swollen battery is lifted by its edge only, never pressed. If the battery is swollen or damaged, don't move it to the new back; use a new battery for your case depth.
Only plastic goes under the battery, and it must not bend: a punctured or folded cell can catch fire. 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.
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Step 5: Take the jack and Hold switch out of the old back
Peel back the black tape that holds the ribbons to the old back. Two small black Phillips screws hold the jack; the Hold switch has two of its own, a black one near the corner and a silver one. Remove them with the #00 driver and keep them sorted. Lift the Hold switch free of its spot (it stays on the jack's ribbon), then slide the jack out of its opening in the top edge. If the ribbon's small contact pad near the jack is stuck to the old back, ease it off gently.
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Step 6: Fit them into the new back
Slide the jack into the new back's opening. Seat the Hold switch with its locating pin by the silver screw's hole first, so the two small posts on its back drop into their holes. Slide the switch to and fro: it must move freely before you tighten anything. Then refit the screws, snug but not tight.
Press the ribbon's small contact pad near the jack onto the new back's metal; on a part that still has its backing film, peel that first. Lay the ribbon along the same path as before, then move the black tape across from the old back and press it over the ribbon.
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Step 7: Fit the battery in the new back
If you used alcohol, let it dry. Set the battery in the old one's place in the new back, the same way round, with its ribbon routed the same way, and press it down by its edges only. If you are fitting a new battery at the same time, check it matches the old one in size and thickness first; it must suit your case depth.
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Step 8: Move the dock bezel across
A new back comes without the plastic bezel that sits around the dock connector opening, so move yours across. It is held by two small Phillips screws: take them out, lift the bezel off the old back, and screw it, or a replacement bezel if yours is cracked, missing or the wrong color, to the new back the same way round, snug only. Check it sits flush; you'll check that the dock connector sits centered in its opening as the halves go back together.
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Step 9: Check the new back's clips
Look along the inside edges of the new back. Every clip should point the same way and every side lip should sit in line; press any that doesn't gently back into place with a fingertip or the flat of a plastic tool.
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Step 10: Connect the new back
Lay the new back beside the front half, where the old one was, tops level. Slide its headphone ribbon fully into the connector on the board, then press the tab down, and turn the drive back into its place in the front half.
The battery ribbon goes in last: with the latch still raised, slide the ribbon fully in, the same way up, then press the latch down. It should close with almost no pressure; if it resists, the ribbon isn't straight.
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Step 11: Test before you close
Slide Hold to unlocked and plug in a charger, halves still apart. Keep a finger on the drive and turn the front half over slowly, so neither ribbon pulls. Check that it starts and charges, play music through headphones you know work, and slide Hold on and off. 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 you moved your old battery across and it did this before, the battery is worn; a new battery can be faulty too.
Before you reseat anything, unplug the charger and release the battery ribbon (latch up, ribbon out). Reseat the ribbon involved, plug the battery ribbon back in last, then test again.
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Step 12: Straighten the clips and close
Check the inside edges of the steel back once more and press any bent clip or bowed lip back into line with a fingertip or the flat of a plastic tool. Make sure the drive lies flat and no ribbon crosses the seam. Hook the bottom edge in first, swing the top shut, and press around the edge until every clip clicks in. As the halves come together, check that the dock connector sits in the middle of the bezel's opening.
If it closes only when you squeeze, stop: something is pinched or out of place, and a pinched ribbon can make a working iPod fail once it is shut.
Close it up and test
- The back sits flushAn even seam all round, no gap at the corners.
- The bezel is straightFlush with the case, with the dock connector centered in it.
- Sound and Hold workBoth ears through headphones; Hold locks and unlocks.
- It runs and chargesIt stays on when unplugged and charges when plugged in.
- Fitted a new battery? Recycle the old oneTape over its contacts or bag it and take it to a battery drop-off. It doesn't belong in household trash or a recycling bin.
- Used a pre-fitted back? The old battery is still in the old backDon't throw the old back away: tape the battery's contacts and take the back, battery and all, to a battery drop-off.
If it doesn't work afterwards
- The back won't close flat
- Check that the back matches the case depth, that no clip or lip is bent, that no ribbon is caught at the seam, and that a thick battery hasn't gone into a thin back.
- No sound, or the Hold switch does nothing
- The headphone ribbon from the new back is most likely not fully in its connector, or its tab is open: open it again, release the battery ribbon first, reseat it, and plug the battery ribbon back in last. Headphone jack not working
- The Hold switch is stiff
- It may be off its locating pin, or its screws are too tight. Loosen them, seat it again and check it slides before you tighten them, snug only. Hold switch not working
- It shuts off when unplugged
- The battery ribbon is probably not fully in or its latch isn't closed. Unplug any charger, open it, raise the latch, slide the ribbon fully in and close the latch. Fitted a new battery? If reseating its ribbon doesn't stop the shut-offs, the new battery itself may be faulty. Not working after a repair
- The dock cable catches on the bezel
- The bezel may be off-center. Loosen its two screws, center it around the connector and tighten them again, snug only.
- 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.
Questions
Does a new back come with the headphone jack and battery?
Not as standard: it is the bare steel shell, and the jack, the battery and the dock bezel move across or are bought separately. On our standard engraved backs you can also order the headphone jack and battery already fitted, which saves moving them yourself; you still open the case, move the bezel and connect the new back.
What is the hardest part?
Opening the all-metal case without denting the back or bending a clip. That doesn't change with a pre-fitted back.
Does the engraving have to match my capacity?
No. The engraving is cosmetic. Any thin back fits any thin model; choose the engraving you want.
Can I fit a thin back to my thick 160GB?
We don't support it. A back has to match the case depth and the battery, drive and headphone jack inside it, so a thick 160GB takes the thick back.
Is the dock bezel the charging port?
No. It is the plastic trim around the opening. The 30-pin dock connector itself is part of the logic board, so a replacement bezel won't fix charging or syncing.
Can you do it for me?
Yes. Choose We Fix It on the backplate page and mail your iPod in; we fit the new back and send it back. Turnaround is typically 3 to 5 business days.