Repair guide · iPod Classic 6th/7th Gen
iPod Classic 6th/7th Gen screen replacement
Also searched as: ipod classic lcd replacement · ipod classic display replacement · ipod classic screen upgrade · ipod classic glass replacement · ipod classic lcd screen replacement
All about this iPod: The iPod Classic 6th/7th Gen guide
This guide covers the iPod Classic 6th and 7th Gen, the 2007 to 2009 models (80GB, 120GB and 160GB). The screen (LCD) sits in a metal frame inside the aluminum front, together with the logic board and the click wheel, so a screen repair goes one layer deeper than a battery swap: open the case, unplug three ribbons, take out the front panel's screws and lift the frame out. Nothing is soldered. The clear window is part of the front panel, and the backlight is built into the screen. Order the screen for your generation: a 6th Gen screen works in both, a 7th Gen screen only in a 7th Gen. Set aside 30 minutes to 1 hour, longer the first time. Have an iPod Video 5th Gen? It has its own guide.
Which screen fits: 6th Gen or 7th Gen?
All of these iPods say A1238 on the back, so that number won't settle it. Go by the year and capacity: the 2007 80GB and 160GB and the 2008 120GB are 6th Gen and need the 6th Gen screen, even where a seller calls the 120GB a 7th Gen. Only the 2009 160GB is a 7th Gen; it is the thin 160GB (10.5 mm deep), not the thick 2007 one (13.5 mm). Case depth makes no difference to the screen. Screens from the iPod Video 5th Gen don't fit. 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.
- Make sure it's the screenLines that move or change when you press on the iPod usually mean a loose screen ribbon rather than a bad screen. Fixed lines, dead pixels or ink-like spots after a drop point to the screen itself. A plain white screen with no visible damage can also be a loose screen ribbon, so if someone has opened the iPod before, reseat that first. If the menu is only just visible under a bright light, the backlight has failed; it is built into the screen, so once the ribbon is ruled out, a replacement screen fixes that too. Dark pressure marks, or a screen that bows, mean a swollen battery: replace the battery first.
- 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.
- 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.
- Keep dust outDust lands on the window the moment the old screen is out. Work in a clean, still room, keep the replacement screen in its bag until you need it, and leave its protective film on until the last moment.
Tools
- Plastic opening picks (two or three)To hold the seam open; have spares, as the metal edges wear them down.
- Thin metal opening toolFrees the case clips. Thin and flat is what you want.
- Phillips #00 screwdriverFor the six screws that hold the frame in the front panel.
- Plastic spudger and tweezersFor the connector tabs and latches.
- Air blowerClears dust off the window and the replacement screen before they meet.
- Anti-static wrist strap or matThe logic board is out in the open for this job.
- Soft, clean clothSomething lint-free to set the parts on.
- Charger and headphones you know workFor the test before you close the case.
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. While the back half is on its own, press any bent clip or bowed lip back into line with a fingertip or the flat of a plastic tool; you'll check them again before closing.
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Step 4: Unplug the hard drive
At the drive, flip up the thin black bar on its connector (it also turns about 90 degrees) and slide the ribbon straight out of the connector, parallel to the drive's face, not upward. Leave the bar up. Put the drive down somewhere soft. Its ribbon stays on the logic board.
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Step 5: Take out the front panel screws
The metal frame is screwed into the aluminum front with six tiny Phillips screws, three down each long side. Remove them with the #00 driver and keep them in order: screw lengths can differ from one spot to the next.
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Step 6: Lift the frame out of the front
Lift the metal frame up out of the front panel. The screen, the logic board and the click wheel all come with it, and so does the drive's ribbon, still plugged into the board: keep it clear of the edges. If the frame feels held, a little adhesive may be gripping it: work it free evenly rather than levering one corner.
The center button cap is now loose in the front panel. Leave it there for now, or put it somewhere safe; it is easy to lose.
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Step 7: Release the screen ribbon
The screen's ribbon plugs into the top center of the logic board. Flip that connector's small black tab up; it swings about 90 degrees toward the screen. Then slide the ribbon out and leave the tab up.
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Step 8: Swap the screen out
Take the replacement screen out of its bag first, protective film still on. Then slide the old screen out of the frame together with the thin metal shield on its back.
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Step 9: Move the metal shield
Lift the shield off the old screen and set it on the back of the replacement, the same way round. One shield fits every 6th and 7th Gen; if yours is bent, fit a replacement shield.
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Step 10: Fit the replacement screen
Slide the replacement screen and its shield into the frame the way the old one came out. With the board connector's tab still up, push the ribbon fully in, then press the tab down flat.
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Step 11: Put the frame back
Check that the center button cap sits in its opening in the front panel, the right way up. Peel the screen's protective film, blow any dust off the replacement screen and the inside of the window straight away, and lower the frame into the front panel before more dust can settle.
Before the screws go in, look along every edge: no ribbon may be trapped under the frame. Refit the six screws snugly; the posts are soft, so don't force them.
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Step 12: Connect it all back up
Lay the back half beside the front half again, tops level, as in step 3. With the drive's connector bar still up, slide its ribbon fully back in, the same way round as before, and press the bar down; lift the drive slightly to check the ribbon stays in. Then slide the headphone ribbon fully into its connector on the board, close its tab, and lay the drive back in its place.
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 13: 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. The picture should be sharp and lit, with no lines and no plain white. Then check the click wheel and the center button, play a song through headphones you know work, and slide Hold on and off. A test screen full of text is the built-in diagnostics, not a fault: a panel that draws it cleanly is working. 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.
Plain white on a 6th Gen usually means a 7th Gen screen or a ribbon that isn't fully in. 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 14: 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.
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 picture is clearBright, even and sharp, with no lines, spots or white patches.
- No dust under the windowLook at it at an angle in good light.
- The seam is even all roundNo gap at the corners and no bulge in the back.
- Everything worksClick wheel, center button, Hold switch, headphone sound and charging, and it stays on when unplugged.
If it doesn't work afterwards
- The replacement screen is white
- On a 6th Gen, check it isn't a 7th Gen screen: those show only white there. Otherwise the ribbon isn't fully in its connector or the tab is open: open it again, release the battery ribbon first, reseat the screen ribbon with its tab open, close the tab, and plug the battery ribbon back in last. iPod white screen
- Lines that move when you press
- A loose screen ribbon. Open it again, release the battery ribbon first, open the screen connector's tab, push the ribbon fully in and close the tab, and plug the battery ribbon back in last. Lines on the screen
- The screen stays dark but the iPod plays
- A screen ribbon that isn't fully in can leave it dark, so reseat it first the same way (battery ribbon out first, back in last). If the tab on the board's screen connector is broken, the ribbon can't be held; our fix for that is a replacement logic board. iPod black screen
- The replacement screen shows the same fault
- If a good replacement screen behaves exactly like the old one, the logic board is the likely fault. A free repair quote tells you what it involves. Free repair quote
- The center button feels wrong
- The cap probably isn't seated in its opening. Open it again, release the battery ribbon first, set the cap in place before the frame goes back, and plug the battery ribbon back in last.
- It won't turn on
- Check that Hold is unlocked and that the battery ribbon is fully in with its latch closed. If that's fine, open it again, release the battery ribbon first, reseat every ribbon you touched, and plug the battery ribbon back in last. Not working after a repair
Questions
How do I know whether I need a 6th or 7th Gen screen?
Only the 2009 thin 160GB (MC293 or MC297) is a 7th Gen. Every older model, the 120GB included, needs the 6th Gen screen. The 6th Gen screen also works in a 7th Gen, so it is the safe choice if you're unsure.
Is the clear window part of the screen?
No. The clear plastic window is built into the aluminum front panel. Light scuffs on it can often be polished out; if it is cracked but the picture under it is fine, a new faceplate is the fix, not a replacement screen.
Can I replace just the backlight?
No. On this iPod the backlight is part of the screen and isn't sold on its own, so a failed backlight means a replacement screen.
Will I lose my music?
It shouldn't. This job doesn't restore the iPod, so your songs stay on its hard drive. Back them up first anyway if you can.
Can you do it for me?
Yes. Choose We Fix It on the screen page and mail your iPod in; we fit the screen and send it back. Turnaround is typically 3 to 5 business days.