Repair guide · iPod Mini 1st/2nd Gen
iPod Mini 1st/2nd Gen click wheel and center button replacement
This guide covers the click wheel of the iPod Mini 1st Gen (2004) and 2nd Gen (2005), model A1051, and with it the center button, whose switch is part of the wheel; Menu, Play/Pause, Next and Previous are on the wheel too. The wheel leaves through the bottom of the aluminum tube, so the top cap and its two screws can usually stay put. The two generations' wheels look alike, but neither works in the other's iPod: it plugs in and gives no response. 2nd Gen wheels match the case: silver, blue, pink or green, while the 1st Gen has one wheel with gray lettering for every color. Allow about 15 minutes.
Which click wheel fits?
Check your generation before you order. 4GB or 6GB engraved on the back means a 2nd Gen; nothing engraved means a 1st Gen. Lettering in any color but gray also means a 2nd Gen, but on a silver Mini the lettering color isn't a safe guide: go by the back or, once the bottom cap and bracket are off, the part number printed on the wheel's cable. If the housing has ever been replaced, the back may not match the generation, so go by the cable's part number. Any 2nd Gen wheel fits any 2nd Gen, so you can change the color as well. Not sure which you have? Identify your iPod
Before you start
- Rule out the easy causesMake sure Hold is off. If the wheel died straight after a battery job or another repair, the wheel plug may not be fully on or the bracket may be missing: check those before you buy a wheel. A stiff or stuck center button is often just the wheel sitting a little out of line: press gently on the wheel and nudge it until it settles into place. If the screen is frozen too, reset it first: move Hold on, then off again, and press and keep holding Menu plus the center button for about 6 to 8 seconds, until the Apple logo shows (on a 1st Gen, with its wall charger connected).
- A wheel that scrolls by itselfThat can be a swelling battery, and the tube almost never bulges to show it. A new battery comes first; never press on a swollen battery. If the iPod is very hot or smells, don't open it: unplug it, set it on a non-flammable surface away from anything that can burn, keep a container of dry sand nearby, leave it until it is cool and contact us.
- Set up a safe benchWork on a non-flammable surface with a container of dry sand within reach. If the battery smokes, sparks, hisses, pops or suddenly swells, pour all of the sand over it in one go, then get out of the room and let fresh air in. If it keeps burning or anything else catches fire, call the fire service. Don't go back for half an hour, and don't touch the iPod until then.
- Ground yourselfWear an anti-static strap or work on an anti-static mat, or at least touch bare metal first; static can kill the logic board. If there's no sign of swelling, run the battery down too, in case the board has to come out (steps 7 and 9).
Tools
- Thin plastic pry toolLifts the bottom cap. Every iMods click wheel comes with one.
- SpudgerPlastic, for the wheel plug and the small tab that holds the wheel.
- Small snap-ring pliers or a small flat toolFor the metal bracket's corner arms.
- Masking tapeCovers the wheel's face so the tube's edges can't scratch it.
- Anti-static wrist strap or matYou'll be unplugging a ribbon from the logic board.
- Phillips #00 screwdriver, hair dryer and tweezers (only if needed)For the top cap, its screws and sliding the insides out, if the wheel won't come out or catches with the board still in.
Step by step
New to opening this iPod? How to open the iPod Mini 1st/2nd Gen (13 steps)
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Step 1: Lock it
Unplug any cable, then slide Hold on and let the screen go blank. The top cap can stay on for this job.
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Step 2: Pry off the bottom cap
Work the plastic pry tool into the seam of the white cap at the dock connector end and lift it off, prying at points where there are no clips. It may be glued as well as clipped.
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Step 3: Unclip the metal bracket
Squeeze the springy arms at the bracket's four corners inward, with small snap-ring pliers or a small flat tool, and lift the bracket out.
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Step 4: Unplug the wheel
The wheel's orange ribbon ends in a small plug beside the dock connector. It has no latch. Put the spudger tip right at the plug and lift it straight off.
This ribbon is the easiest part of the Mini to damage, and digging deep under the plug can tear the socket's contact off the board.
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Step 5: Tape over the wheel
Lay masking tape over the face of the wheel. The edges of the tube are sharp, and the tape stops them marking it on the way out.
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Step 6: Pull back the black tab
From the bottom opening, find the small black plastic tab that holds the wheel and pull it back with the spudger. Keep it back for the next step.
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Step 7: Press down and slide it out
With the tab held back, press on the wheel's face, into the tube, and slide it toward the bottom opening. Keep pressing all the way, so the tube's edge can't scratch it or shave plastic off it.
If it won't move, don't force it. Note which side the Hold switch is on, take off the top cap and the two screws, and slide the insides out as in our opening guide: hold the board by its long edges and never pull on the little jack board at the top. Then the wheel comes out more easily.
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Step 8: Clear the shavings, check the replacement wheel
Blow or wipe out any slivers of plastic: they can gum up a wheel. Then compare the replacement wheel with the old one: the part number on its cable must match your generation, and the color should be the one you want.
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Step 9: Slide the replacement wheel in
Tape its face, press it into the tube and slide it back along its slot until it pops up into its round opening. Go slowly: a wheel dragged across the board can knock tiny parts off it. If the wheel catches on the board, don't push the board aside: stop, take off the top cap and the two screws, slide the insides out (as in step 7), fit the wheel, then slide the insides back in. Keep the ribbon free of kinks.
If you took the insides out, fit the wheel first, then slide the insides back in from the top. Hold the board by its long edges, either side of the screen, and never push or pull on the little jack board at the top end. Refit the two screws, as the opening guide shows.
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Step 10: Plug it in fully
Press the plug all the way onto its socket. With no latch, a plug that is only half on is easy to miss, and it leaves the center button or the whole wheel dead.
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Step 11: Clip the bracket back in
Hook one side in, then press the other side down until its arms snap into place. A missing bracket is one of the two usual reasons a replacement wheel doesn't respond.
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Step 12: Test before the cap goes on
Slide Hold off (if you took the top cap off, move the switch itself) and peel off the tape. Wake the iPod: center button on a 1st Gen, any button on a 2nd Gen. Scroll both ways, then press Menu, Play/Pause, Next, Previous and the center button: that checks the wheel and the plug you unplugged. If nothing responds, unplug any charger and slide Hold on, then check the plug and the bracket first.
Connect a charger (a wall charger for a 1st Gen) to check that it still charges, then unplug it: it must keep running on its battery.
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Step 13: Bottom cap back on
The cap has small pins on three sides. Line them up before you press, then press it home evenly. Our wheels come without cap adhesive; the opening guide gives three ways to make it stay.
If you took the top cap off, fit it last: move the slider inside it to the same side as the Hold switch, press it on, then slide Hold on and off to check that it works (see the opening guide).
A cap pushed on crooked can cut the replacement wheel's ribbon.
Close it up and test
- Every control respondsThe wheel scrolls, and all five buttons click and do their job.
- The center button moves freelyIf it feels stiff, press gently on the wheel and nudge it into line.
- No marks on the wheelTape off, shavings cleared, cap flush.
If it doesn't work afterwards
- Nothing responds
- Unplug any charger and slide Hold on, then check that the plug is fully on and the bracket is in. Then the generation: a wheel from the other Mini generation plugs in but gives no response, and nothing is damaged. Fit the right one. Click wheel not working
- The center button sticks or does nothing
- Often the wheel is slightly out of line: press gently and nudge it until it settles. If the ring scrolls but the center does nothing, the plug may be half on. Center button not working
- Some buttons work, others don't
- Reseat the plug first and check the bracket is in. The four buttons are part of the wheel, so with the right generation fitted and the plug fully on, a button that still fails on the replacement wheel points to the logic board. Buttons not working
- The replacement wheel didn't fix it
- With the plug and bracket checked and the right generation fitted, the logic board is the likely fault. Free repair quote
- The ribbon tore or creased
- A damaged wheel ribbon means a replacement click wheel; the ribbon is part of it.
- It gets very hot or smells
- Unplug it, leave it closed on a non-flammable surface and contact us; don't open it again to look. Warmth at the bottom while it plays or charges is normal. Free repair quote
Questions
Can I use a 1st Gen click wheel in a 2nd Gen Mini?
No, nor the other way round. They look the same and plug into each other's board, but they don't respond. Nothing gets damaged; you just need the wheel for your generation.
Can I replace just the center button?
No. On the Mini the center button's switch is built into the click wheel, so a dead center button with a working ring points to the wheel.
Can I change my Mini's wheel color?
On a 2nd Gen, yes: any 2nd Gen wheel fits, in silver, blue, pink or green. The 1st Gen has one wheel with gray lettering for all five case colors.
Do I have to take the whole iPod apart?
Usually not. The wheel comes out through the bottom with only the bottom cap and bracket off. If it's stubborn, sliding the insides out first makes it easier.
Are your click wheels original Apple parts?
Yes: used original Apple parts, each with a 1-year limited warranty.
Can you do it for me?
Yes. Choose We Fix It on the click wheel page and mail your iPod in. We fit the wheel and send it back, typically in 3 to 5 business days.