Repair guide · iPod Mini 1st/2nd Gen
iPod Mini 1st/2nd Gen screen replacement
This guide covers the two screen parts of the iPod Mini 1st Gen (2004) and 2nd Gen (2005), model A1051. The LCD is the 1.67-inch grayscale panel with its backlight built in; it clips onto the front of the logic board and is made for one generation, because the 1st Gen panel's ribbon is wider. The clear window over it is the glass display lens, set in the aluminum tube, and one lens fits every Mini. A dark blotch or pressure marks on the picture usually come from the battery behind the screen, so start there. Allow 30 minutes to an hour for the LCD.
Which part, and which one fits?
Order the LCD for your generation: the panels look the same, but their ribbon connectors differ in width, so they don't swap. If the housing has ever been replaced, the back may not show the generation: compare the ribbon widths instead. A blank, white, lined or very dark picture points to the LCD (a dead backlight included) once the ribbon, the battery and the logic board are ruled out. A good picture under a cracked or scratched window needs only the lens, which fits both generations and every case color, so either lens listing will do. Not sure which you have? Identify your iPod
Before you start
- Dark spots? Start with the batteryThe battery sits right behind the screen. A dark blotch or pressure marks on the picture usually mean it is swelling and pressing on the panel; a new battery comes first, and the marks usually fade once it is in. Only an ink-like spot that appeared after a drop or a knock on the front means damage in the LCD itself (it can spread over time), and a replacement screen fixes that. With no drop or knock, start with the battery, even if the blotch is spreading. A swelling battery is never pressed, bent or pierced. 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.
- Check that it still playsPlug in headphones and play a song. If you hear it, the screen or its ribbon is the trouble. If it won't play, power up or charge at all, look at the battery and the logic board before the screen.
- 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.
- Run it down and ground yourselfFor the LCD you'll handle the battery and the board, so if there's no sign of swelling, play it until the battery is nearly flat first: a nearly empty cell is much less likely to catch fire if it gets damaged. Wear an anti-static strap or work on an anti-static mat, or at least touch bare metal, and keep the replacement part in its bag until you fit it.
Tools
- Phillips #00 screwdriverFor the two screws under the top cap.
- Thin plastic pry toolFor the caps. Our screens and lenses each come with one.
- SpudgerPlastic, for the click wheel plug, the screen's latch and its four clips.
- Small snap-ring pliers or a small flat toolFor the metal bracket's corner arms.
- Hair dryerOn low: a few seconds on the top cap's glue, and gentle warmth for the lens.
- TweezersGuide the insides back into the tube. Keep metal tips off the battery plug.
- Anti-static wrist strap or matThe board and the screen's connector are bare once they are out of the tube.
- Isopropyl alcohol and double-sided tape (lens only)The alcohol softens the old lens adhesive; thin tape holds the replacement lens.
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. Note which side the switch is on, for the top cap later.
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Step 2: Top cap and two screws off
Give the glued top cap a brief burst of warm air from a hair dryer on low, aimed at the cap only, then lift it a little at a time round the seam. Take out the two Phillips #00 screws under it. Our opening guide shows each move.
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Step 3: Bottom cap, bracket and wheel plug off
Pry the bottom cap off at points where there are no clips, squeeze the corner arms of the metal bracket and lift it out, then lift the orange click wheel plug straight off its socket. It has no latch, so keep the tool right at the plug.
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Step 4: Slide the insides out
From the bottom opening, push evenly on the board near the lower edge of the click wheel. Once it is partway out of the top, hold the board by its two long edges, either side of the screen, and slide it the rest of the way. Never pull on the little headphone jack board up at the top end: its plug into the logic board breaks easily. The click wheel stays in the tube.
If it binds, don't force it: a swollen battery is a common reason, and forcing can scrape tiny parts off the board. Ease off and push again evenly with a slight wiggle. If it still won't come, stop and contact us.
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Step 5: Lens only? Change it in the empty tube
The lens sits in the window of the aluminum tube, held there by adhesive. With the insides out, only the click wheel is left in the tube: set the insides, battery and all, well away from your work. Warm the tube briefly with the hair dryer on low and switch the dryer off; then work a little isopropyl alcohol into the edge of the old lens. Never run the dryer over wet alcohol, and keep the alcohol away from any flame. Push the old lens out gently and evenly. If it doesn't give easily, stop rather than force it, and contact us. Fix the replacement lens in the window with double-sided tape.
If the LCD is fine, skip to step 12 now.
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Step 6: Unplug the battery and move it aside
Turn the assembly over: the battery lies on the back of the board. Steady its socket with a fingertip, lift the small white plug straight up by its body, never by the wires. Then peel the battery gently off its small sticky pad, if it has one, with your fingers or a plastic tool, and lay it to one side. Never put anything metal under it and never bend it: a punctured cell can catch fire.
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Step 7: Open the screen's latch
With the assembly still back side up, find the screen's ribbon: it is held in its connector on the board by a black hinged latch. Flip the latch up with the spudger; it swings up about 90 degrees and lets the ribbon go.
The latch is fragile. Lift it, don't pry the connector itself.
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Step 8: Release the four clips
Four white plastic clips hold the panel to the board. Free each one with the spudger or a fingertip.
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Step 9: Lift the old screen off
Turn the assembly over, lift the screen away from the board and slide its ribbon out of the connector.
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Step 10: Fit the replacement screen
Hold the replacement panel next to the old one: the ribbons should be the same width. If they aren't, it is the other generation's screen, and it won't work. With the latch still up, slide its ribbon fully into the connector and lay the panel in place.
Turn the assembly back over, check that all four clips have caught, then press the latch down to lock the ribbon.
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Step 11: Plug the battery back in
Line the plug up on the socket's pins and press it in with light pressure only. Lay the battery back on the board with its wires tucked in.
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Step 12: Slide it back and refit the bottom end
Feed the insides back in from the top, gently, guiding with tweezers from the bottom. 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, press the wheel plug fully onto its socket and clip the bracket back in.
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Step 13: Test before the caps go on
Slide Hold off first: with the top cap off, move the switch itself. Then switch it on: center button on a 1st Gen, any button on a 2nd Gen. The picture should be clear and evenly lit, with no lines and no white or dark areas. Press lightly beside the screen: lines that appear or move mean the ribbon is loose or faulty, so reseat it first. Try the wheel and the buttons (the wheel plug was off) and sound. Connect a charger (a wall charger for a 1st Gen) to check it charges, then unplug it: it must keep running on its battery.
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Step 14: Caps back on
Fit the bottom cap with its pins lined up, so they can't cut the click wheel ribbon, then the top cap with its Hold slider on the same side as the switch. The opening guide gives three ways to make the caps stay; our parts come without adhesive.
Close it up and test
- A clean pictureSharp text, even backlight, no lines, blotches or white patches.
- Everything else worksWheel, buttons, Hold, sound and charging.
If it doesn't work afterwards
- Dark, white or flickering picture, or lines
- Most likely the ribbon: not fully in, or the latch left up. Before you blame the panel, unplug any charger, open it again and unplug the battery, flip the latch up, push the ribbon all the way in and press the latch down, then plug the battery back in last. Lines on the screen
- A very dark picture you can just make out
- That's the backlight. Shine a light on the screen: if you can faintly read the menu, the light has failed, often through a damaged screen ribbon. On the Mini the backlight is part of the screen, so a replacement screen fixes it. Backlight not working
- The replacement screen shows the same fault
- Then the screen wasn't the cause: the logic board is the likely fault. Free repair quote
- A dark blotch is still there
- Pressure marks from a swollen battery usually fade after the battery is replaced. If you haven't replaced it, do that first.
- The wheel or buttons don't respond
- Unplug any charger, then check the click wheel plug is fully on and the metal bracket went back in. Click wheel not working
- 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
Do 1st Gen and 2nd Gen Mini screens swap?
No. They look alike, but the 1st Gen panel's ribbon connector is about 20 mm wide and the 2nd Gen's about 16.5 mm. Check your generation on the back: 4GB or 6GB engraved means a 2nd Gen, nothing engraved a 1st Gen. If the housing has ever been replaced, the back can mislead: compare the ribbon widths.
My lens is cracked, but I can read the screen. Which part do I need?
Only the lens. It is its own part, apart from the LCD behind it, so a working picture means you can leave the LCD alone.
Is the backlight a separate part?
No. On the Mini it is built into the screen, so a failed backlight means a replacement screen.
Are your screens original Apple parts?
Yes: our LCDs are used original Apple parts, each with a 1-year limited warranty.
Can you do it for me?
Yes. Choose We Fix It on the screen or lens page and mail your iPod in. We fit the part and send it back, typically in 3 to 5 business days, with a 1-year limited warranty.