Repair guide · iPod Video 5th Gen
iPod Video 5th Gen front panel replacement
On the iPod Video 5th Gen the front panel, or faceplate, is the plastic front, clear screen window included, so a cracked or deeply scratched window over a good picture is fixed with a new front. Every front fits every iPod Video, 2005 or Late 2006 (the 5.5 Gen), 30GB, 60GB or 80GB: only the color differs. The swap lifts the whole metal frame, with the logic board, screen and click wheel on it, out of the old front and into the new one in one piece; the center button has to be moved across separately. If the metal frame itself is damaged, step 7 shows where that deeper job starts: it is the same teardown as a logic board swap, and a Difficult one.
Which front panel?
Case depth and capacity don't matter for the front: only the color does. It must be an iPod Video front, though: fronts and frames from an iPod Classic 6th/7th Gen don't swap with these. A new front comes without the center button, so move yours across or order one. Replacing the metal frame instead? It fits every iPod Video; see step 7. Not sure which you have? Identify your iPod
Before you start
- Check for a swollen batteryDark marks on the screen, a screen that lifts or bows, or a bulging case usually mean the battery is swelling (a seam that opens on its own is more often bent clips). If so, unplug it, stop charging it and replace the battery first (our battery guide shows how, and how to recycle the old one). Never press, bend or pierce it. If the iPod is very hot or smells, don't open it: unplug it, put it on a non-flammable surface away from anything that can burn, keep dry sand close, let it cool and contact us.
- Make sure it's the frontA front that lifts at the seam is usually not the faceplate: it is often bent clips inside the back, and sometimes a swelling battery pushing the screen forward. Light scuffs on the window can often be polished out. A cracked window with a good picture underneath is a front panel job; a cracked, lined or blank picture points to the screen or its connection (see our screen guide).
- Run the battery downIf there's no sign of swelling, play the iPod until the battery icon is nearly empty (these iPods show no percentage). A cell with little charge left is less dangerous if a tool slips.
- Bench and staticA hard, non-flammable surface with the cloth or anti-static mat, and dry sand within reach. Wear the wrist strap or touch bare metal first, and work where a small button can't roll away. 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 and air it out; stay away for 30 minutes. If it's still burning or you can't smother it, call the fire service.
Tools
- Plastic opening tools (two or three)One comes with the part. A second keeps the seam open as you work.
- Thin plastic picksFor releasing the clips along the seam.
- Angled tweezers or a small plastic toolFor the ribbon latches. With metal tips, keep clear of the battery ribbon's contacts.
- Phillips #00 screwdriverFor the six screws that hold the metal frame in the front.
- Small dish for screwsSo none of the six goes missing.
- Anti-static wrist strap or matThe logic board is exposed throughout.
- Soft clothLay the new front face down on it so the window stays unmarked.
Step by step
New to opening this iPod? How to open an iPod Video 5th Gen (12 steps)
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Step 1: Open the case
Unplug any cable, then switch the iPod off and slide Hold to locked. Free the clips with plastic tools: both long sides, then the top (shallow beside the Hold switch, where the screen sits close), then the bottom. Raise the back only about an inch, since two ribbons still join the halves. Our guide to opening the iPod Video covers this in detail.
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Step 2: Unplug the battery
Find the battery's orange ribbon where it plugs into the logic board toward the bottom end. Raise its small brown latch straight up by 1 to 2 mm, evenly at both ends, and slide the ribbon out.
Never push that latch sideways or pull it off: the connector can lift off the board, and our fix for that is a replacement logic board.
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Step 3: Separate the back
Lift the hard drive by its edges and tip it back toward the bottom end, supporting it so it never hangs by its ribbon. Under it is the headphone jack ribbon's connector: flip its brown tab up (it swings about 90 degrees) and slide the ribbon out. Set the back aside, polished side down.
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Step 4: Take the drive off
Flip up the black hinge on the connector at the end of the drive, keep a fingertip on the ribbon and slide the drive away from it. The ribbon stays plugged into the logic board. Note which way up the drive sat and put it somewhere safe.
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Step 5: Remove the six frame screws
Three small black Phillips screws run along each long side of the metal frame, holding it to the front panel. Take out all six and put them in the dish.
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Step 6: Lift the frame out of the old front
A mild adhesive near the middle also holds the frame, so work around the edge, easing it free a little at a time rather than pulling from one spot. Lift the frame, with the logic board, screen and click wheel on it, out of the front, and keep it level: with the front off, the screen comes out of the frame easily. The center button is now loose in the old front: pick it out and keep it safe.
The frame is thin in places and cracks if forced. If it won't lift, look for a screw you missed.
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Step 7: Replacing the metal frame?
Only if the frame itself is bent or cracked; if you're only changing the front, skip to step 8. Moving everything to a replacement frame is a Difficult job, because the logic board comes off the frame. Follow steps 7 to 10 of our logic board guide to take the screen out and free the board (the click wheel stays on it), then steps 14 and 15 to fit the board and the screen onto the replacement frame, and come back here at step 8.
Along the way: peel the tape off the thin silver ground strap slowly, because the strap is very fragile; peel up only the click wheel's thin orange ground tab, never its wide ribbon, and stick it back exactly where it was; and push the board off evenly at several points. Rather not? Choose We Fix It on the frame's page.
Never push the board hard in one spot: it bends. The frame itself is thin in places and cracks if forced.
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Step 8: Get the front ready
Lay the front (the new one, or your old one after a frame swap) face down on the cloth and check the inside of the window is clean. Set the center button into its place in the front, lined up with its grooves.
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Step 9: Fit the frame into the new front
Check the screen is seated in the frame. Tilt the frame in so the click wheel's four tabs drop into their grooves in the front and the wheel settles around the center button, then lay it flat. The wheel should sit snug, not loose or raised. If it sits raised or the buttons feel spongy, check the four tabs are in their grooves; don't force it, and contact us if it still won't sit flush.
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Step 10: Refit the six screws
Put the six screws back along the sides, snug but not tight: the small posts strip if a screw is forced.
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Step 11: Refit the drive
Slide the drive back onto its ribbon the same way up as before, press the black hinge down, and lay the drive in its place with its bumpers on. Support it while you work; never let it hang by its ribbon.
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Step 12: Reconnect both ribbons
Bring the back alongside the front, the way it lay beside the front after you separated them, so the headphone jack ribbon reaches its connector. Tip the drive back, slide that ribbon fully in and press the brown tab down, then lay the drive flat. With its latch raised, push the battery ribbon fully in (only a thin line of contacts showing) and press the latch down.
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Step 13: Test it before you close it
Rest the back loosely on the front, hold the two together and turn it face up. Slide Hold off and connect a charger. The screen should be lit evenly and sit straight in the window, the center button should click and spring back, and the scroll ring and each of the five buttons should respond. Slide Hold on and off, and play a song through headphones. Then unplug the charger: it should keep running on its battery. If anything is wrong, switch it off, unplug the charger and release the battery ribbon before you reseat a ribbon; the battery ribbon goes back in last.
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Step 14: Close it up
Check that no ribbon is trapped over a screw post or at the seam, then press the back on until every clip clicks in.
If it only closes when you squeeze hard, stop: a ribbon or a part out of place is in the way.
Close it up and test
- The wheel sits flushNot raised or loose, and the buttons feel firm, not spongy.
- The center button springs backIt clicks cleanly and sits level with the wheel.
- The screen looks rightEvenly lit, straight in the window, with no dust trapped behind it.
- The seam is evenNo gap along the sides and no front lifting at a corner.
If it doesn't work afterwards
- The wheel or buttons don't respond
- Reset it first. If that doesn't help, switch it off, unplug the charger, open it and release the battery ribbon, then take the frame out of the front (steps 3 to 6). Check that the wheel's four tabs sit in their grooves and its thin ground tab is stuck to the frame; the wheel ribbon itself is reached only with the logic board off the frame (see our click wheel guide). Battery ribbon back in last. Click wheel not working
- The center button sinks or won't click
- The small rubber dome under it has most likely slid off its spot on the board. Switch it off, unplug the charger, open it and release the battery ribbon, then take the frame out of the front (steps 3 to 6), put the dome back in place and seat the button in its grooves. Can't reach it? See step 7 of our click wheel guide. Battery ribbon back in last. Center button not working
- The screen is dark, white or lined
- The screen's ribbon may have been pulled half out of its connector. Switch it off, unplug the charger, open it and release the battery ribbon, then take the drive off (step 4) to reach the screen's ribbon (see step 5 of our screen guide) and check it is fully in with its black tab down. Battery ribbon back in last. iPod white screen
- It won't turn on
- Check Hold is off and give it time on a charger. Then unplug the charger, open it and check the battery ribbon: fully in, latch down. Not working after a repair
- It gets very hot or smells
- Unplug it and don't open it again. Leave it shut on a non-flammable surface away from anything that can burn, and contact us. If it starts to smoke, spark, hiss or puff up, use the sand as in the bench setup above. After a repair, a pinched ribbon or a part pressing on the board can cause it.
Questions
My iPod is listed as a Classic 5th generation. Is this the right front?
Yes, if the back reads A1136. Apple's Classic name began with the 6th Gen in 2007; the 5th Gen is the iPod Video, and every iPod Video front fits it.
Does the new front include the center button?
No. Move the one from your old front across, or order a new one in black, in white or in a custom color.
Will a black front fit my white iPod?
Yes. Every iPod Video front fits every iPod Video; the color only changes the look.
Is the clear window part of the screen?
No, it's part of the front panel. If the picture under a scratched or cracked window is fine, a new front is all you need.
Can you do it for me?
Yes. Choose We Fix It on the front's page and mail your iPod in. We fit it and send it back, typically within 3 to 5 business days on our bench, with a 1-year limited warranty.