Repair guide · iPod Video 5th Gen
iPod Video 5th Gen headphone jack and Hold switch replacement
On the iPod Video 5th Gen, the headphone jack and the Hold switch are one flex assembly screwed inside the metal back, so a broken Hold switch is fixed with the same replacement part as a worn jack. This guide covers the 2005 model and the Late 2006 5.5 Gen, all model A1136, in both case depths. To fix an iPod Video headphone jack you open the case, unplug two ribbons, lift the battery off the back and take out a few small screws. First make sure the jack is really the problem: if a speaker dock on the bottom port is silent too, the fault is on the logic board instead. Order the assembly for your case depth, because the thin and thick ones don't swap.
Which assembly fits: thin or thick?
Case depth decides, not the engraving on the back: the thick case is about 3 mm deeper. A 2005 and a Late 2006 iPod of the same depth take the same assembly. A jack from an iPod Classic 6th/7th Gen gives sound and Hold in an iPod Video but loses TV out through the headphone jack, so order the Video assembly. Some replacement assemblies arrive with the white plastic Hold slider already fitted and some don't: check yours before you throw the old one away. The later Classic's thin jack can carry the same printed numbers, so order the Video assembly by its page, not by the number alone. Not sure which you have? Identify your iPod
Before you start
- Check for a swollen batteryYou will lift the battery out in this repair. Dark marks on the screen, a screen that lifts or bows, or a bulging case usually mean it is swelling (a seam that opens on its own is more often bent clips). If so, unplug it, stop charging it and never press, bend or pierce it, and fit a new battery in step 10 instead of putting this one back (our battery guide shows the battery steps). 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 jackPlay a song through a speaker dock or a line-out cable on the bottom port. Sound there but not in the headphones points to the jack or its ribbon. Silence from both points to the audio IC chip on the logic board, which a replacement jack won't fix; so does sound that comes back for a moment while you press the case at its lower-right corner, just below and to the right of the click wheel. Try a second pair of headphones too, and move the plug gently while it plays: crackles or cut-outs mean a worn jack.
- 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 keep the replacement part in its bag until you fit it. 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 and for peeling tape. With metal tips, keep clear of the battery ribbon's contacts.
- Plastic spudgerLifts the battery off the back. Never pry the battery with metal.
- Phillips #00 screwdriverFor the small screws that hold the assembly in the back.
- Small dish for screwsThey differ in color and size: keep each one with its hole.
- Anti-static wrist strap or matProtects the logic board while the case is open.
- Soft clothThe polished back scratches easily.
- Headphones and a speaker dock or line-out cableFor the checks before and after.
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: 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: Unplug the headphone jack ribbon
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 connector for the headphone jack ribbon: flip its brown tab up (it swings about 90 degrees) and slide the ribbon out. Lower the drive back into place and lay the back polished side down, inside facing up.
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Step 4: Lift the battery off the back
The thin orange Hold ribbon runs under the battery. Hold the back flat, slide the plastic spudger under the battery at its top edge and lift slowly until the adhesive gives. Lift from that edge only: peeling it from the side tears the ribbon. Set the battery on the cloth, nothing resting on it. If it is swelling, lift it in a well-ventilated room, never pressing on it.
Nothing metal under the battery, and don't bend it. 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.
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Step 5: Free the old assembly's ribbons
Peel up the tape that holds the orange ribbons to the inside of the back. The flex is lightly glued as well: ease it up a little at a time, because these ribbons tear easily.
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Step 6: Take out the screws
Remove the small Phillips screws holding the assembly in the back: usually four, two beside the headphone jack and two at the Hold switch, some black and one silver. Put each in the dish in the order it came out; they aren't all alike.
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Step 7: Lift out the old assembly
Lift the Hold switch out of its housing first, then slide the jack out of its opening, and lift the whole assembly free.
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Step 8: Move the Hold slider if you need to
If the replacement assembly has no white plastic slider on its Hold switch, take the old one across. Remove the tiny screw nearest the Hold switch on the old assembly (it may be glued), lift the slider off and fit it to the replacement switch, its notch over the switch's own slider, then refit the tiny screw so the slider can't work loose.
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Step 9: Fit the replacement assembly
Slide the jack into its opening, set the Hold switch into its housing with the two small posts on its back seated in the matching holes of the metal backing, and put each screw back in the hole it came from: snug, not tight, because the small posts strip easily. Lay the ribbons flat along the same path as the old ones and press the tape back over them.
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Step 10: Put the battery back
Look the old battery over first: if it is bent, dented, punctured, creased or puffy, don't put it back; fit a new battery (our battery guide shows how) and recycle the old one. Otherwise set it back in its old place on the back, its ribbon routed the same way as before, and press it down by its edges, checking it doesn't trap or kink the replacement assembly's ribbons.
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Step 11: 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 (support it), slide the replacement assembly's ribbon fully into its connector and press the brown tab down. Lay the drive flat, bumpers on. Then, 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 12: Test it before you close it
Rest the back loosely on the front, connect the charger, hold the two together and turn it face up. Slide Hold both ways: locked, the buttons should do nothing; unlocked, they should all respond. Play a song in the headphones while you move the plug gently, check both ears, then check the dock or line-out as well. Check the screen and the scroll ring, 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 13: Close it up
Check the drive lies flat and no ribbon crosses the seam, then press the back on until every clip clicks in.
If it only closes when you squeeze hard, stop: a ribbon caught at the edge or a screw head sitting proud is in the way.
Close it up and test
- Hold works both waysLocked, the buttons do nothing; unlocked, everything responds.
- Sound in both earsClean sound with no crackle when you move the plug, and sound from the dock too.
- Everything else worksScreen, scroll ring and buttons, charging, and it runs with the charger unplugged.
- The seam is evenNo gap along the sides and no front lifting at a corner.
- Recycle a replaced batteryIf you fitted a new battery, deal with the old one safely. Tape over its contacts or seal it in a bag, and take it to a battery drop-off or hazardous-waste collection; never put it in household trash or the curbside recycling bin. Until then, keep a swollen or damaged one on a non-flammable surface (or in the sand container), away from anything that can burn.
If it doesn't work afterwards
- Still no sound
- Test the dock or line-out again. If it is silent there too, the audio IC chip on the logic board is the likely fault, not the jack; we fix that with a replacement logic board. iPod no sound
- Sound in one ear only
- Try another pair of headphones first. If one ear is still missing right after the replacement jack went in, the replacement jack is most likely faulty. Only plays in one ear
- It stays on Hold
- Switch it off, unplug any charger, open it and release the battery ribbon, then reseat the headphone jack ribbon with its tab pressed down, and check the plastic slider is fitted with its tiny screw. Battery ribbon back in last. If the switch and the ribbon are both fine and it still stays on Hold, the logic board may be damaged where that ribbon plugs in. Hold switch not working
- 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
- Crackles or static
- Try another pair of headphones. If the crackle follows the plug with any headphones, reseat the headphone jack ribbon (switch it off, unplug the charger and release the battery ribbon first; battery ribbon back in last). If it persists, the replacement jack may be faulty. Static noise
- 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
Is the Hold switch part of the headphone jack?
Yes. On the iPod Video 5th Gen they are one flex assembly, so a stuck or broken Hold switch is fixed by replacing the whole assembly.
Can I use an iPod Classic headphone jack?
We don't recommend it. A 6th/7th Gen jack gives sound and Hold in an iPod Video, but you lose TV out through the headphone jack. Order the Video assembly for your case depth.
How do I fix an iPod Video headphone jack that crackles?
Try other headphones and a speaker dock first. If the sound cuts out or crackles as the plug moves, with any headphones, the jack is worn and a replacement assembly fixes it. A worn jack can also pause songs on its own, because these iPods pause when the plug loses contact.
Will a replacement jack fix no sound at all?
Only if the dock or line-out still plays. No sound from either points to the audio IC chip on the logic board.
Can you do it for me?
Yes. Choose We Fix It on the part'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.