iPod Nano 4th Generation Battery Replacement

Be sure to use the smaller iPod opening tool and press it in FIRMLY in order to get enough leverage to get under the bezel and pry it off. Adhesive is very strong, so don't be afraid to use a little bit of force.

Be sure to use a good phillips #00 screwdriver here, or you run the risk of stripping the very small screws.

The screws were covered with the adhesive. They were very difficult to remove.

I RUINED the hold switch! I accidentally broke the cord. 0_o The directions were kind of unclear.

Quote from bodieg:

The screws were covered with the adhesive. They were very difficult to remove.

I RUINED the hold switch! I accidentally broke the cord. 0_o The directions were kind of unclear.

Step 12 is misleading as it does not show to remove the screen from the metal frame.

Sorry guys, but the explanations are really bad. Go onto youtube and watch it. This site misses heaps of steps. I just broke my iPod :(

Like others have noted, screws are covered in adhesive and difficult to remove. Take extreme care to not strip the heads. I'd suggest using a very small flathead to scrape some of the adhesive off before attempting to remove the screws.

a 1mm slotted screwdriver will work in a pinch, but be carefull and make sure you get the angle just right

The tools list doesn't say you need an iPod opener to, nor does the parts list day you'll need a new click wheel, though this is called ”...click wheel REPLACEMENT​”. I don't get the feeling these are very trustworthy instructions, ESPECIALLY after having read other comments. I'd say BEWARE, and look at a variety of resources to get a much more comprehensive picture.

Actually, the screws are not aligned with the edges of the iPod, which means that you must not try to unscrew them vertically. If you do there is a good chance that you damage the head of the screws. Thus look carefully with a torch to see at what angle you have to unscrew them.

Actually, the screws are not aligned with the edges of the iPod. That means that if you try to unscrew them vertically, there is a good chance that you damage the head of the screws. Thus, look carefully with a torch to see exactly at what angle you need to unscrew them safelly.

Everything was good up to this point. I could barely see the screws and ended up stripping them. Just gave up at this point and threw the

Ipod on the ground and stomped on it.

I agree with several other contributors here, that a properly sized flat screwdriver *that is not worn* held at the correct angle is a better option than a phillips because the screw head is filled in with adhesive tape. BEWARE: The screws on the top and bottom outer edges are not parallel to the case. They are offset by 25 or 30 degrees, with the tips of the screws pointing out towards the outer edge of the case with respect to where the heads are. Use something to get magnification so you can really see how your screwdriver fits, and whether it’s engaged. An undamaged and properly sized standard screwdriver held in the appropriate orientation will readily remove the top and bottom side screws without stripping and with very little force. Feel for engagement — press the screwdriver in just enough to get past the adhesive. Not much torque or pressure is required — just a good fit. You must have the right tools to do this job successfully, and look under high magnification. Align your screwdriver!

I found I had to gently pry the retainer open with a craft knife (xacto knife?) as the plastic opener tool was too blunt or soft to get any purchase...

My nano had a "swollen" battery which wedged the LCD between battery and front glass. As a result, this step didn't work, I couldn't pull out the TFT and botched case, TFT and TFT frame until it came out. Telltale sign was a display that looked like there is a water between glass and LCD. The other nanos I've opened didnt have this problem and came out effortlessly, so if yours is stuck, don't feel bad, there's not much you can do!

I have several problems in taking it out. I don't know if it is dued to the glue that the iPod has inside. Could you help me. Thanks

instructions say 5" (inches) it really means 5mm

Quote from pedalsandpicks:

instructions say 5" (inches) it really means 5mm

If you're gonna repair the way you read it will get you nowhere: the text reads .(as point)5 inch. Which is about 12mm.

The glass panel can be very difficult to get moving requiring a lot of downward force. I have found good old fashioned spit to be very useful here.Just lick both thumbs and rub on fingers until just sticky enough.

This willl move the glass.

I found the adhesive (or fit) quite strong. Pushing on the bottom part of the glass created a small gap at the top, which I could fit a craft knife (xacto blade) into. This made it easier to carefully lever the glass out for me.

I slipped and broke the LCD. So !#^&@@ off. What an absolute bastard of a job!

You could do all these steps and really mess up your nano. Instead of disassembling the iPod, carefully remove the remnants of the old glass which I assumed you have cracked. With the new glass in hand CAREFULLY sand one edge of the glass evenly. I used my fine grinder on my dremel tool. After assuring a snug fit I removed the adhesive and installed the glass. Looks great and functional and I didn't ruin my iPod in the process. And when I said sand one edge I mean one of the edges that has a "lip" on it. The other lip you can slide right in and push gently down for a nice fit. Do not remove the adhesive until you are sure of a good fit. This is a quick fix for those who are too queezy to take apart their device.

Be extremely careful while doing anything around the screen. The slightest bit of pressure in the wrong direction and you will be replacing the screen along with the battery. I speak from experience.

Continue to carefully hold the socket down while doing the next step. If the cable come off at the wrong angle it can pull the connector away from the board at the base of the screen.

Some of the ribbon is inside the white housing with the lock on, it needs to slide out of the housing. I didn't notice this because everything is so small - be sure not to slide your pry tool right through it.

The display can actually be pulled out slightly further than it initially seems. When you gently pull it up, you'll experience some resistance, which I initially thought indicated it was as far as it could go. But an extra bit of (still very gentle) force can pull it up a few more millimetres, which means the opening tool can fit.

Also, it seemed to me to actually be helpful to lever the cable out of its port before removing the ribbon from the adhesive on the plate, since this allowed better access to the adhesive with the opening tool.

As commenter Brian Campbell wrote on the previous step, it is important to hold down the white cable socket while carefully working the cable loose from the adhesive. Even a small amount of upward force on the display data cable while it is still inside the socket could be enough to tear the socket off the board. Try not to pry up - use a thin, new (undamaged) opening tool to get under the ribbon cable and keep it parallel and as close to the metal plate as possible. It needs to be worked *under* the data cable, not to pry, as the cable just slides straight out the bottom of the white socket.

By "caught" do you mean glued to the case? Mine was, and I cant tell how I could possibly have removed the screen without it breaking. Luckily my Ipod was already broken, but now its even more broke because of this guide.

Follow this picture exactly, inserting the tool in the dock port to pry off the bottom plastic piece-- if you pry on the edges you may bend or break this plastic piece.

In my case, the screw on the left was impossible to remove, it looked like it was unscrewing but was not ... I could not proceed any further.

Any advice?

If a screw is stripped, you need to somehow get another under the head to apply pressure to unscrew it (while unscrewing it). It’s an unpleasant operation where you have to apply pressure to keep the screwdriver pressed into the head while prying outward so the threads back out. Try not to strip the head, and try not to strip the threads, while helping the threads to catch.

If this happens, you’ll need to replace the screw. It’s not a good idea to reinstall a stripped screw.

I found using the opening tool to wedge up (toward the case) from between the metal bit (which is a plate) and the dock socket was the easiest way to do this.

No, don’t do step 17 without reading step 18 and 19 first! Step 17 is very misleading read on its own, you will break the connector. You need to read setps 17, 18 and 19 before starting step 17.

Pay heed to the word “peel”. Don’t pry. Work the tool slowly under the connector, keeping it as close to the board as possible. Don’t pry. The unit I repaired also had a small piece of Kapton tape, the corner of which can be lifted with tweezers.

you might want to put a note for the delicacy of this cable on Step 16... because the cable can break as you slide the logic board assembly out :o(

You forgot to mention that the click wheel ribbon cable needs to be detached from the adhesive holding it to the main board. Now my ipod is really broken. Please review your instructions to include all the steps!

Mike kullanıcısından alıntı:

You forgot to mention that the click wheel ribbon cable needs to be detached from the adhesive holding it to the main board. Now my iPod is really broken. Please review your instructions to include all the steps!

Mine too, but the iPod was already toast :D, so now i have a stylish 8GB External SSD

There has got to be a trick to it, or something I am missing when putting it back together. I can't get the click wheel ribbon to go back in properly. It keeps getting bunched up and sticking out the end. It is long enough to stick out so you can detach it from the other ribbon, so is it supposed to fold up inside when you push it in?

Does anyone know of a source of mainboards for this Nano. Preferably in the European Community or China? Every other part seems to be available but this one.

I've even found dud mainboards for sale on the U.S. Ebay site. What on earth would anyone do with a faulty Maiboard?

TOOLS: I've ben reading a few commments regarding difficulty wth the screws. I was also told the Phillips screwdriver isn't a true Phillips but has an offset leg. Not having seen one I can't comment with any certainty.

However,being an improvisor,I've been doing very well with a couple of watchmakers screwdrivers.The flat blades are about 1mm across and made of hard blued steel. The sharp corners dig into the screw and push any glue out of the way. A phillips won't push though glue. I used to buy these in a small plastic box - usuallly on street markets.

Well... beware, this part is tricky ! the click-wheel ribbon stuck and get cut when pulling the battery+motherboard out. Too bad :(

Anyway it was "last chance" for my 7-years old blue nano, battery wasn't providing more than 15 minutes autonomy.

Too bad, it was my fist iPod and I liked it much than my new 7th gen'.

Your photos are showing the wrong cable being removed from the zip lock connector and freed, you are not showing that the cable coming from the click wheel is disconnected and freed. Your photo is showing that the cable from the logic board is disconnected and freed. This means that when the logic board is removed, the cable to the click wheel breaks. Your text and warnings are correct, but your photos are misleading. Very bad compared to the rest of the instructions in steps 1 - 16, which are excellent and better than anything else I found. A shame to spoil it with this step. It is not sufficient to warn in the text that “both ends of the cable need to be freed”, you have to add a photo showing the click wheel cable has been disconnected and freed (and what do you mean by both ends of the cable need to be freed - there are TWO cables, one to the logic board, one to the click wheel and you are showing the wrong cable to the logic board as being freed.

My click wheel cable got sliced reinserting the logic board, so make sure your click wheel cable is on the front (like the instructions say), and not on the side. It would help if there were explicit reassembly instructions and not just "do these in the reverse order", so that special reassembly notes stand out more.

Instead of pulling it out, I found it easier to use the display hole to push on the top part of the battery straight down toward the bottom of the unit. This gives you far greater control of the battery/mainboard removal operation; you can push it out (down) in tiny increments and confirm no cables are caught as you do it. Pulling can cause a sudden, catastrophic release and if something is caught, it’s destroyed.

i would suggest instead of using a spudger to push up the battery solding points, instead hold onto the battery and use a slight amount of pressure to pull each point off as you heat them with the soldering gun.

iTronics Repair kullanıcısından alıntı:

i would suggest instead of using a spudger to push up the battery solding points, instead hold onto the battery and use a slight amount of pressure to pull each point off as you heat them with the soldering gun.

I did it this way and lifted the center trace off the board. Now the logic board will need to be replaced.

THIS WAY COULD BE BETTER!

In the course of soldering on the new battery, I bridged a couple of the tiny pads. In my attempt to fix, I delaminated the tiny pads from the new battery's lead. So I reattached the old battery's circuit and leads, and then soldered the new battery (cut from its board) to the old battery circuit.

To do this, simply remove the tape from the end of the battery, unfold the leads, and unsolder the two pads that connect the battery to its board. Do the same with the new battery, and then solder the two leads from the new battery to the old board.

I believe this is an easier way of fixing (assuming the battery is dead, and the circuit attached to the battery is fine, as mine was. My wife dropped the ipod in water).

When desoldering, you should REALLY be using braid instead of just "pulling up". That makes it 100x easier.

I used scissors to very quickly cut the ribbon cable off close to the battery so it’s not in the way. Work under a microscope if you have one — I taped the logic board down with black electrical tape so it stays centered in the field and is easier to work with. Note that there is adhesive on this cable (at the top in the above photo) which should be carefully pried loose before desoldering. I used tweezers to grip the ribbon cable, one terminal at a time while heating with the soldering tip. Without the battery hanging there, you have a good feel for how much pressure is being applied. It was very clear when it was melted loose (comes off with no resistance and no prying, which leaves the pads intact) because there’s no heavy battery hanging on in the way nor adhesive working against you. This also avoids the possibility of shorts electrically damaging the logic board.

I forgot to add, my soldering station was set to 590 degrees Fahrenheit, for both desoldering and resoldering the new battery. I taped down the new battery cable with a very small triangle of tape prior to soldering — align it; tape it in place, put a little solder on your tip and just touch. It melts right through the hole, and bonds. Then remove the tape and solder the other two terminals (then I also remelted the first one). I would not want to do this job without a 1X-3X microscope! Always let the board cool completely between terminals as the guide suggests. There is a reason surface mount work is almost exclusively done by machines or with hot air and skilled technicians.

Don’t apply any upward force to a SMT pad, ever! If it doesn’t release on 1st attempt, don’t continue heating. Let it cool and try again in 10 minutes. Most components and pads are rated for only 5 seconds of melt temp. (and very little force). Cut off the dead battery and detach adhesive so you can feel what you’re doing.

Me too lifted the center pad off the board :( :( :(

Can the center pad of the battery be wired to a point wich is connected to center pad?

I mean, does anybody know where to wire center battery pad when logic board's center pad is lifted?