iFixit - Answers With Device "iPod 3rd Generation"

iPod 3rd Generation: I replaced battery, but will not charge. Battery with exclamation sign

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 02:31:07 -0700

I resurrected my long-dead 3rd Generation 40GB ipod by installing a new battery. It worked for a few minutes and then died. I presumed the battery had a little charge in it and then ran out. When I went to charge it again, I got the battery with exclamation point symbol. It will not charge. I am not sure what to make of this. Perhaps the charging port isn't working, but then again when I plug in a charger, it reacts by displayed the sign (so it is registering the cord). Is it worth trying to replace the port? I am using the only power cord I have - an iPhone 4S cord. It is 30 point I believe, which I think is the right one. Any help would be much appreciated before I try to buy another one on ebay to cannibalize the charging port/dock!

⟐ Answered 8月 11, 2026 at 2:31 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: I changed the batterie but it doesn't charge,

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 02:22:10 -0700

I changed the battery but it only display the battery with a interrogation sing

⟐ Answered 8月 11, 2026 at 2:22 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: Cannot get cover open and damaged large too in the process

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 02:13:05 -0700

I tried to open the case on my iPod G3 to replace the battery. I could not get the case open and damaged the large tool in the process. (The sharp edge is completely ruined!) The small tool appears to be useful but is also showing signs of wear. Is there another tool that could be used or could I get a replacement. I know the instructions said it would be difficult, but it was more difficult than I expected.

Billy Blanchard

Thousand Oaks, Ca.

⟐ Answered 8月 11, 2026 at 2:13 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: Why won't the iPod turn on?

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 02:03:27 -0700

Hello All Hopeful Helpers,

My 3rd gen. iPod 10 GB with the 4 buttons above with touch wheel won't start up at all. I've tried to hit the play button then the center wheel button alternately but it just won't turn on. (The Hold switch is not on.)

Can anyone help? I miss my music!

⟐ Commented 8月 11, 2026 at 2:03 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: Is there a Hack for Charging from USB instead of Firewire?

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:14:49 -0700

Is there a way that the charging components inside a 3rd-gen iPod can be changed from Firewire to USB ?

With so many USB car chargers available that make it easy to carry USB-charge-able devices, carrying a 3rd-gen iPod that solely charges via Firewire is truly a pain in the neck.

I have 2 car charge ports in our vehicle, one is usually occupied by the GPS, the other one rotates between when my wife wants to charge her iPhone with the 2-port USB charger, and when I want to charge the iPod 3rd-gen with the Firewire charger. Even though the iPod 3rd-gen charges solely through Firewire, it would be much more convenient if both devices could both share the USB charger with 2 ports.

I found a hack on the Instructables site that someone posted to modify a USB charger to charge a 3rd-gen iPad Nano, (http://www.instructables.com/id/Modify-a...), though I suspect it would work the same way for a regular 3rd-gen iPod. This however, doesn't completely solve my question, it only keeps a dedicated charger for the iPod and doesn't make it flexible enough to use a "regular" USB car charger that might have 2 ports.

Everyone I've spoken to doesn't have any suggestions since it requires a Firewire charge, so they suggest ditching a perfectly good working 40GB iPod for something newer. I refuse to give up a functioning device I paid close to $400 many years ago. What can I do to make this device work with a USB charger ?

⟐ Answer edited 8月 11, 2026 at 6:14 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: New Battery will not charge

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 04:48:22 -0700

Changed battery and iPod started normally with low charge, everything works. Went to charge it and noted that hard drive starts up when cable plugged in, also keys do not work. Unplug cable and drive stops and keys work. Tried two different cables and same result. Now battery is dead so I get an Apple icon and then display goes dead.

⟐ Answered 3月 19, 2026 at 4:48 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: Battery for iPod 3rd gen vs battery for 4th gen

Sat, 18 Oct 2025 11:00:27 -0700

Can I fit a an iPod Classic 4th gen battery into a iPod classic 3rd gen? I do have a few brand new 4th gen batteries laying around, 1200mha. I believe the 3rd gen has a 860 mha, but not sure if the connector is the same. Thank you!

⟐ Answered 10月 18, 2025 at 11:00 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: iPod 3 gen does not charge fully.

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 21:44:36 -0700

I have a chinese charger that i use to charge my Ipod.

The charging icon at a certain point shows that the battery is fully charged. but when I pull out the cable, the battery icon shows not fully charged. So, what's the problem?

⟐ Commented 2月 06, 2025 at 21:44 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: FW Fail Message in Overheating iPod

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 17:19:55 -0700

My iPod 3rd gen doesn't start, it shows the Apple logo then it disappears and the HDD keeps spinning. I got it into diagnostics mode, ran all the tests and the Firewire ID showed the "FW FAIL" and in another test I also got the "1394 FAIL" which I think is also firewire related.

I believe this might be a problem related to a component inside the logic board or the power management IC. I would like to know how I could test the components to check for a short or if anyone has experience with this type of failure could point the components that handle battery and firewire power in the logic board.

⟐ Answered 2月 19, 2024 at 17:19 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: iPod clicks once when plugged in, nothing on screen.

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 17:11:28 -0700

Hi all, just replaced the battery in my old 3rd gen. Right after replacement, it was showing the charge battery symbol, so I plugged it into the FireWire charger, it made one click sound and turned off. Now it won’t turn on at all, screen shows nothing, does the one time click whenever plugged in again, and can hear the hard drive spinning.

⟐ Answered 2月 19, 2024 at 17:11 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: iPod 3rd Generation won't turn on and question on charging

Sat, 17 Feb 2024 02:29:35 -0700

I have a old 3rd gen iPod. The battery is most likely dead and it won't turn on even if I have it plugged in via USB cable. Is it still worth trying to replace the battery?

⟐ Answered 2月 17, 2024 at 2:29 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: Upgrade Hard Drive?

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 17:28:57 -0700

My battery is pretty much dead so I'm most likely going to crack her open soon. In the past I tried to drop a 40 GB hard drive in there, but I couldn't get the iPod to recognize it. I might be willing to try it again. Anyone have any success with this?

Also, I might not. There is a line in the display and every once in a while it just freaks out and instead of playing songs, it just skips to the next one. So it might be time for an upgrade. But I think this is the coolest looking iPod case design so I'd prefer to keep it.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for the answers everyone. What happened last time was that I put a 40GB in it and when I tried to boot it to anything the drive just kept ticking like it was resetting.

If money drops from the sky and I can afford the HD and battery I'll try it again. And Kyle, I will buy from iFixit!

⟐ Answer accepted 7月 20, 2023 at 17:28 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: My iPod is stuck on "Do not disconnect"

Sun, 14 May 2023 10:24:48 -0700

It is stuck on "Do not disconnect"

⟐ Answer edited 5月 14, 2023 at 10:24 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: My iPod won't start up, just displays apple symbol. Fixable?

Sun, 19 Mar 2023 13:56:38 -0700

Hi there,

My ipod has a problem where it will turn on, but does not boot up past the apple "loading" screen. It retains this display and makes a noise as though it is processing until the battery dies. When connected to the computer with USB, the computer does not recognise the device.

I took it to an apple repair centre and they thought it might be a problem with the dock, but that didn't sound right to me. But they wanted 85 euros just to take a look at it.

Any ideas?

Cheers,

Heather

⟐ Commented 3月 19, 2023 at 13:56 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: Does anyone know the name of this transistor in iPod classic 3?

Sun, 02 Oct 2022 18:03:11 -0700

This transistor is located at the bottom of the logic board of iPod model A1040 and it has burst. Does anyone know what its full name is and what alternative I can find for it?

⟐ Answered 10月 02, 2022 at 18:03 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: getting a weird logo on my iPod

Fri, 20 May 2022 13:07:18 -0700

i gt a new battery for my iPod 3rd gen it started to charge a bit on USB but then a strange logo came up

on the screen can someone help me I would love to get this iPod working again

⟐ Answered 5月 20, 2022 at 13:07 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: The screen is white.

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 11:21:08 -0700

When I turn on the backlight, the screen only shows white. I can hear the touch wheel clicking as I use it, and the function buttons still light up

⟐ Answer accepted 10月 20, 2021 at 11:21 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: 4th generation drive in a 3rd gen?

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 18:05:40 -0700

Gen? I put a 20 gb hard drive from a fourth gen monochrome ipod in a 3rd gen ipod?

⟐ Answered 8月 24, 2021 at 18:05 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: Replacement battery is too large?

Thu, 20 May 2021 11:28:43 -0700

Hi everyone, I just bought the 3rd gen battery replacement kit, and the battery seems to be way too long. It won’t fit into the original space unless it is resting on top of the motherboard. Is this normal, because if so, this doesn’t seem safe.

Thanks!

⟐ Answered 5月 20, 2021 at 11:28 GMT-7

iPod 3rd Generation: Replaced battery but iPod still doesn't charge

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 04:23:20 -0700

I recently replaced the battery in my 3rd Generation iPod (A1040 20GB). It briefly powered up, worked and played music but the battery was low on charge and it quickly died. However, when I connected it to a wall charger it wouldn't charge. I have the same result when I connect it USB to a computer. I've tried several different kinds of wall chargers with the same results. When I plug it in it will briefly flash the Apple logo then go to a battery icon with a triangle with an exclamation point in it. I appreciate any help.

Thanks.

⟐ Commented 3月 15, 2021 at 4:23 GMT-7