iFixit - Answers With Device "iPod 4th Generation or Photo"

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: Hard Drive Failure after Battery replacement

Sun, 25 Jun 2017 09:04:30 -0700

Hello Fellow Techncians

I was wondering if you could help me

I have replaced a battery in a ipod 4th gen with Click wheel, as with all repairs, i very carefully opened it up and removed the hard drive and placed it in a safe place, there was no bumps knocks etc

After replacing the battery and powering it up i get the dreaded folder icon with the exclamation mark

i have tried reseating the hard drive multiple times and i have also tried putting it into disk mode. it gets into disk mode but when i plug it into a PC (i am not using a fire wire cable just a standard ipad 2 cable) it resets and i get the sad face icon

im perplexed as the hard drive was fine before now there is no activity

also when the apple logo comes on there is no back light

Please can you help

⟐ Answer accepted 6月 25, 2017 at 9:04 GMT-7

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: Battery won't charge completely

Sat, 20 May 2017 06:55:41 -0700

Just installed a new battery in my 4th Gen ipod. Repair went fine and now it works but it wont charge completely. I've left it plugged in over night to charge and in the morning it's still charging. Battery bar only shows about 75% charged after the overnight charge.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

⟐ Answer accepted 5月 20, 2017 at 6:55 GMT-7

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: Charging icon appears, but won't take charge, has New iFixit battery.

Fri, 27 Jan 2017 13:05:21 -0700

I had a dead iPod 4th gen 40 GB for years, so when I finally replaced the battery the other day with a new one from iFixit, I was very happy to see the device boot up and still show all the data I stored on it in 2007. It powered up and the battery icon showed minimal power (what the new battery shipped with), and I could play songs and navigate the device. I did not wipe and restore with iTunes, though I did hard reset a couple times to make sure everything was OK.

But it won't take any new charge when I plug it in either to a Macbook USB port, or an AC USB wall block. On a Macbook USB port it does nothing at all, like it's not even plugged in. On the AC charger, the "Charging" icon flashes in the upper right of the screen as expected, and when asleep the big charging icon is on the screen, but no actual power is being stored by the battery. When I unplug it, the battery reads empty, and after a night plugged into the wall, while it said charging, the battery is now completely dead.

What gives? Is the battery from iFixit a bad part? Is there something else that would keep the battery from recieving/storing power even when the iPod thinks it is actually charging?

⟐ Commented 1月 27, 2017 at 13:05 GMT-7

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: interface port on iPod

Tue, 13 Dec 2016 09:30:49 -0700

My friend leaves his ipod classic plugged into his stereo in his truck at all times. It has been bumped a few times and the cable no longer makes a good connection all the time. Is there a way to reinforce the port on the logic port so it will not fail?

⟐ Answer accepted 12月 13, 2016 at 9:30 GMT-7

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: It froze while playing and now it won't even turn on.

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 06:35:59 -0700

My 4th generation IPOD froze while it was playing. Now that the battery died it won't charge, turn on, or anything. How can I fix this?

⟐ Answer accepted 11月 29, 2016 at 6:35 GMT-7

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: Dead - what to replace?

Sat, 26 Nov 2016 21:55:19 -0700

My iPod Photo 60GB A1099 Serial # JQ 5142EESAZ has died. It has never been out of the house, and sits on the socket of my hi-fi music player which keeps it charged. Recently the Select button in the centre of the wheel went "hard". It would not move, or click. But the screen operated and the click wheel turned to adjust volume. It played music, starting from the last selected piece, but I could not select other tunes. Now two weeks later, nothing works. No screen, no response to moving the Hold switch or connecting to the computers as iTunes can't recognise it. I've connected it to power for 24 hours, to see if the battery needs charging but no response. I'm quite prepared to try repairs, but need to know first what would need replacing. What components haved failed, according to this description? Appreciate your help.

⟐ Commented 11月 26, 2016 at 21:55 GMT-7

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: Replaced Battery Won't unlock

Mon, 07 Nov 2016 12:07:16 -0700

I replaced the battery with a new one from iFixit. IPod won't turn on unless connected to Macbook Pro and in iTunes where I can see and listen to all music and playlists on the computer, but not on the device.

I am unable to use any functions on the device as the lock indictor remains on regardless of the position of the lock button.

So I can't restart or scroll through the menu or access music on the device.

Possibly the new battery is a dud or something is wrong with the lock/unlock function.

Would love to revive this but don't want to invest too much more cash or time.

Would like to have all the music off the device before trying a restore.

iTunes doesnt appear to provide that as an option. Any 3rd party program work well to grab the tunes an/or playlists?

⟐ Answered 11月 07, 2016 at 12:07 GMT-7

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: 20GB logic board for 40Gb iPod?

Fri, 04 Nov 2016 10:08:30 -0700

Is the logic board HD size related? Just replaced battery after 6 years. Does not show up in iTunes. Overnight charge results in 1/4 charged indication. Suspect I have a bad logic board. 20GB Logic boards are available...how does the board relate to HDD size, or is that a misnomer?

⟐ Answer accepted 11月 04, 2016 at 10:08 GMT-7

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: Do I need to replace hard drive?

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 08:37:18 -0700

Recently placed my iPod on a slightly magnetized metal plate (a cover for a nook that I think was made magnetic due to the magnetic clasp). The iPod played for several minutes and then shut down. The symptoms are ,click wheel does not rotate,turns on when menu spot pressed. Apple logo comes up for several seconds and then the file folder icon comes on and then the iPod shuts down. I tried restore when connected to a MacBook Pro and the device was not recognized on the iTunes menu. I then tried pressing both the menu and center of wheel as recommended but does not help. The iPod did get warm when the problem first occurred. Any advice greatly appreciated.

⟐ Answer accepted 8月 16, 2016 at 8:37 GMT-7

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: Replacing an iPod Classic 4th Gen Screen with a 3rd Gen One?

Sat, 18 Jun 2016 08:28:07 -0700

I have accidentally cut the ribbon cable for my iPod Classic 4th Generation back light.

What are my options?

Can I fit a non-color display into this model of iPod Classic? I am impartial to the display's color.

⟐ Answer accepted 6月 18, 2016 at 8:28 GMT-7

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: It is not recovering, please HELP

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 08:29:01 -0700

I replaced the hard drive with The compact flash drive returned error 1413, then 1439. It then recovered, but when reconnecting to the computer, it returned the error. Now, when connecting, it returns a check mark.But the computer and iTunes It doesn't see it, I use a good adapter and a 64GB flash drive formatted fat32 , Also tried other types of formatting

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: Close iPod after sdxc switch and won't turn on.

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 09:20:56 -0700

Closed ipod after evrthing complete even installing song and listening but upon closing device it shut off and won't turn back on. Battery was charged as well.

⟐ Commented 1月 13, 2025 at 9:20 GMT-7

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: Can't reset iPod or get into Diagnostic Mode

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 16:04:57 -0700

All of the buttons on my clickwheel seem to be working, but I can’t get the iPod to reset by pressing the Menu and Select buttons so I also can’t get into Diagnostic Mode by pressing the Previous and Select buttons. I have tried it a thousand times without success (and many thousands of times on other iPods with total success).

Is there some other way to power down this iPod short of opening it up and unplugging the battery, or waiting for the battery to completely rundown? I wish the Apple firmware provided a shutdown menu command like the one in Rockbox.

Thanks.

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: 1400mah battery in 4th Gen 20/30GB?

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 15:24:25 -0700

Can someone please advise me as to whether or not a 1400mah battery will fit in an iPod Color/Photo 4th Gen with a 20 or 30 GB drive? I'm concerned that the rear cover might not be deep enough to accommodate, and that I should get a 750mah battery instead.

Thanks very much.

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: Can't access iPod's HD from computer

Sat, 25 Sep 2021 15:53:40 -0700

Hi.

I'm trying to fix a problem with a 40GB 4th Gen Clickwheel iPod. (It's actually the rebranded HP version.)

Almost everything seems to work fine except that I can't get the iPod to connect with iTunes or even show up as an external drive when plugged into a computer. I've tried it with multiple Macs, multiple versions of macOS (Catalina and High Sierra), and also with a Dell laptop running Windows 10 and iTunes 12.10.10.2. Every time I try to connect the iPod, its HD goes into an audible clicking loop that repeats about every five seconds.

I tried moving the iPod's HD into two other known-to-be-working 4th Gen Clickwheel iPods and still get the exact same behavior, so that seems to indicate that the problem is with the hard drive and not the dock connector or other hardware component in the iPod.

So why does it play music 100% correctly, and respond correctly in all ways when operating independently of a computer, but not when it's plugged into a computer?

There is one other oddity: the iPod's About window specifies 3041 songs, 37.1 GB capacity, and 37.0 GB available. Clearly those 3041 songs must use more than .1 GB of disk space, and there are also some podcasts on the HD.

If I could just find a way to get access to the contents of the HD, I would copy off the music files and restore them into a new iTunes Library and then install a new drive into the iPod and reload the music. Does anyone have any suggestions for how I might get at the contents of the iPod's current HD?

I already know how to make the hidden files visible if I can just get the HD to mount on a computer. And, no, there is no backup or original iTunes Library from which to restore. I can continue to use the iPod as-is until the HD eventually dies, but I’d like to be able to add more music to it and, more importantly, secure the current music files before the HD fails completely.

Thanks in advance for whatever insights you might be able to offer.

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: After replacing battery, seems like iPod keeps dying

Tue, 03 Aug 2021 07:38:07 -0700

I replaced the battery in my ipod, and after attempting to calibrate the battery as instructed, my ipod was unplugged when the cable was caught. Would this make the battery think that barely charged is full?

Hours later it sometimes works fine, but other times it has the greyscale battery charging screen as though it is dead. During this time it hasn't been touched or unplugged. Should I just leave it charging?

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: Will a 20gb housing hold a 60gb iPod with a iFlash single adapter?

Wed, 09 Jun 2021 21:18:46 -0700

I’m looking to get the U2 back housing in 20gb for a gift but the only iPod 4th gen I have is a 60gb I’m flash modding. Will this housing fit well?

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: Replaced battery and now experiencing strange power issues

Sun, 16 May 2021 10:39:47 -0700

Recently replaced my iPod’s (4th gen grayscale) battery with one purchased in the IFIXIT store. After the install I restored the iPod back to factory setting and was on my way. Replacement battery had some charge out of the box which gave me 3-5 hours of use.

When I went to charge for the first time everything seemed to be fine. I was using an official firewire//30pin wire and the Apple wall charger. It was left to charge and the next morning the display still read “charging”. I took it off the charger and the battery indicator was completely empty but the iPod worked for a few hours. After a full battery discharge I plugged it in for a full charge to see if the battery indicator would calibrate—it did not—so I started tinkering and and noticed a few things:

Firewire connection is recognized by the iPod and will display a charging animation but the battery doesn’t ever seem to get juice—after my initial charge the iPod wont stay on for more than a few minutes.
An Apple official USB 30 pin cable yields the same results as the firewire but ONLY if paired with an apple branded power brick.
Unofficial USB wires and power bricks do not even register as being plugged in—which to my understanding is pretty common with the earlier generations of iPods but I am not sure to what extent this is normal.
My PC recognizes the iPod but does not supply power long enough to restore the device through iTunes.
When I try to enter disk/safe mode (holding the menu and center button) the reset starts—it shuts off and then the Apple logo pops up—but then boots right back into the normal OS

After some digging in these forums it doesn’t seem like a cut and dry hard drive, logic board, or battery issue. Does any one have any experience with this type of problem?

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: Calibrated new battery, now it won't charge

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 08:47:50 -0700

Replaced my iPod Photo battery and everything worked great.

Let it drain overnight, per the calibration instructions and now I can’t get it to charge. I’ve tried different USB chargers and I’ve verified my iPod cable with a different iPod.

Just gives the low battery screen.

Anyone have any thoughts or tricks?

Thanks

iPod 4th Generation or Photo: New battery stopped working 3 weeks after installation?

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 11:55:42 -0700

I need to exchange this battery. It stopped working yesterday after about 3 weeks of use. How do I exchange the battery? Tools worked fine