Possible iPod battery fix.

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
I've been having my pod's battery die after just 2 hours or so, even after getting a full charge, so I went in search of a fix. It looks like <a href="http://discussions.info.apple.com/[email protected]@.3bbe0202"; target="_blank">this thread</a> has a solution. I'm trying it now. I'll post back with results. Wish me luck...
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    ringoringo Posts: 329member
    I seriously doubt that will work. I have a brand new 5 GB iPod and the battery dies after 3 hours. Also, following those instructions may void your warranty.
  • Reply 2 of 23
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    [quote]Originally posted by Ringo:

    <strong>I seriously doubt that will work. I have a brand new 5 GB iPod and the battery dies after 3 hours. Also, following those instructions may void your warranty.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Warranty? heh, that was over a while ago. And like tonton said, it seems to have worked for many people. It was painless enough. I don't think that even if it were under warranty, Apple'd be able to tell that I did it. That's how painless it was. I'm going to test it out today.
  • Reply 3 of 23
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    Well, it seems to have worked! I've been playing my iPod for 7 hours straight without stopping. It still shows 2 bars (this is the first time I've seen my pod get that low... usually it dies with 3 bars left). We'll see if it maintains this level. So far so good.
  • Reply 4 of 23
    I think just the fact of unplugging and reseating the connector does the trick. I did this to my iPod last year (open up, disconnect then reconnect the battery), but the fix isn't permanent. The battery level crept back down to 90 min, which is when I took it in to Apple for a replacement. The new unit worked properly for a month before its battery life began to shrink too... bleagh. It's now at about 5 hrs, just slightly acceptable. If a unit is out of warranty, it's definitely worth it to open it up and do it... pretty harmless.
  • Reply 5 of 23
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    [quote]Originally posted by chromos:

    <strong>I think just the fact of unplugging and reseating the connector does the trick. I did this to my iPod last year (open up, disconnect then reconnect the battery), but the fix isn't permanent. The battery level crept back down to 90 min, which is when I took it in to Apple for a replacement. The new unit worked properly for a month before its battery life began to shrink too... bleagh. It's now at about 5 hrs, just slightly acceptable. If a unit is out of warranty, it's definitely worth it to open it up and do it... pretty harmless.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    It may not be permanent, but if it works for a while at a time, I'll take it. The way it's been, I haven't been able to use my iPod for even short road trips or for working out if it had been unplugged for more than a day. When I get tired of doing it, I'll just take it back to compusa and get a new one. (I've got their protection plan.)
  • Reply 6 of 23
    ringoringo Posts: 329member
    [quote]Originally posted by torifile:

    <strong>

    Warranty? heh, that was over a while ago. [snip] I don't think that even if it were under warranty, Apple'd be able to tell that I did it.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    The warranty would be up for people who bought them right away. People who bought them less than a year ago still have a warranty. It starts when you buy it, not when the product is released. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />



    You make a good point that Apple most likely won't know that you cracked it open, but it is still easy to pull the power connector too hard and break it, not to mention the hundreds of other things that could happen. All I was saying was that people shouldn't attempt this if they don't want their warranty voided.
  • Reply 7 of 23
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    [quote]Originally posted by Ringo:

    <strong>



    The warranty would be up for people who bought them right away. People who bought them less than a year ago still have a warranty. It starts when you buy it, not when the product is released. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />



    You make a good point that Apple most likely won't know that you cracked it open, but it is still easy to pull the power connector too hard and break it, not to mention the hundreds of other things that could happen. All I was saying was that people shouldn't attempt this if they don't want their warranty voided.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    I was just talking about my warranty. It was up in November. Anyway, it worked like a charm and I got almost 10 hours out of it. WAY better than before. If your pod is out of warranty, this is the way to go. And it's not that hard to do.
  • Reply 8 of 23
    how do you pop it open tho?
  • Reply 9 of 23
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    [quote]Originally posted by ThunderPoit:

    <strong>how do you pop it open tho?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    A swiss army knife blade. Gently wedge it into the top between the plastic around the ports and the metal. Run the blade slowly to one edge, hold it open and then run it to the other side. Then pop it open slowly and gently. Once you do that, you can see the battery connector near the upper left corner. Don't do anything hard and it'll be ok.
  • Reply 10 of 23
    There needs to be an iDefribulator (sp?) to fix the iPod.
  • Reply 11 of 23
    dankdank Posts: 31member
    [quote]Originally posted by torifile:

    <strong>



    I was just talking about my warranty. It was up in November. Anyway, it worked like a charm and I got almost 10 hours out of it. WAY better than before. If your pod is out of warranty, this is the way to go. And it's not that hard to do.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Awesome, I have got to try this. My 5gig is no longer under warranty and it suffers from the same battery problems. If it works, that's some nice time and money i've saved.
  • Reply 12 of 23
    dankdank Posts: 31member
    I tried popping it open this morning and followed the procedures. Works like a charm now! Getting the thing open was a little tricky but well worth the effort. My iPod is back to it's good old self.



    And you don't really need to remove the battery, just disconnect it (which can be done with a small screw driver, and stay grounded). Couldn't be easier.
  • Reply 13 of 23
    dankdank Posts: 31member
    I tried popping it open this morning and followed the procedures. Works like a charm now! Getting the thing open was a little tricky but well worth the effort. My iPod is back to it's good old self.



    And you don't really need to remove the battery, just disconnect it (which can be done with a small screw driver, and stay grounded). Couldn't be easier.
  • Reply 14 of 23
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    [quote]Originally posted by tonton:

    <strong>Now... if only there were a way to do this with my PowerBook. My battery only gets 10 minutes now.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Ouch. That sucks. Is it a battery problem or is it a problem with your computer itself? I guess you could always buy a new battery if it's just that. What's with Apple's batteries these days? My Ti's battery was down to about 1 hour before they replaced it...
  • Reply 15 of 23
    fobiefobie Posts: 216member
    Hmm, my 5GB iPod is over a year old now and the battery is getting a bit tired. I'll try this when i get home..
  • Reply 16 of 23
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    [quote]Originally posted by Fobie:

    <strong>Hmm, my 5GB iPod is over a year old now and the battery is getting a bit tired. I'll try this when i get home.. </strong><hr></blockquote>



    I snapped a couple pics of the process (really what you need to do and not the whole process). You can find them <a href="http://homepage.mac.com/torifile/iPod/PhotoAlbum15.html"; target="_blank">here</a>. Sorry for the fuzziness, my camera doesn't take closeups that well.
  • Reply 17 of 23
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    My battery on my original 5 gig is down to 5 hours or less. Oh well I hope a new iPod with recording comes!
  • Reply 18 of 23
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    Well, I can say for sure now that this method works. I've gotten many days use out of this last charge. I charged Friday, used it Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Decided I'd work out yesterday but neglected to charge it.... It still worked. It's like I got a brand new iPod.
  • Reply 19 of 23
    I am gonna try this method again. I did it last weekend and now instead of 4-5 hours battery life, I get about 2...no joke. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" /> Oh well, just hope for the best I guess.
  • Reply 20 of 23
    Just throwing my two cents in. (Mine just died today and I'm devastated.) Though it didn't say so in the instructions, somewhere at the iPod site it said you had to juice it up for 4 hours to get the full charge.
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