My Problem

hyeadphone jack nackered

My Fix

successfully - opening the pod was the hardest and most time consuming part, and i bent the casing a little but once i got it open the fix was a breeze!

My Advice

DO NOT STRESS! this repair will go successfully, just don't get overwhelmed by the amount of steps to work through and how fiddly it all seems. i bought all the tools from the site and they were all used and worked well. opening the pod is the hardest part, just don't get annoyed with it, be slow and calm and all will go well :)

My Problem

Headphone jack on my sons 80gb iPod only worked in one ear. This isn't the first iPod that's done this to us,but it is the first one I tried to fix.

My Fix

The repair went just like it was shown in the slideshow. No confusion during any of the steps. The whole process took less than an hour. I will definitly use this site again.

My Advice

Buy lots of plastic opening tools. I broke the four I purchased and used the metal spudger for most of the repair.

My Problem

My boys are musicians. They rely heavily on their iPods for entertainment and research. When the headphone jack began to fail on one of the units, borrowing one of the other iPods became a frequent occurrence. When the second units jack lost the left channel only one working iPod remained. You can imagine the frustration that ensued!

A fourth iPod was purchased to help alleviate the demand, but it left us with 2 unusable iPods: a 30BG 5th generation iPod Video and a 120GB iPod classic (thin).

I found the ifixit site online and ordered replacement jack and hold switches along with spudgers, opening tools and a putty knife. Everything arrived within about a week.

My Fix

This was my first experience trying to repair an iPod. I started with the 30GB iPod Video because it looked like it would be the easiest to open.

The tools and the guides really made opening the device simple. I was surprised. I've made it through step 11, removing the tape holding the ribbon cables to the inside of the case. I've been stymied by the screws holding the switch in place. I didn't purchase the screw driver because I thought the small metal screwdriver set I already have would do. It doesn't. The screws in the iPod require an extremely small Phillips screwdriver. I've been unsuccessful in finding a sufficiently small screwdriver to get the job done.

My Advice

I wish I had ordered the screwdriver with the other tools and parts. The cost is small, but ordering the screwdriver now will nearly double it's price because of shipping costs.

It would have been helpful if the guide had mentioned that the screws required a very fine screwdriver. It might have prompted me to purchase that tool, too.

My Problem

The headphone jack on my IPod refused all efforts to Rube Goldberg it back to life.

My Fix

The repair wound up involving a fair amount of Goldberg problem solving. Opening the IPod as promised was difficult, and while the tools worked as promised, the row of clips along both sides were too damaged in the process to be reused. They are actually formed from a strip of metal spot welded to the case, and the putty knife found its way in between and broke the welds. I wound up breaking out he damaged strips, leaving the mounting screw holes in place at either end where otherwise there would be no way to secure the jack and hold switch. Replacing the hold switch also turned out to be a major portion of the evening. The new hold switch must have come from a different model IPod since it was not shaped exactly the same as the old. My solution involved some patient reshaping of the plastic body of the hold switch with an Exacto knife until it seated well enough to allow me to get the set screws in. I probably could have reused the old switch, but I didn't see that option until later. Finally, in order to hold the Ipod together, black electrical tape did the trick, and since I use the IPod in a case that I wear on my belt, it works just fine - besides, the next repair will be that much easier.

My Advice

The step-by-step repair problem solving was pretty good, my one suggestion would be to include a picture at the start of what the interior clips look like once the IPod is open. I followed the instructions well enough to get the IPod open with very little distortion to the back of the metal case despite ruining the clips since I didn't know ahead of time to be aware of the possibility that the knife could find its way between the strip of metal that the clips were made from and the body of the case. Otherwise, just go slow, and be prepared for it to take some time. Set up a good clean, well lighted surface, and take a lot of deep breaths as you manipulate these microparts. If you've got somewhere else to be, don't try to squeeze this into a tight time frame.