Stories about iPod repairs, how to fix iPods, iPod repair service in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, iPod repair service in Petaluma, California, iPod repair service in Winthrop, Massachusetts - Recent Fixes - i Sick Bay

about her 3rd Gen iPod. She was disturbed by Apple's "Repair" done earlier. They were to replace her battery and what she got of course was a "Pre-repaired" iPod that had once belonged to someone else and had a blank hard drive. Scrubbing the drive is Apple's way to make everyone prove they really have "right of ownership". If you legitimately 'own' the music, it will be in your iTunes Library and you will be able to re-sync the files to the blank drive you receive. Where Apple pulls a fast one is... about every 20 to 28 months ever Windows user suffers a catastrophic failure. When that happens Apple rather hopes you won't find your CD collection or want to re-rip it again and will merely buy the songs from the iTunes store.

After using the iPod for another couple of years the docking connection/data port stopped working. She sent it to me this to have the logic board replaced... well technically Apple wouldn't bother repairing an iPod this old. Her logic board failure was the result of using a bad car adapter.

While I was at I replaced the battery. The board was $20, the battery was $15 and labor/return shipping was $40.

Fixed - Total cost $75.

Steve Brown called me from Petaluma, California.

He lives off Washington Boulevard by the Jack in the Box which when I was younger was open all night... now only the Rohnert Park is open all night. Steve's problem is he had hearing from the left side only. I stepped with him on the phone through the difference between bumped and damaged headset jack *and* logic board de-lamination but he was absolute in being able to hear from the left side. We set a time for him the next day at 11am to bring it in for repair.

I repaired it and had both sides working, then I handed it to Steve and he was pleased for a moment... and then his face went un-happy. He was hearing from the left side only again. So I replaced the part again, then heard both sides and handed it to him. He heard just from the left again. Then I realized this was an unique case of a logic board de-lamination that resulted from loss of hearing on an intermit basis from the right side. I compressed the case and was able to restore the hearing again to both.

A de-lam means the entire logic board has to be replaced, which is a much more expensive repair than he had in mind and maybe not even practical considering the age of the device.

He paid my $20 analysis fee and then went on his way a bit bummed.

Pat Tierney lives in Winthrop, Massachusetts

emailed me on January 22nd 2009. The message read,

"Hi, I have an IPOD Nano new generation that went through the washer machine a few months ago. I placed it on a heater for a while to dry out, but it wont turn on without attaching it to a power supply directly so it doesn't work independently. Can you fix this? If so, can you suggest where I can get the padded envelopes to mail this to you with a $40 check and I'll do it right away. (I'm located in the Boston area)

Thanks,

Pat"

It arrived on the 26th and by late that night I had corrected the iPod's internal battery problem and it was charging and holding a charge.

total cost for Pat was $40 labor including the return shipping

Fixed - Total cost $40.

I'm in Sonoma County... Northern California wine country.

If you live nearby, are traveling through or live in the San Francisco Bay Area bring your iPod to me and I can do the work while you wait or go wine tasting for a while. Send me an email just to make sure I have on hand whatever parts your repair will require.

Call or email me with questions or to set up a repair. You can also call, I am here most days from 8am to 8pm
Toll Free 1-877-476-3776 (1 - 877 - 476-3776)

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