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These are a few my recent iPod repair experiences.
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This was a very complicated case
that shows how far Apple is willing to go to make a device that is NOT intended to be repaired. Everything about taking a Nano 4th Gen apart has a trip wire that is intended to make you destroy the iPod's logic board while you "try to repair" it. I'm certain there will be millions destroyed by people thinking they know how.
This Nano 4th Gen arrived David King in Smyrna, Tennessee. In fact it belongs to Ashton Watson and came with a letter that read,
" The iPod was in my jacket pocket and I put the jacket in the wash. My mom was transferring the clothes and she found the iPod in the washer. I tried to turn it on and it wouldn't. I put it on my docking station and it worked. I plugged it in to the computer to put new music on there and the screen lit up, but I couldn't do anything with it. I though if I charged it that it would work. So I charged it and unless it is on the docking station it will not work."
It got here on a Saturday and I took it apart and cleaned away all the corrosion from the water exposure. I was able tot get the LCD and iPod to work but I wasn't able to get the device to work on battery power or seem to get the battery recharge circuits to work.
When I examined the device even deeper I discovered that Apple had actually flash soldered or welded the battery via a battery ribbon connection to the logic board. This effectively makes replacing the battery impossible. It's the same technique they used for the headphone on the Touch models so dropping a Touch and destroying the right side earbud connection in the fall (fairly common) obligates you to buy a whole new iPod.
I was certain the logic board really worked and the fault was with the battery, so I carefully dismembered the battery *in place* and was able to locate the locate unseen corrosion on its voltage regulator board. Small, almost unseen, under obscuring tape on the backside of the battery facing into the logic board. This style of design is EVIL.
Once I was finished,and had things put back together, I was able to make the battery and device work again perfectly.
The total cost for David and Ashton was $40 to get their iPod back working perfectly with all their songs still on it.
Fixed - Total cost $40.
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Julie Fielder called one day from Springfield, Missouri.
Arrived looking like this, you can see data on the screen, but no backlight:
She had a water mishap with a 4th Gen Nano iPod. I sent by email instructions to send it in for repair and it arrived a few days later. The note that came with it read,
"My son's 4th Gen iPod Nano went through the washer (not the dryer). The bad news is this happened about 2 to 3 weeks ago. I believe my wife immediately turned it on after discovering what had happened. Since the fateful day we have kept the iPod in a ziplock bag surrounded by dry rice hoping it would absorb any moisture. We have checked the iPod every 4 to 6 days. Each time we have gotten the same results: the iPod powers up and is perfectly normal with the exception of the backlight.. I have reset it several times and even did a restore via iTunes. I have checked the settings for the backlight and brightness and made sure they are on/maxed out. I only came across your website today. ~ David Fielder"
I took the iPod entirely apart and processed it for lead oxide corrosion which was substantive at the LCD connection. But that wasn't creating the problem. It corrosion under a metal plate on the logic board which drive s the LCD connection that was the cause.
I was able to get his iPod working without the need of replacing the LCD. Total cost to get their iPod back
working was $40
Taken apart:
detail of some scroll wheel corrosion:
And back together working:
Fixed - Total cost $40.
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Kelly Stoos lives in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
Taken apart:
and is a friend of another 'dropped in water client' of mine Colleen Donovan who sent me her 6th Gen video iPod. Kelly's 6th Gen 80GB video iPod arrived one day with a letter that read,
"Dear Mr Walburg,
I hope this finds you well. Your name was passed onto me from a friend whose iPod you fixed. I hope that you can help! On Thursday, February 19th a box of left over Chinese food leaked egg fu yung sauce into my purse. Unfortunately, the sticky sauce saturated my iPod and now it is not working.
I hope you are *willing* and able to fix my iPod. Thank you so much, I look forward to hearing from you."
This was a more difficult case than normal, I had to soften all the dried sauce inside and remove it before I could get down to testing and making it work. I also wanted to eradicate beef/food smell so it wouldn't become an emotionally orphaned iPod once I got it working... always reminding Kelly of the sauce incident.
Ultimately I got it all working and all of her 2106 songs were still preserved for her. I had to
replace both the battery and the LCD. The total cost to get iPod back working *and* clean with all
of her original songs on it was $100
And back together working:
Fixed - Total cost $100.
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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-IPOD-PRO (1 - 877 - 476-3776)
Send the device to:
Frank Walburg
2145 Service Court
Santa Rosa, Ca 95403-3139
Methods of payment
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