# My iPod classic battery finally bit the dust **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 28, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ipod-classic-battery-finally-bit-the-dust/689436 "2014-05-28T03:58:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ipod-classic-battery-finally-bit-the-dust/689436/1 "2014-05-28T03:58:01Z")
I wasn’t even sure how long I had my 5th generation classic, but it’s at least 7 years because I found an iTunes store receipt email from May of 07. I’m sure the battery lasted hundreds of charge cycles, maybe in the thousand neighborhood because I used it very heavily. I’ve been expecting the battery’s death for some years now, and thinking about buying a replacement player, but I really didn’t find anything with enough memory (damn you, Cloud!). Last week the battery stopped holding its charge, though it still worked fine when docked to something with external power. And low and behold, I found a replacement battery at Amazon for under 8 bucks! I was so there. Changing the battery was rather troublesome because I have clumsy fingers, but I wisely didn’t chuck it all in the corner in frustration, and after about 20 minutes of pawing at it, I got the connection made and got it all back together. Whoo hoo! 60 plus gigs of tunes in my pockets for 8 bucks! ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ipod-classic-battery-finally-bit-the-dust/689436/2 "2014-05-28T13:18:29Z")
Good to see you did the right thing and fixed it rather than chucking it. I love fixing things so many Xmases ago **FtGKid2** gave me two broken IPods he bought off of eBay on purpose so I could have fun with them. Got them both fixed, one for me and one for **MrsFtG** (who is using hers right now). Keep them working with occasional new batteries and once a new drive (dropped mine). But, I must warn you. That $8 battery you bought isn’t going to last very long. Good batteries aren’t that cheap. Next time, spend a few more bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ipod-classic-battery-finally-bit-the-dust/689436/3 "2014-05-28T21:08:31Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Good to see you did the right thing and fixed it rather than chucking it. > > I love fixing things so many Xmases ago **FtGKid2** gave me two broken IPods he bought off of eBay on purpose so I could have fun with them. Got them both fixed, one for me and one for **MrsFtG** (who is using hers right now). Keep them working with occasional new batteries and once a new drive (dropped mine). > > But, I must warn you. That $8 battery you bought isn’t going to last very long. Good batteries aren’t that cheap. Next time, spend a few more bucks. Any particular brand you’d recommend? ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ipod-classic-battery-finally-bit-the-dust/689436/4 "2014-05-28T21:50:01Z")
I love [SanDisk Sansa](http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/649295-REG/SanDisk_SDMX18R_008GK_A57_Sansa_Clip_MP3_Player.html) mp3 players. They’re small, lightweight (about the size of a ipod shuffle), have more features (screen, FM radio, voice recording), & are dirt cheap. They are also expandable with a MicroSD card. I like the + better than the Zip, but the latter has a color screen & shows album art, too. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ipod-classic-battery-finally-bit-the-dust/689436/5 "2014-05-28T22:24:18Z")
I have a 30 Gb Gen 5.5 Ipod video that will be getting these… [new flash memory](http://www.tarkan.info/store) [larger capacity battery](http://www.ipodbatterydepot.com/shopping/productdetails.asp?recordid=8) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ipod-classic-battery-finally-bit-the-dust/689436/6 "2014-05-29T01:44:14Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I’ve been expecting the battery’s death for some years now, and thinking about buying a replacement player, but I really didn’t find anything with enough memory (damn you, Cloud!). Did he Limit Break all of them? I understand wanting to save money by not buying a new one, but what is essentially the current update of the same model (they didn’t start calling it Classic until the 6th) has 160 Gb. Interestingly, I had the earlier G6 and now the newest (replaced due to theft) and the HD is 2x larger except I think $100 cheaper now. How very un-Apple. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ipod-classic-battery-finally-bit-the-dust/689436/7 "2014-05-29T03:20:06Z")
**fifth** generation?! Pssshhhh 🙂 I had a great old-man moment two or three years ago when I brought my collection of dead iPods to Best Buy for recycling: A 3rd-gen iPod Classic Two 2nd-gen iPod Nanos One 5th-gen iPod Nano (the iPod classic battery was fully dead; I’d managed to put the three nanos through the wash each, on separate occasions.) The teenage clerk working the customer support desk was beside herself. “Wow! I’ve never seen devices this old!” _grumble grumble_ - “Listen, kid: My [Rio PMP300](http://www.amazon.com/Slacker-Diamond-Rio-Digital-Player/dp/B00000JBAT) was state of the freakin’ art my freshman year at college. Show some darn respect.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ipod-classic-battery-finally-bit-the-dust/689436/8 "2014-05-29T14:01:52Z")
I had an iPod classic battery die a few years ago, and I went the replacement battery route. That was a holy bitch to replace, though. I don’t think that I could convince myself to do it again. And the iPod seems to have some disk issues that I can’t figure out how to fix. When playing certain songs, it just stops, probably due to a bad sector (or piece thereof). I’ve found sites that say if I hold four buttons down at the same time and chant the appropriate incantation, the iPod will launch into a HD repair mode, but I haven’t gotten it to work. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ipod-classic-battery-finally-bit-the-dust/689436/9 "2014-05-29T16:35:29Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Any particular brand you’d recommend? Go with the folks at [iFixIt](http://www.ifixit.com/). They also have instructions on how to do basic repairs of a lot of Apple and some other products. One of the problem with replacement batteries is that the “brand” is just a label someone stuck on it. You can’t be sure buying from some places (eBay, Amazon affiliates, etc.) if the label is genuine or not. ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ipod-classic-battery-finally-bit-the-dust/689436/10 "2014-05-29T17:23:36Z")
The battery is dead. Long live the battery! Congrats on extending the life of your sweet baby. Always satisfying to get a few more miles out of a beloved piece of gear. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ipod-classic-battery-finally-bit-the-dust/689436/11 "2014-05-29T19:33:37Z")
Add me to the list of folks that resurrected an old iPod. Think it’s a 4th gen and about 11 years old. With any luck, it will be a couple more years before the drive decides to croak. Plus another vote for iFixit.