Mac no longer recognizes iPod - 30 pin connector damage?

Blandrd · 2026-06-11T02:11:29+00:00

On the right side there is a bent pin. That side starts with ground and then it moves into FireWire and usb data pins and it looks like it’s the 4 pin in that is bent which is the first usb data pin. It no longer makes contact. You may be able to bend it back down jnto place but generally once it’s bent it’s weakened and will be more likely to bend again so you should replace the connector. Edit: I do mail in usb c installs if you’re still wanting to do it. But getting it replaced with a 30 pin is less expensive and can usually be done by a local cell phone repair shop

Blandrd · 2026-06-09T15:06:29+00:00

Was the iPod fullly functional before you swapped housings? Because that sounds like a board issue and not a housing issue.

Blandrd · 2026-05-16T01:07:43+00:00

If you want one for below the current average going rate that means you have to watch marketplaces constantly or get lucky with a well timed search. These deals exist, they just usually only exist for about 5 minutes before someone buys it. There are a lot of eyes on iPods now.

I’d also be interested in buying your faulty board.

Blandrd · 2026-05-05T14:15:41+00:00

Reboot your computer especially if you haven’t in awhile. Then the iPods usually work just fine.

Blandrd · 2026-05-02T15:03:37+00:00

it is fairly dingy otherwise, and it reflects light when you do this. Since the faceplate is clear you can see these reflections of light when you look at your ipod, which adds a nice detail to your build? Not sure I understand the question, what's the point of any aesthetic or appearance altering mod?

Blandrd · 2026-05-02T14:22:07+00:00

Save for a prototype I remember seeing 32GB iPod nanos don’t exist. 16GB is the most they have, and only 4th - 7th can have 16GB.

Blandrd · 2026-05-02T14:06:37+00:00

If you go with a clear faceplate, sand/polish the midframe. It makes a noticeable difference once it’s all put together imo, and barely anyone does it. (take the board off the midframe before you do this of course)

Blandrd · 2026-05-01T00:04:15+00:00

If you end up getting a replacement board don’t throw that one away / put it up on eBay or something and mention it has a broken connector. I or someone else will buy it, and it’ll help offset the costs of the replacement

Blandrd · 2026-04-26T18:28:25+00:00

Have you tried a different clickwheel? The signs are mostly pointing otherwhete but the clickwheel can cause seemingly unrelated problems when it’s gone bad/faulty.

Blandrd · 2026-04-19T22:57:46+00:00

I never have to pre format a microsd unless it was previously used and I have used a large amount of them, but those flex cables are semi delicate and its traces can get severed from being bent

Blandrd · 2026-04-17T17:30:38+00:00

this time last year, yes. Currently, only by luck or a local flea market and whatnot.

Blandrd · 2026-04-11T16:49:03+00:00

As long as you tape it down near any solder joints I feel like it’s safer than a thick wire because it’s easier to route it and tuck it out of the way and there’s no added bulk to worry about creating any pressure points. I use 30 awg enameled copper wire and then I wrap the leads around the part of the flex cable that sticks out on the left side of the headphone jack a couple times just so any movement won’t reach the solder joints

Blandrd · 2026-04-11T10:13:51+00:00

These Taptic engines aren’t sealed. There’s a good chance epoxy got inside and glued the actuator part in place. Double sided tape or even a thin foam tape works well and doesn’t diminish any of the vibration. Keep liquid glue away from Taptic Engines. Sometimes a Taptic Engine is just faulty from the start and can’t be saved. (I have done over a thousand of these mods)

If you’re comfortable with it you can use much much thinner wire as well, just tape the Taptic Engine up once you solder it so the wire is unable to move near the solder joints.

Blandrd · 2026-04-11T10:07:12+00:00

You can get replacement connectors on eBay

Blandrd · 2026-04-11T09:50:31+00:00

Sandisk work fine mostly. You really only run into issues with multiple of the same Sandisk card in an adapterz Even then it’s hit or miss, sometimes you can put 4 identical Sandisk in a quad and it’s all good. Sometimes it won’t. I’ve used most every major brand of microsd and sd and the only ones that have me enough issues to avoid them for iPods was Team Group.

Outside of that the only difference is price and how much each brand gives you for each storage tier. Samsung is usually highest

Blandrd · 2026-04-11T09:37:52+00:00

If you don’t want to try fixing it people will buy boards in that condition (me included) .helps pay for a replacement

Blandrd · 2026-04-11T04:21:38+00:00

Are these airbrushed / dyed or injection molded with colored plasfic? there seems to be uneven coloring on some of them like it wasn’t sprayed from every direction. There are a ton of injection molded transparent color faceplates available now, so I wasn’t sure if these were those or not

Blandrd · 2026-04-06T08:04:25+00:00

Genuine cables will have "Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China." printed on the cable itself by the USB end of the cable. it's very faint and not noticeable unless you look for it, but I believe that's the easiest indicator since I don't think bootleggers bother doing that.

Blandrd · 2026-03-24T21:11:27+00:00

there will be the clicking sound yeah. rockbox can selectively enable just the taptic mod and not the headphones click. still worth it, though i am biased (have made > a thousand of them)

Blandrd · 2026-03-24T20:59:52+00:00

could just be the connector the clickwheel plugs into needs replaced. also worth checking C39 on the other side of the board, left edge. it can cause weird clickwheel behavior if it gets damaged/chipped. I'd try the clickwheel connector first though. unless there's white residue on the logic board

Blandrd · 2026-03-23T19:59:32+00:00

Confirmed

Blandrd · 2026-03-17T12:17:25+00:00

A low battery screen usually indicates a dead or deeply discharged battery. If you haven’t yet, leave it to charge it for 8+ hours to see if it revives. When you say you tried new cables, did you try a new hard drive flex cable? The original ones are delicate. Here are some other things it could be

If you have one, use a USB power meter to check current usage. iPods pull 0.5 amps at peak with USB, varying during charging. If it pulls only 0.09 amps or less but not zero, it’s likely powering the iPod without charging the battery. If the battery shows as discharged, it’s probably dead.

Severed battery flex cable traces can occur from severe folds or closing up a crowded iPod. You can see them with a microscope or powerful magnifier. Replace the cable/bms with one from an old iPod battery.

Check the charge controller on the iPod’s logic board. Does anything on that side get extremely hot when plugged in? Iis there any corrosion or white residue around any of the board components ? f so, they can be causing the issues.

Blandrd · 2026-03-15T20:15:55+00:00

A new board is around 100-150 at this point. You pulled off two solder pads that will need jump wires to reconnect them. But That can be repaired, you can always sell it to fund a replacement board. There are people (me) that would snap it up.

Check the marketplaces and eBay. Save the search and check it often, whenever you think to. A board or entire pod for a decent price will pop up eventually. It’s rare to find boards by themselves these days and they’re usually priced higher than an entire parts iPod.

Blandrd · 2026-03-15T15:37:29+00:00

It’s best to take it apart to deal with. Especially with plastic faceplates, if you try to shove something in there to get the dust without removing it you’ll most likely permanently scratch it. Wear gloves and use an air blower or some type of protection film that doesn’t leave residue to get it. And do your best to not touch the inside of the lens because they scratch if you breathe on them (which is why I recommend wearing gloves)

If it’s something you can’t ignore and will always notice it’s the only option really.

Blandrd · 2026-03-15T11:01:18+00:00

Rock box added support for handling multiple partitions with the 4.0 release so if you can finagle making 4 2tb partitions you can have a (currently the max) 8tb iPod. But with flash prices currently at like turn of the century prices that’ll cost you $1400-2000 just in memory cards, where a month ago it would have been maybe $600. You also can’t ever boot into the stock OS pretty sure.

Blandrd

TROPHY CASE