Friend gave me their parents iPod for free, didn’t have the charger and the one I got on me doesn’t charge it. I assume I need fire wire. Any know a cheap adapter or something to charge it? Also what’s the modding scene like for 3rd gen’s?

Found my old iPod. I had given up on him a long time ago but I can’t remember what the issue was.

I don’t know what model it is (it has a sticker cover) and the screen is really cracked. I plugged it in for a few hours but didn’t see any sign of life.

Any tips? I’m willing to put in the work. I loved this dude. Thanks in advance

Edit: found the serial number on the back and it appears to be a Gen 5.5 (?)

Hey all! I've been customising my iPod Video 5.5G (Rockbox) and ended up building a theme inspired by the Spotify desktop player. It's free and open source:

https://github.com/stylo969/spotish-rockbox (download the zip under Releases)

What it does

• Now Playing: "Song" card with big album art and bold title, green play button, Next in queue, and a desktop-style player bar — shuffle/repeat turn green with the little dot, repeat-one shows a "1"
• Progress & volume: thin progress line with times; turning the click wheel swaps it for a volume line
• Menus: "Your Library" card with clock + battery, Spotify-green selection bar, and a mini player at the bottom of every menu
• Smooth scrolling for long titles (1 pixel at a time)
• Synced lyrics (optional): press the centre button on Now Playing — sung lines turn white, upcoming lines stay grey. Includes a script that fetches synced lyrics for your own library from LRCLIB (no lyrics are shipped). It even romanises Hindi/Punjabi/Tamil lyrics since Rockbox fonts are Latin-only.

Install: copy the zip's .rockbox folder onto your iPod (it only adds files), then Settings → Theme Settings → Browse Theme Files → Spotish.

Compatibility: built and tested on an iPod Video 5.5G. Other 320×240 Rockbox targets (e.g. iPod Classic 6G) should work but I haven't tested them — let me know how it goes!

A nerdy bit for theme makers: the whole theme is generated by a Python script that emulates the iPod's 16-bit screen and Rockbox's backdrop dithering, so icons cut from the background match it pixel-perfectly (no tinted boxes), and the screenshots are rendered with the actual Rockbox fonts.

Fonts are Inter (OFL), theme is CC BY-SA 4.0. Unofficial fan project, not affiliated with Spotify.

Feedback and photos of it on your iPod are very welcome!

I guess I'm wondering if I'm the only weirdo who preserves OG content (from a stranger's iPod) before blanking it. My music taste is very eclectic. My primary iTunes database is a 3tb monster.

I generally extract the music, then use Tag&Rename and a few other scripts to clean up and conform, and compile it all under a single Album name. As seen in the pic, with the album "Ari iPod Nano Albums". I add this as a new album in iTunes, then use Beatunes to transfer over ratings for duplicate songs. Using Smart playlists, I fill my nano with zero star music, which I rate while listening, then sync ratings to my main iTunes library.

Am I the only one who is kookoo this way?

Trying to get my iPod 4th gen photo to sync with my MacBook Air m1 silicon has been miserable so far. It's a bright sunny day out there and I am trapped inside pulling my hair out. I've read through past threads, used AI all night to troubleshoot but I can't get it to sync. Hard drive seems to be in optimal state, playback worked perfectly before I reformatted, finder will show me the iPod with the iPod icon, but I cannot sync. am I cooked. Surely someone has found a way to make it work?

Two iPod docks I have one has compatibility for remote?

i’m currently trying to fix my old ipod, and in the process of opening it the hold switch snapped off, but while running diagnositics, it requires me to use it to pass to the next step. could i simulate it at all or would i have to get it replaced?

Hey there! I'm not an apple guy, but I do like dankpods, so I know 1 or 2 things about iPods. I was recently at a scrapyard and found these in their bin of cell phones :) They have those like, big cardboard boxes like the ones they put watermelons/pumpkins in at the store. The phones were only about 5 inches deep. There were a couple newer iPhones, but with how notoriously difficult they are to repair, as well as being locked, I didn't wanna take a risk. I did find an iPad that just worked and was unlocked but the glass was really broken.

I don't have a charger for the Touch 2nd gen unfortunately, but surprisingly the Nano 7th gen just works?? No problems as far as I'm aware. It holds a charge, plays music, Bluetooth and headphone jack work. Why could they have junked it? It was in a plastic bag with a couple other random phones and had someone's name and phone number on it.

EDIT: I just remembered that I keep all the weird random cables I find, and I have a 30pin connector, currently recovering the iPod touch :)

tried to install rockbox on this ipod classic 3rd gen i got for free, i had to replace the battery though is the reason for the screen because if something inside or something with rockbox? i can barely see the screen. (I know nothing about ipods)

I have recently plunged head first into the walled garden.

Nostalgically I miss my iPod nano

But I would have to start over from scratch on a music library as I don't "own" any of my music anymore.

Sharing this for anyone looking for an easy Bluetooth mod and considering either of these 2 options.

I have been using a moonlit market with a 5th gen and today I installed a XxST4RxREAPERxX mod into my 7th gen.

I bought both with my own money, this is not some paid review.

Moonlit market 2:

Pros:

Quick to arrive.

Install is easy.

Bluetooth range is good.

Pairing Bluetooth is easy.

Has everything - usb c, wireless charging, taptic engine.

Clear is awesome for a fully clear iPod.

YouTube video guide for install.

You can put it altogether and test everything is ok before you glue it shut.

Cons:

Expensive.

USB-c charging seems to be hit and miss for the iPod charging or reporting charge correctly. Some chargers don't seem to work.

Battery is small, very tight to upgrade to a bigger battery.

Wireless charging is not really needed.

Bluetooth doesn't really turn off or sleep so battery drains when idle.

Logo on back of case cannot be removed. Plain would be nicer but I understand the choice of the developer here.

Doesn't fit in ipod cases.

Hold switch and Bluetooth pairing buttons are cheap feeling and I am not confident in the longer terms life span of the hold switch.

As for gluing the case together - I had a purple moonlit on my 7th gen as well and undoing the mod was pretty easy. So I wouldn't say this was a con.

XxST4RxREAPERxX (V4 board)

Pros:

Significantly cheaper mod.

Fits well inside original housing.

Bluetooth appears to be fully off when you turn it off.

Can use iPod cases.

Easy to install larger battery.

Came with spare parts in case you screw up installation.

Bluetooth range is good.

Seller is responsive to support via eBay and has youtube videos.

Includes a Bluetooth antenna.

Original hold switch.

Cons:

If you have a problem once its clipped together it requires opening up again. A pain on the 6th and 7th gens, especially if you are fitting into new back and front and don't want to scratch them.

Have to remove the back of the LCD for the antenna.

Doesn't seem to pair with the last used Bluetooth headphones and have to put the headphones into pairing mode each time I turn them on.

Summary

Between the two I would highly recommend the Star Reaper mod. It is a third of the price and gives you what you really need in 2026 - Bluetooth and battery space.

I respect what has been achieved on the Moonlit mod and it is a good product, but the USB C and wireless charging could be dropped, giving more space for a bigger battery and maybe a lower cost. The bluetooth being on when you turn it off on the moonlit was my main driver to try an alternative mod.

I just bought a 3rd generation iPod Nano, and i installed my music (in MP3 format), and then i played it.

Unfortunately, the sound that comes from my earbuds it's not what i was expecting: i can hear the instrumental of the song more than the song itself, but if i pull back slightly the AUX Jack by just a millimiter or something even more or less than that, i can finally hear the music playing perceftly as it should.

Does someone know something about this matter? I'm new about this masterpiece and I would like to know more.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Treated myself to a rough shape 5th gen for my 30th birthday after years of debating. Wish I’d got in sooner cause man prices for everything have skyrocketed. Aliexpress front and back plates, 512gb SD card in an iFlash solo, and loving it so far!

Only issue I’ve had at all is that it seems like ALACs aren’t syncing through iMazing? Has anyone had issues with that before? I’m slowly building my library but 512 gigs is still a lot of storage for the amount of songs I have and I was hoping to fill it up with slightly higher quality tracks.

Finally got back into the iPod journey after 2 years of mourning the death of my childhood 4th gen with a modded battery and sd 6th gen. Any tips to get me back into it?

Hello! So I have this iPod touch that i had forgotten the passcode to but i have now remembered it. at least i think i have. Issue is i can't get it to open. I have put it in recovery mode and updated it and it will give me the "iPod Unavailable, try again in (random amount of time). I wait that time and it will just go back to a white screen with the apple logo.

Hey folks,

I’m about refresh an iPod mini gen 2. Before I start to modify it, it seems to be working fine except that the screen will become unresponsive or distort.

Is this a screen issue? Should I replace it or is this a logic board issue of some kinda?

Hi folks, I've just gotten my first iPod. It's a 4th gen iPod photo 60gb. I want to keep the original hard drive as it is in perfect condition, will this battery fit my case and work perfectly?
Many thanks