iPod mini battery died... now what? — Forum Archive

8 Apr 2006, 11:22

my 4GB iPod mini died... almost to the day, a year after i got it, so no warranty now. the battery never held power for very long anyway, to be honest. the iPod nano costs $244 USD and is said to be more delicate and has even less battery power... $50 dollars more for something that doesnt work any better, doesnt sound like an improvement to me

Apple says they will "repair/replace" it for $70 USD or maybe even more, rather vague they are... does anybody know? what do they actually do? what will they actually send back? what will they really charge me? if i get it back good as new for $70, i'll take it.

or maybe I'll get something different...

8 Apr 2006, 11:24

In England its £50, and they just send a new one, even if its one they dont make any more. Then you bassically put your music back on. Couldnt tell you what they do in America. :shrug:

Would assume its the same though...

8 Apr 2006, 12:06

I've seen on EBay batteries for alot less, and there are directions on the web somewhere on how to disassemble it. If you are a do it yourselfer, you might want to go that route.

Ebay listings: http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=ipod+mini+battery

opening it yourself: http://www.ipodbattery.com/ipodinstall.htm

JHC

8 Apr 2006, 13:20

ROFLMAO...all that money, costs 3x as much as any other comparable mp3 player....and doesn't even use standard batteries. LOL.

one born every minute i suppose.

8 Apr 2006, 13:22

:nono:

8 Apr 2006, 13:27

Wino wrote:

Nah, you're messing with my head now because i was just about to mail you! Oh, forgot, can't say that! :evil4:

8 Apr 2006, 13:28

Steve Campbell wrote: ROFLMAO...all that money, costs 3x as much as any other comparable mp3 player....and doesn't even use standard batteries. LOL.

one born every minute i suppose.

Not me:) I just steal the boyfriends and save the cash for other stuff:\ohwell:

Smart thinking :nod:

8 Apr 2006, 13:28

Check your mail (tee hee hee)

8 Apr 2006, 17:44

My battery on my iPod mini seems to last less time these days... this is the most stupid thing about the iPod, anybody should be able to change the battery easily...

The only good side about Apple is that if you send your iPod for support, the warranty resets... so mine is STILL under warranty... not for long though.

8 Apr 2006, 20:25

next time get an iRiver. you can change the battery yourself and i got my 20GB version for $200.

9 Apr 2006, 01:27

circuit city, comp usa - one of those will send it to apple for a new battery for $90. I would just send to to apple myself although it might cost the same when considering shipping and insurance. I have a mini but ended up buying another 30gb ipod video 3 months later so haven't used the mini much. Have people been having similar problems with any of the new, larger ipods? I suppose after foolishly spending $300 on an mp3 player, I'd rather spend the 90 to replace the battery than buy another of any brand.

9 Apr 2006, 04:54

next time get an iRiver. you can change the battery yourself and i got my 20GB version for $200.

What sort of batteries? I am looking for something that has a decent amount of GBs yet runs on normal batteries. Needed for self contained bicycle trip where USB ports are a mere memory.

9 Apr 2006, 05:04

pumped full of drugs wrote: the iPod nano costs $244 USD and is said to be more delicate and has even less battery power...

The nano battery IS better, in my experience - 12.5 hours if you switch off all the accessories (backlight, clock, etc). My mini battery is expiring after 18 months' service so I've been thinking of buying a replacement over the net. I mean, just how difficult can it be to change a battery? There's loads of advice on the apple website discussion groups so if I find anything useful I'll post...

9 Apr 2006, 05:14

how hard can it be?

Ask anyone who owns any Roland machines from the early 80's...to change the battery in some of those you have to strip the guts out of your synth. The TB303's unique "style" is down to them all having dead batteries and just writing their own music :D

People, always try and avoid things proprietry...it's the surest way to get fucked.

9 Apr 2006, 05:52

Just bought a new ipod mini battery on ebay which claims to last an extra 50% longer than the original one. Only £3.50 plus p&p from a co in new york. Comes with instructions and tools...

Will let you know if it's any good...

:)

9 Apr 2006, 05:58

Be very careful when you install that D. check it for heat very thoroughly, and check it for any kind of leakage after a day or so. If the pod actually needs some sort of carefully conditioned power, the third party one might not make it happy (check screen for flickering, that sort of thing). However, if my gut feeling is right, it's all bluff, and anything that feeds it the right voltage will keep it happy.

Be angelic, as Bonz would doubltess tell you :D

9 Apr 2006, 06:25

Steve Campbell wrote: Be very careful when you install that D. check it for heat very thoroughly, and check it for any kind of leakage after a day or so. If the pod actually needs some sort of carefully conditioned power, the third party one might not make it happy (check screen for flickering, that sort of thing). However, if my gut feeling is right, it's all bluff, and anything that feeds it the right voltage will keep it happy.

Be angelic, as Bonz would doubltess tell you :D

Will do. There were no horror stories in the ebay feedback so I think it'll be worth a punt

9 Apr 2006, 07:32

Twist, singer of the Blessing Way wrote:

next time get an iRiver. you can change the battery yourself and i got my 20GB version for $200.

What sort of batteries? I am looking for something that has a decent amount of GBs yet runs on normal batteries. Needed for self contained bicycle trip where USB ports are a mere memory.

i don't know if you'll find anything that runs on 'normal' batteries (if you mean AA, AAA, etc.), but my iRiver runs on a rechargeable li-polymer battery. playtime of approximately 16 hours.

9 Apr 2006, 08:21

I've seen 5GB pods that run on AAAs. Hoping that there were some bigger ones out there that run on the same use and replace batteries.

9 Apr 2006, 13:04

I'll just mention the Creative Zen Micro which is the equivalent of the iPod Mini which has a replaceable battery similar to a mobile phone battery. The replacement battery costs less than £20 :clap:

11 Apr 2006, 00:16

I've heard that if you send your I-pods back to APPLE, then they will not give you back your actual I-POD. They will apparently send you one, but it won't be the one you sent in.

11 Apr 2006, 01:37

Batteries / hardware death: This is why I burn all my fave music to CD and store back ups on the PC- that way I'll never lose any music (touches wood)!

14 Apr 2006, 17:25

well i sent my iPod mini in, and they said it had hardware failure as well as battery failure... but that they would "repair" it for $205.95 USD + about $14 in tax... and maybe they would charge for shipping also. so to get my iPod back i would have to pay over $30 more than i paid for it new :eek: no thanks

14 Apr 2006, 17:55

Don't waste your time sending it back to Apple, it's a rip off.

I've got a 3rd generation 40gb iPod and when my battery started dying last year I found that I could buy a new one (for about £20-25) which had TWICE the capacity of the standard one already in the player. I used IpodUpgrade.net who were pretty efficient and I got the battery delivered in less than a week. Not sure what their shipping policy is like for the US though.

Anyhow, installing the battery was a piece of piss but I work with computers most of the time so I'm used to taking stuff like that apart. Seeing your beloved (and expensive) iPod laid out in front of you in pieces might be a bit daunting at first but so long as you're careful it should be fine. I've had mine apart three times and for extra help you can download a battery installation video which is pretty helpful.

The inside of an iPod is incredibly straightforward; circuit board, hard drive and battery... with both the hard drive + battery designed to be easily disconnected.

If that website can't help, look for a suitably high mAh capacity battery for your particular model on eBay but reference the right installation video when putting it in... honestly, it's a piece of piss! :wink:

Mind you, if it's a hardware fault it's probably completely fucked :\ohwell: but if you get another iPod replacing the battery outside of Apple's service is definitely the way to go Less money wasted!