Classic iPod Difficult to Repair

Monday, December 29th, 2008

Apple’s iPod Classic design flaw makes its silver back half almost impossible to remove for executing repairs.

Most iPods can be repaired quite easily by just opening up the back halves of the device. An exception to this Golden Rule of iPod repair appears to be Apple’s iPod classic, released in 2007. This unhappy circumstance is viewed as a design flaw by not only many consumers, but also by a multitude of third party repair companies prevented from addressing the needs of increasingly desperate iPod owners, forced, sometimes kicking and screaming, back to proverbial home Apple.

To exacerbate the situation still further, the electronics in this particular iPod are very delicate, and can be easily mangled by the inexperienced. Even if one is experienced, and technically-inclined, the iPod classic’s outer shell and back panel is extremely easy to damage while trying to open the case.

From a design perspective, the classic’s metallic silver back half was deliberately redesigned by Apple to prevent it from being removed. With earlier iPod models, a third party repair technician could separate the halves using a do-it-yourself iPod battery replacement kit, or perhaps a metal screwdriver.

Apple has been corporately diabolical with the classic, adding a series of tiny metal teeth. Surrounding all four sides of the iPod’s interior like snake fangs, once the two halves of the player are pressed together during assembly, the clips engage, and the unit is sealed up like a computerized tomb. But still these little machines, not unlike the Titanic, can meet with disasters abhorred by owners. LCDs can still crack, hard drives can yet fail, batteries can inexplicably cease holding their precious charges; it’s also inexplicable but perhaps inevitable that many of these tiny tragedies tend to occur shortly after the manufacturer’s warranty expires.

While battery installation shops and third party repair companies continue to attempt to address such issues, it may become necessary to forcibly open these close-once-and-never-open-again cases, especially if the customer’s warranty has expired and relief from the home Apple (or other manufacturer’s iPods if this becomes the rule) is not forthcoming. Destroying the stubborn iPod’s back half and replacing it with a cosmetic substitute may have to suffice if repair proves otherwise elusive.

Jeff Gasner is with CPR-Cell Phone repair. The leader in Cell Phone Repair and iPod repair offering cell phone repair services nationwide. To learn more about Cell phone repair, ipod repair, cell repair services, visit Chicagocellrepair.com.

Tags: Cell Phone Repair, Cell Repair Services, iPod repair
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