How to Disassemble an 8 GB iPod
The 8 GB iPod touch allows you to carry around up to 8 GB worth of movies and music, so you can enjoy them wherever you are. If one of the components, such as the LCD, on the device fails, it can make the iPod fairly useless. While iPods that are within warranty should always be taken to the manufacturer, if your 4th-gen iPod touch is out of warranty, you can disassemble the device to replace the component yourself at a fraction of the cost of buying a new iPod.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Place the iPod face up on the table in front of you. Hold the heat gun 6 inches above the iPod and turn it on. Move the heat gun around the outside edge of the iPod for 30 seconds, then turn the gun off and put it aside.
-
2
Insert your pry stick underneath the glass that covers the face of the iPod, along either side of the device. Move the stick around the iPod's perimeter, lifting up the glass as you go. Move the stick slowly to avoid damaging the glass. Once the glass is loose, lift it up from the bottom and flip it up over the top of the iPod. Be careful, as two cables run from the top of the underside of the glass to the rest of the device.
-
-
3
Locate the small black connector that connects the LCD and glass to the motherboard. Lift up on this connector with your pry stick to release it. The other cable runs under the motherboard, so you will have to wait to release that one.
-
4
Remove the eight Phillips screws holding the metal bracket on top of the motherboard. There are four along the iPod's left side, three along the bottom and one on the right side. Once the screws are out, place your pry stick under the metal bracket and lift it up to remove it from the device.
-
5
Remove the one small Phillips screw located to the right of the camera, then the one in the top-left corner of the device. Remove the two small Phillips screws next to the dock connector near the bottom of the iPod. Lift up on the small black connector to the right of the dock connector to remove the headphone jack.
-
6
Insert your pry tool under the right side of the motherboard. Move the tool to the top-right corner of the board and lift it up about 1/4 inch. Hold the lifted board in place with your fingers and use the pry tool to release the ribbon cable connector you see on the underside of the board. Then turn the iPod and remove the two connectors under the top part of the motherboard. This will release the last cable holding the LCD and glass to the device, so you can move that component aside.
-
7
Lift up on the top of the motherboard to reveal a long strip of copper tape. Place your pry tool under the tape and move it back and forth to separate the tape from the device. Lift up on the right side of the motherboard and the battery -- as these two components are soldered together -- so that they are vertical.
-
8
Locate the two small Phillips screws that connect the bottom of the iPod to the cables running from the left side of the motherboard. Remove these two screws, but don't pull the motherboard off yet, as two more screws are still holding it down.
-
9
Remove the small Phillips screw that sits above the rear-facing camera. Then lift up on the camera to remove it. Lift up on the front-facing camera, which is located in the top-right corner of the iPod, to remove it as well. When you remove the last camera, it will reveal the two final screws holding a cable from the motherboard in place. Remove these screws and then slowly lift up the cable, as it is adhered to the bottom of the device. When the cable is loose, remove the motherboard from the device.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
When you want to put the device back together, perform the steps in the reverse order. Remember to connect the ribbon cables to the underside of the motherboard before you press it into place.
