iPod Touch 1st Generation Repair

Identification and Background

The iPod Touch 1st Generation was released in September of 2007.

The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, and Wi-Fi mobile platform by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line and is available with 8, 16, or 32 GB of flash memory. It includes Apple's Safari web browser and is the first iPod with wireless access to the iTunes Store.

Use the iPod identification system to help you identify your iPod. They tend to look very similar, and it's important to know which one you have before ordering any replacement parts

Troubleshooting the 1st generation iPod Touch is particularly treacherous, but we have made it as easy as possible below.

iPod Touch won't turn on

No matter what you do, you can't get your iPod Touch to turn on.

Press and Hold the Sleep/Wake button

If your iPhone's problem isn't so easily solved, read on.

Drained/bad battery

If your iPod won't turn on, especially if it has not been used recently, you may simply have a drained battery. Plug your iPod Touch into your computer or AC adapter and see if anything happens. Ideally your iPod will recognize it has been connected to a power source and charge its battery. If it will no longer charge, the battery must be swapped with a replacement battery.

Bad display

It is possible that it appears nothing is happening because the display is bad. If the iPod sounds like it is working properly but nothing is visible, it is possible the display is bad and must be replaced.

No audio or distorted audio

Your iPod Touch turns on and appears to work, but when you plug in headphones or speakers, the audio doesn't play properly.

Bad headphones/speakers

It's unlikely your headphones or speakers are bad, but it's worthwhile to eliminate these as the source of your problem at the beginning. Try your iPhone 3G with another set of headphones or speakers just to make sure that the problem is with your iPod Touch.

Bad audio jack

The most likely cause of audio output problems on the iPod Touch is a bad audio-out jack. Unfortunately, the audio jack is soldered to the logic board. Installing a new audio jack requires replacing the entire logic board.

Restoring the iPod Touch

Your iPod displays the text "Use iTunes to restore" on startup

Corrupted software

It isn't often that Apple gives specific directions about how to fix your problem! Restoring the iPod Touch will erase everything on it, so make sure everything on the iPod Touch is stored elsewhere prior to restoring. To restore, connect your iPod Touch to a computer with the latest version of iTunes installed. When your Touch appears under the devices menu, click the restore option under the summary tab. If you haven't backed up your data already, choose the back up option from the pop up window. Click the restore button to restore your Touch to factory spec.

Bad logic board

If attempting to restore the Touch and diagnosing does not fix the problem, the issue is probably the logic board that needs to be replaced.