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iPod 1st Gen. iPod Shuffle Battery Replacement
- Thread starter mvblrb
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I don't know if he does repairs, but it wouldn't hurt to ask Austin at Elite Obsolete Electronics. There's a Contact Us link on the bottom left of the web page. He seems to stay very busy and can be very slow to respond, so don't lose hope if you don't hear back right away. He may say no, but like I said, it can't hurt to ask. I have no connection, other than as a customer for parts to flash mod my 4th gen Photo.
Did you ever hear back? My 1st gen iPod Shuffle still works but we all know that can't last forever.
I did not. However, I contacted Thomas Andrews at Amiga of Rochester who has done a lot of good re-capping work for the 68kMLA folks and he said he could do the soldering if I could do the dis-assembly (re-assembly is a breeze). I have three shuffles disassembled and ready to go but am waiting for the replacement batteries to arrive. Once they do I will ship them to Thomas. I will report back here if it all works out.
I just got the first iPod Shuffle back from Thomas last week and it works like a charm. Ran it for three hours and could not have been happier (it was still plugging away until I turned it off). Thomas' work was $30 and the replacement battery was around $15. I did the assembly and re-assembly myself.
The first generation shuffle is a classic, underrated design! Glad you are sticking with it!
Just as an aside and not really helpful, I do believe the first-gen Shuffle is the only one that can be used with a dead battery, they did make a USB wall charger. Later gens charge through the headphone port which ends that possibility. Glad to hear you were able to get yours up and running again, I'd do something similar to mine but it is only 512MB; I'd get a 1GB and invest in that first.
Thank you, TSE and Retta283. I thought the 1st gen. iPod Shuffle was great when it came out but only appreciated it more when I found that subsequent iterations had limitations for me. I have an Otter Box for my Shuffle and listen to the Shuffle when I am swimming. None of the later generation versions make it so easy, and I have tried them all. Yes Retta, I was aware that the 1st gen. iPod Shuffle can be run with a dead battery. In fact, Apple sold a battery pack that attached to the USB end and worked seamlessly, but not with the Otter Box. So I went down the rabbit hole of figuring out how to replace the batteries. I have two or three more Shuffles that I will send to Amiga of Rochester for battery replacement, after I have disassembled them when I get back from my vacation next week. One is a 1GB (the mechanics/battery are the same). After that I will probably keep one or two and sell the spare(s) and then farm out the whole process to Thomas at Amiga of Rochester so that he can make some money out of it if there is any interest. All I ever wanted was a couple of "like new" 1st gen. iPod Shuffles of my own.
EOE sells refurbished 1st generation 512MB iPod Shuffles for $29.99 but you probably already knew that. That is a good price compared to the headache of replacing the shuffle batteries yourself, which I have done. I know of no other place, reputable or otherwise, that replaces shuffle batteries and believe me, I looked long and hard before doing it myself. If you do it yourself, it is a little tedious but feasible. There are detailed tear-down instructions from the web that I can send you. You will need a replacement battery and I have a recently purchased spare that I can send you if you cover shipping. Then you cut the wires to the existing battery, solder the new one on and put everything back together. I am not handy with a solder gun so I paid Thomas at Amiga of Rochester to do this piece. I think he charged $15 to $20 for it. Hope this helps. Feel free to ask any questions.
I've been searching for someone willing to do the soldering to replace the dead battery in my Gen2 iShuffle and found your posts. I've gotten in touch with Thomas (who says to tell you hello). Thanks for your help finding him. Are you able to tell me where you bought your replacement battery please?
BeckyBen,
After some research I found a place in China for my 1st gneration shuffle. It looks like Elite Obsolete Electronics sells them for $5.99. https://eoe.works/collections/ipod-shuffle-2nd-replacement-parts
After some research I found a place in China for my 1st gneration shuffle. It looks like Elite Obsolete Electronics sells them for $5.99. https://eoe.works/collections/ipod-shuffle-2nd-replacement-parts
Thank you so much for info! I ordered the 2nd generation battery from Elite last night.