Would You Buy A Used iPod These Days (Battery Life?)

I was going to buy a used iPod nano off of eBay recently when I thought about their battery life. A device made in the last decade has… how many potential charges left? Of course, Apple in their infinite wisdom made replacing the batteries about as easy as blindfolded brain surgery, too. So, in 2021, would you consider buying a used iPod?

 

Considering your luck with used stuff?
I'd just re-purpose an old smartphone.

 

I'd only consider one if it was going to be in a stationary location, plugged into a DAC/charger.

 

I bought an old 80 gig iPod and a Green Nano 3 years ago and both are going strong...the 80 gig goes for a few months without charging, but I don't use it everyday...I also have a 40 gig iPod Photo that's still going after 15 years same battery. I keep them all charged every few months...

 

You can get new batteries. There are refurbishersnwho sell iPods with new batteries and SSD drives for classics. I have one with 256gb SSD

 

My 2 ancient iPods are still going strong. Living on borrowed time no doubt, but they've lasted longer than many other gizmos I've had through the years. And can be refurbished as telemike says!

 

No. They are slow compared to today and memory sucks compared to nowadays.
So many other options.

 

I would consider a refurbished one. But would not buy one that has not been redone.

You should check the Classifieds here under Hardware. There is usually a refurb for sale.

 

They are still great little devices! There aren't many portable devices that sound as good or better then a 5th generation iPod with Wolfson DAC. A refurbished iPod with new battery and iFlash adapter using a MicroSD card is significantly faster then the originals. Replacing the original firmware with Rockbox allows you to use just about any format you want in it.

 

No. My nano 6th gen has been dead for years, same with original shuffle and ipad mini 3. I tried twice replacing the battery of the mini 3 and failed both times. No idea why as the replacement went smoothly both times. I used to think Apple was better than the rest, no longer impressed. I would say the way they "seal" their batteries in is not environmentallly friendly and not superior, but rather the opposite. What a PITA.

 

I've got a small pile of Ipod Touches all DOA. They have to be plugged in to use them.

 

yes, but battery life is a consideration..
i have 3 of them that need to be refurbished
any recommendations for repair/refurbishment--preferably someone you've actually used and had positive results with .. ??

 

Batteries cheap off ebay. How to change them off youtoob.
It's easy i've done it many times.
Changing the hard drive is also just as easy.

 

I just modded mine, put a 2200mAh, and swapping the drive for an iFlash adapter with 600 GB.

I ended up just ignoring the default software, and installing Rock Box. Now I have a nice 1 day+ Battery with a bunch of FLAC files on it.

 

What's slow about the ipod classic?

@thnkgreen, if you are up for a little DIY, the 5th and 7th gen ipod classics are workhorses and sound great. I have two 7th gens which I installed new batteries, as well as iflash cards carrying 1tb of memory each. They both contain my entire library of about 1500 cds ripped to AIFFs. I keep one in a dock on my nightstand feeding a headphone amp. The other is connected to my dac and saves me the trouble of using my Mac Mini as a source. I love the ease with which I can dial up any cd in my collection.

 

Ah I stand corrected. Didn’t know.

thanks!

 

Will you recommend a good DIY tutorial video, please?

 

It's been a while since I watched one, I wouldn't know which is best. I opened my last few without looking; takes 10 minutes to change a battery. When I did watch them, I learned as much from watching "fail" videos as I did from good videos. My tip is this, order your parts from iFlash.xyz – Welcome to the home of the iFlash Adapter , and get a couple of their flexible pry tools. Those are great for opening a 7th gen.

 

I would take the combination of the asking price and the cost of battery replacement (by Apple) into consideration.

 

I wouldn’t buy a used one but maybe a refurbished one if you’re wanting an iPod. iPods being unable to stream anything kills it for me. (I know the touch can but I’m not considering that an iPod, it’s more of an iPhone without the phone at this point).


If you like to tinker though, you can pick up a used classic for cheap and replace the battery and upgrade to an SSD and have quite the machine. I’ve thought of doing it myself but again, no streaming kills it for me.

 

There are a lot of videos out there. However, the iSesamo tool will make opening the iPod much easier then many of the videos you watch which do not use that tool.

 

I drink the Apple Kool-Aid but abandoned iPods when Apple abandoned iPods. Moved on to FiiO and never looked back.

 

Hi Guys!

No!

I have had 4 or 5 ipod shuffle, used them only for running.

Every year I bought a new one and sold the former one because of extended storage and - because the battery life was going down.

I really miss the ipod shuffle for running.

But - why not buying a 256 GB micro SD card for less than 30€/$ and put it into your smartphone?

Bye Andrea

 

I have two iPods, one untouched, one refurbished (and the refurbished one has cheaper parts).

Both work well. It is a way of listening to music on the go without having to carry a phone.

Covid has well and truly ended whatever modicum of restraint was left for governments about mass surveillance. So it pays to have portable music devices with no wireless network features.

 

My Sansa Clip+ was much better sounding that the iPod Classic 160GB I had. It can play FLAC up to 48K/16 too and has a microSD slot. Another bonus was that it didn't require the use of iTunes, just drag and drop.