Replacing an Apple iPod Mini Battery
So my mom and dad weren't using an iPod Mini they had laying around and the battery wasn't holding a charge for more than an hour, so they asked if I wanted it. My wife didn't have one of her own, so I figured I could get a replacement battery and change it myself. How hard can it be?
Turns out, it ain't that hard at all. Did some quick Google searches and found a nice howto on C-Net:
Ordered a replacement battery from BatteryGeeks.net:
It's a higher capacity battery, so battery life should be longer. Sure beats paying $100 or more for someone else to replace it. $14.99 including tools.
If you want to see the guts of our new iPod Mini, take a look:
One word of advice: Use a hair dryer to loosen the glue on the plastic covers on the top and bottom of the iPod before you start trying to pry them off. Much easier when warmed up.
http://www.welovemacs.com/harddrive.html --- link for instructions
As usual, I had to fix the battery. :)
the positive wire wasn't soldered on and just removing it from the packaging broke it.
I didn't have silver solder, my 1/16" conical tip for my new soldering iron, my new soldering iron or my super geeky magnifying visor for soldering points like this.
I winged it with rosin core solder. It took me two taps with the meat hook for a soldering tip I had but it worked. No heat buildup in the battery either.
A hair dryer would have been a smart move on my part.
I also forgot I bought a very nifty ABS spudger for somewhere around 30ยข a while ago.
It would have been a flawless job if I had used it.
Many thanks for pointing this option out. I sometimes forget to look for a DIY option.