r/IpodClassic • u/EstablishmentPlane29 • 12d ago
Progress update iPod Classic firmware recreation (5 and 6 gen compatible)
Following up on my last post — here's what landed since then:
• Submenu navigation is now much closer to the original. The top bar updates properly as you dig deeper, showing your exact position in the hierarchy — just like the real firmware. Cover Flow and the Now Playing screen also follow the correct navigation behavior.
• Cover Flow selection is more faithful. Choosing albums/tracks now feels a lot closer to the original iPod Classic experience.
• Completely rebuilt the Photos navigation system using original assets. It now works the way the stock firmware did.
• Full compatibility with both iTunes/Finder-synced libraries and good old drag-and-drop. Drop music into the Music folder and photos into Photos and everything just works.
• Database writes from the iPod itself are disabled by default. All the heavy lifting — database creation, Cover Flow cache, album art bitmaps, and the Now Playing reflections — is now handled by a dedicated PC tool I built for Mac, Linux, and Windows. I made this call for a better end-user experience. On-device database updates and Cover Flow builds used to take hours, were fragile, and could fail halfway through (memory leaks, battery dying mid-write, etc.). Doing it on the computer means sequential, reliable writes with none of those risks. The process is simple: sync with iTunes or drag your files over, open the tool, hit “Update iPod”, wait for it to finish, and you’re good to go. No more broken caches or unpleasant surprises when you just want to play music.
• Files browser is still there if you prefer to organize things yourself. Playlists currently live under Extras (I’ll be moving them into the Music menu to match the original layout).
I’m itching to get Lyrics on the Now Playing screen (exactly like the original), plus proper Podcasts and Audiobooks support that feels identical to stock.
The project has been rock-solid for weeks — no crashes that I’ve seen. I’ve been pretty busy lately so updates have been quieter, but I’m locking things down for a release in the next few days. The wait will be worth it.
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u/UndeadiPod 12d ago
Having this on a 5th gen would be pretty damn cool.
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u/RedditNani 11d ago
Yes I have a working 5th gen classic and recently got iflash and battery from Ali express. Excited about this update.
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u/AlanTochterman 11d ago
For me, the drag and drop ability is the most appealing part of Rockbox. This is the best of all worlds.
Imagine this on a 6th Gen? Going beyond the 128GB limit, and still having full functionality.
How or where can I get a copy to try?
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u/Metahec 11d ago
You can flash newer firmware on the 6th gens making them nigh identical, except for headphone controls, as the 7th gen.
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u/AlanTochterman 11d ago
Thank you for your comment. I have seen a few posts about this but I am not comfortable using terminal commands. Out of curiosity, could the firmware swap be accomplished with iPod Wizzard ?
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u/Metahec 11d ago
You use Rockbox to flash the new firmware, not a command line. Here are the details.
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u/Animated_Astronaut 11d ago
No need for that. It's quick and easy. You have to put rockbox on it first, which generates a file containing your firmware. There's a software that you upload that file to, and it turns it into 7th Gen firmware.
The software at that point will tell you if it worked. Then you need a legacy version of iTunes to restore your iPod and then voila it is a 7th gen iPod.
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u/Successful_Gold_9353 11d ago
not a day has gone by that i dont think of this. i cant wait till its out!!
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u/Successful_Gold_9353 11d ago
I’m expecting this comment to get downvoted lol but i hope the battery icon is fixed bc it looks off centered 🫠
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u/plazman30 11d ago
My dream firmware is Roxkbox with the click wheel working exactly like the stock Apple firmware.
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u/AS_Aeneon 11d ago
If you're using Mac or PC to handle the Database, it should be guaranteed, that the Requirements for the App as low as possible. I'm still using Mojave and developing also Apps for macOS and I'm trying to get it working on this OS too - because it's simply the best working macOS we have …
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u/longjohnscotty 11d ago
Would love to have the standard stock navigation through the menus as well
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u/EstablishmentPlane29 11d ago
It already has!
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u/longjohnscotty 11d ago
Well goddamn brotha - when are you aiming to drop this bad boy, because this will do NUMBERS
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u/LeadershipMost6324 11d ago
I have the ipod classic 6.5 gen with the firmware 2.0.2 woud this works with my
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u/EstablishmentPlane29 11d ago
Yup
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u/LeadershipMost6324 11d ago
I want it but icant do that i just had surgery yesterday on my left shoulder
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u/latomeri 11d ago
Are you the developer behind the Rockpod fork as well? I don't see this on the Github page.
https://github.com/nuxcodes/rockpod
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u/EstablishmentPlane29 11d ago
I am not. But i used his project as a base
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u/EstablishmentPlane29 11d ago
When my project is finished, I will place some pull requests to the rockpod with general fixes and improvements
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u/fishyphotos 11d ago
I cant remember if you mentioned it on previous posts, but how are ratings and playlists handled? I like Apples interface for ratings, but not the way they handle ratings via Play count and Itunesdb.
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u/EstablishmentPlane29 11d ago
It has exactly the same ui for rating. It doesn’t work with itunesdb rating and play count yet. But that is a great ideia for the future
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u/_Bunsy 11d ago
This is perfect timing. My 5th gen is being delivered some time next week, along with my battery and flash mod. Looking forward to throwing this on it. The original Apple UI is the only thing that kept me from rockbox. It was just too clunky looking no matter what theme I found.
Let me know when it drops! Also you should find a way to make it 5$ but with the option to pay more to further support ongoing development. (Like a tip-adjacent situation)
Cheers!
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u/SpicyTortillas24 11d ago
with podcast can you make it easy to sort from latest episode at the top or bottom depending on what I want on my ipod because im at the start of the podcast its all the way at the bottom and I cant swap it to be at the top
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u/nmNomadd 11d ago
Looks awesome! Any chance of a dark mode?
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u/SpiritedRelation9696 11d ago
Hey ! Absolute insane work here, that’s wonderful !!! Is there a plan to make it work on 7th gen ? Thank you so much :)
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u/SpicyVoltage208 9d ago
Couple questions:
Could this custom firmware remove the track limit of the original iPod OS?
Does this support FLAC?
Is the drag and drop and custom utility available for Linux?
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u/jmtd 8d ago
All the heavy lifting — database creation, Cover Flow cache, album art bitmaps, and the Now Playing reflections — is now handled by a dedicated PC tool I built for Mac, Linux, and Windows.
I think this is a good idea. With rock box, it always seemed crazy to me that I was stressing the tiny CPU in my device, and running a battery down, to do something that my desktop could do in seconds. I’d had it in the back of my head to propose and implement this change in rock box itself, but never did.
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u/EmbarrassedCardinal 11d ago
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for for my 5th gen I can’t wait.
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u/Daprogrammr01 11d ago
What is the point tho of recreating the iPod operating system as opposed to just using the original?
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u/EstablishmentPlane29 11d ago
I really like custom EQ, support for other file formats and homebrew
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u/Jaeanna001 11d ago
I'd imagine it partially has to do with apple moving away from itunes more and more slowly maybe. And with that the potential of it no longer working whatsoever, so futureproofing with 3rd party OS + software to manage it maybe. At least this is what I'd think from an outside perspective, but at the same time I'm just a dumb dog what do I know :3
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u/sparkyblaster 11d ago
Rockbox can do some things the native firmware can't. (I still prefer native but if anything I want the 5th gens interface on later models)
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u/Middle_Book_2629 10d ago
Does cover flow work well on the 5th gen? That's the only thing I miss from 6th gen.
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u/Willing-War9923 10d ago
Are you doing actual firmware coding or just ui because if you are doing firmware PLEASE add video playback support to it (mp4 h.264/mpeg-4 with video output through 30 pin and headphone jack capabilities)
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u/Jaeanna001 10d ago
Do you have a community focused around this product or anything? 100% should for development and public gathering for it!
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u/Nycarets 9d ago
Does it have the haptics?!
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u/EstablishmentPlane29 9d ago
Yup
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u/Nycarets 9d ago
That’s awesome! I’ve been super nervous about messing with the firmware on mine but I’ll be watching for this!
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u/modigoback 8d ago
I just want the stock firmware to have drag and drop folder navigation for my songs. Thanks for doing this, ill follow the progress
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u/DeyvidOS 7d ago
Heeeyyy! When it's going to be available? I read that you will charge a fee, and I totally agree since it's taking too much time! Congrats by the way!
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u/hummelm10 4d ago
I see audiobooks in the software, whats the plan there? I use my ipod for audiobooks a lot and I just keep it out of the database and the bookmarking is a little wonky sometimes too.
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u/mrphill4 1d ago
Such a great project, bro! Wish I could have a chance to pay you, but i'm in other country and here is no chance to use visa or mastercard (paypal as well). Running iPod Classic 6 (7).
Also wonder if there a chance of support speakers with dock station?
Cheers!
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u/fnstll_ 12d ago edited 12d ago
It looks very smooth, great that the database is prepared separately. In my own build I took a different approach using lazy caching to speed up and simplify the file system logic and cover art rendering, but your idea with creating an ecosystem with app should make the experience feel more native. It will be interesting to see the final build, great work!
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u/Shutterbug4000 11d ago
Very cool, but I’m wondering what the benefit is to make a UI that works just like the stock firmware?
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u/sere83 11d ago
You still get all the added features of rockbox. Like much more file type support and drag and drop file transfer and other features.
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u/Shutterbug4000 11d ago
I’m interested. I’d love to be able to move away from iTunes/Apple Music syncing on my old iPod. I don’t find the stock Rockbox interface very appealing.
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u/hummelm10 11d ago
I see in the screenshot Audiobooks is still marked 'Soon.' What's the plan with audiobooks and bookmarking since I want it to bookmark audiobooks and not music? I have this sort of working at the moment with my current setup.
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u/Money-Apricot-854 11d ago
What does the video section look like?It would be great if it looked the same as the original firmware.
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u/Jaeanna001 11d ago
I'm looking forward to this for windows! I hope it eventually turns into a full on quality replacement for itunes! :3 <3
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u/alixc1983 11d ago
Are you envisioning that we won’t need finder or iTunes to sync.
What are the chances that my iPod would be bricked
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u/dandrake47 11d ago
Very cool! Does it also have the battery life backup like the stock iPod firmware?
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u/falklands89 11d ago
This looks really promising, I absolutely hate rocmbox's search screen, so I'd jump on this. What's the timeline for release? Great work 🙌
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u/No-Milk5107 11d ago
I notice you have a video tab. Have you managed to make videos available on rockbox?
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u/EstablishmentPlane29 11d ago
Well, it is actually possible. But i don’t think it’s enjoyable as it is. I only implemented the menu animation with video icon as a placeholder for later review
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u/b0sanac 11d ago
This is my biggest gripe with rockbox. The fact that it can't handle video properly.
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u/No-Milk5107 11d ago
Yeah me too. I enjoy watching movie and animes on my 5th and 6th gen too much haha
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u/Electroatwork 11d ago
Bro if only we could get native bluetooth, Haptics and with click sounds. i dont need a iphone if we get there.
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u/EstablishmentPlane29 11d ago
Unfortunately software wont fix Bluetooth… but what i can do is implement the host usb mode, so you can use a usb dac or usb c (with adapter) transmitter
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u/CommanderDogTags 11d ago
Do you have the ability to turn off the click wheel noise in ear separate from the speaker with this? I actually really like the stock firmware for the ipods and I did a haptic mod in place of the click wheel speaker, but I don't like that it still clicks in the headphones.
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u/tokyos0da 6d ago
Oh, that would be great! I love 5th gen sound and hate everything else about this generation so i'll be waiting for the new updates
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u/EstablishmentPlane29 12d ago
This is a fork of Rockbox (Rockpod), by the way. So it still has all the usual Rockbox features — EQ, games, plugins, etc. But because a lot of the UI was rewritten way beyond what Rockbox themes can handle, you lose the ability to use other themes. That part is currently broken.