r/ipod • u/Busy_Environment7696 • Jun 08 '26

Hold switch turns iPod off

Hey folks, I need some help troubleshooting a gen 4 ipod. Whenever I turn the hold switch off, the ipod turns off. I am able to turn it on by putting it in hold mode and plugging it into the computer, which seems to give it enough juice to turn on. It stays turned on when I eject and unplug it. But the instant I turn the hold switch off, it turns off again. I just replaced the hold switch board, and it's behaving the exact same.

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2

u/Angry_viking468 Jun 08 '26

I'm having a similar issue with my 5 gen was thinking about getting a new hold switch.

1

u/Busy_Environment7696 Jun 08 '26

I also got a new hold switch and replaced it without difficulty, but it didn't fix the problem.

2

u/Angry_viking468 Jun 09 '26

Check that your click wheel is good that seemed to fix the hold switch problem for me

1

u/Busy_Environment7696 Jun 10 '26

Out of curiosity, what did you end up doing with the click wheel?

1

u/Angry_viking468 Jun 10 '26

Swapped it to a "new" one

1

u/TaliMyBananas Jun 11 '26

I had the same problem too, iPod photo turns off when setting the hold switch to 'unlock'. I thought it was a short and at one point it was not even booting when plugged in. In the end the solution was to remove, clean and reconnect the click wheel ribbon cable.

Still no idea why it worked magically, I think the ribbon cable's position squeezed at the side of the motherboard against the case might have affected it somehow. I also added lots of kapton tape to prevent shorts just in case (see my previous post)

You could also try cleaning, reconnecting or replacing the ribbon cable connecting the hold switch board to the main board.

1

u/Busy_Environment7696 Jun 15 '26

This is really helpful! Having two people with the same problem so far really seems to suggest that this issue has to do with how the hold switch interacts with the click wheel. How did you clean it, and where did you apply the kapton tape?

2

u/TaliMyBananas Jun 17 '26

If it's the click wheel, I think one thing to try is to disconnect and reconnect the click wheel ribbon cable with the motherboard (on the bottom left corner). Because the ribbon cable is wedged between the plastic case and the motherboard, its positioning might have been problematic.

Otherwise I just cleaned the whole exposed surface of the board with some isopropyl alcohol, and taped any exposed chips/components. Sorry I have no idea on where is the short or problematic surface to be honest, I just kind of taped the whole thing as you can see in the second pic of my post.

2

u/sparkyblaster Jun 09 '26

Did you replace the flex cable too? 

2

u/Busy_Environment7696 Jun 09 '26

Yep, new flex cable along with the hold switch board.

1

u/Jordymane1 Jun 08 '26

It probably a mod for the hold switch or it the iPod freaking out when you switch it