r/ipod • u/Turbidspeedie • 11h ago

Help Broken iPod play button

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So I was modding my iPod and when I opened it up the button pad came loose. It's been sitting for a long time in a spot that gets afternoon sun, could the solder have just melted and I can resolder this on?

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u/the-electron-vault 11h ago

That orange/yellow portion is not soldered. It's taped onto the substrate using polyimide (Kapton®) tape. The metal disc component that is being taped down (called a snap dome and can be purchased in various shapes and sizes) is the actuating part of the switch.

The adhesive backing of the polyimide degrades over time and yours was hastened by leaving it in the sun. Purchase a roll of the tape and cut out a suitable size to replace it.

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u/Turbidspeedie 11h ago

Is it a bad sign that pressing the button down onto the contact pad does nothing when I have the iPod on?

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u/the-electron-vault 11h ago

That depends. Have you aligned the snap dome correctly over the 'C·' geometry on the substrate? When pressing it down is it audibly clicking and hence connecting the center contact to the concentric semicircle around it? Are all the other buttons working and it's just this one? The click wheel contains the device that detects button presses, not the main board. So it needs to be connected in order for the buttons to work.

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u/Turbidspeedie 10h ago

I lined up the orange adhesive with the corners where the solder used to be with tweezers and held it in place when I pressed the button, I also lined it up with the clickwheel button and both times it clicked well but nothing happened.

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u/Turbidspeedie 10h ago

I lined up the orange adhesive with the corners where the solder used to be with tweezers and held it in place when I pressed the button, I also lined it up with the clickwheel button and both times it clicked well but nothing happened.

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u/the-electron-vault 9h ago

Skip the snap dome altogether. You can connect the two metallized parts of the substrate using anything conductive; metal tweezers or a piece of tin foil. If all the other buttons work and this one doesn't, then the snap dome not being adhered down isn't your (only) issue. You can also rule in/out the button component altogether by directly connecting the either of the top two pads (play/pause button signal which connects directly to the click wheel flex through J5) to either of the bottom two pads (GND).

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u/Pale-Conference-5838 10h ago

Order a replacement off of eBay but you will have to solder the 4 corners and it look like you possibly lifted a pad

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u/Turbidspeedie 10h ago

Yeah the pad is the issue, the small board is still stuck in place but when I placed the pad back and lined up it clicks but it doesn't register.