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Resurrecting my iPod 5th generation with "very low battery"

Hello, Apple community. I have a 60GB 5th generation iPod with click wheel that I'm trying to recharge and gain access to. (It has my music library on it.) I've plugged it into my computer to charge and have left it plugged in for a few hours. Every couple of minutes, I hear the hard drive whir, see the Apple logo light up on the screen, as if it's powering up, but then the screen darkens and I see the message "Please wait. Very low battery." I assume that the battery isn't holding enough charge to power up the device, so I'm wondering if there's anything I can do. Are replacement batteries even possible? Will the machine eventually capture enough charge to start itself?? Or is my data permanently inaccessible?? I'd appreciate any advice the community might have. Thank you!

Posted on Jul 13, 2023 1:13 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 14, 2023 10:59 AM

khnorris wrote:

Every couple of minutes, I hear the hard drive whir, see the Apple logo light up on the screen, as if it's powering up, but then the screen darkens and I see the message "Please wait. Very low battery." I assume that the battery isn't holding enough charge to power up the device,

That sounds as thought the battery has failed. I doubt that it will ever take enough charge to make the iPod work.


Apple no longer offer a repair service for the iPod Classic, but there are places that can fit a replacement battery for you. You will have to enquire locally to where you live.


Regarding the music on the iPod; the Classic could only have music added to it by iTunes (the programme on a computer), so that music should still be in the iTunes Library that was used to manage the iPod. If you changed computers, did you move your library to the new computer? Did you ever make a backup of your music?


By the way, if you now have a Mac with OS Catalina (10:15) or later on it, then use Finder, not iTunes.


If you no loner have the library of music that you once did, then you will have to resort to the original source of it in order to re-build your library. For music that you originally:

    • purchased from the iTunes Store, sign into your store account and download those purchases from your account's past purchases page
    • purchased from other online stores, such as Amazon or Bandcamp (etc.), go to your account with that store and re-download the music
    • ripped (copied) from CDs, use the CD to rip a replacement copy
    • obtained from other online sources, such as artist websites, go back to that source

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4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 14, 2023 10:59 AM in response to khnorris

khnorris wrote:

Every couple of minutes, I hear the hard drive whir, see the Apple logo light up on the screen, as if it's powering up, but then the screen darkens and I see the message "Please wait. Very low battery." I assume that the battery isn't holding enough charge to power up the device,

That sounds as thought the battery has failed. I doubt that it will ever take enough charge to make the iPod work.


Apple no longer offer a repair service for the iPod Classic, but there are places that can fit a replacement battery for you. You will have to enquire locally to where you live.


Regarding the music on the iPod; the Classic could only have music added to it by iTunes (the programme on a computer), so that music should still be in the iTunes Library that was used to manage the iPod. If you changed computers, did you move your library to the new computer? Did you ever make a backup of your music?


By the way, if you now have a Mac with OS Catalina (10:15) or later on it, then use Finder, not iTunes.


If you no loner have the library of music that you once did, then you will have to resort to the original source of it in order to re-build your library. For music that you originally:

    • purchased from the iTunes Store, sign into your store account and download those purchases from your account's past purchases page
    • purchased from other online stores, such as Amazon or Bandcamp (etc.), go to your account with that store and re-download the music
    • ripped (copied) from CDs, use the CD to rip a replacement copy
    • obtained from other online sources, such as artist websites, go back to that source

Jul 14, 2023 11:14 AM in response to the fiend

Thank you very much! Eventually (after about 24 hours of charging), the iPod abruptly woke up and enabled me to listen to my beloved play lists for about 20 minutes. Everything is all there, and I've ordered a replacement battery kit from a retailer who seems to have high reviews. I do have the library backed up on portable hard drives, but it's so much easier to listen simply from the iPod. I have my 2006 MacBook, whose hard drive eventually didn't fit my entire music library, so I'll be able to plug the iPod into that in order to remove the material I had put onto it to use as a portable hard drive. I'm glad that stuff is still on it--otherwise, I would have asked the Apple store to recycle the device. I'm happy that I didn't. I gather people are still very fond of fifth-generation iPods. Thanks again to thefiend!

Jul 14, 2023 12:18 PM in response to khnorris

khnorris wrote:

... but it's so much easier to listen simply from the iPod.

It is, I agree.

so I'll be able to plug the iPod into that in order to remove the material I had put onto it to use as a portable hard drive.

Perhaps I've misunderstood what you wrote there, but it's not a simple process to get music off an iPod and back into either Finder (on more recent Macs) or iTunes. Files backed up onto an iPod; yes, although it's not something I ever had success with, but music; no.


In your situation, I recommend that you make sure that you have a valid and working backup of your music files. Do not rely on getting it back off the iPod either now, or in the future.

Resurrecting my iPod 5th generation with "very low battery"

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