Right on schedule, here’s iFixit’s iPod nano 4G take apart guide… Here’s the thing, at this point there’s not much going on or that “new” and exciting, that big chip with the Apple on it is basically an iPod on a chip, it does everything. It’s an incredible feat of engineering but not too much fun to poke around with now. Makers what do you think?
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http://www.rapidrepair.com/guides/nano4g/ipodnano4grepairguide.html is another guide. There were a few parts that really hung me up.
First, after you peel off the top vinyl and remove the two side screws, what then? I used a strong dental pick to pry in one screw hole, and eventually lifted the screen assembly up enough to pry with a flatblade, and then just pull the rest of the allowed 1/2″ before the display cable becomes taught.
Next, the rapidrepair guide mentions to press in the bottom of the front glass, into the void made by the LCD being pulled up. Slide the glass down inside a bit, and you can get the top glass tab free. Viola, you can now play with the LCD connector! It took a long while for me to catch onto this.
Peel off, or carefully cut away the tape covering the LCD connector. This connector is tan on the ribbon-cable side, black on the other, and visible metal contacts in between. Don’t just yank out the ribbon, but pry up the black strip. It pops up like a trunk on a very short, wide toy car. You can’t slide the ribbon out quite yet. Look again at the pic for the separated LCD, there’s a metal tab hanging down on the left. That’s really part of the LCD package, and covered in glue. Pry the ribbon free from that tab, and then easily slide it free(ish).
Next, you can peel off the hold switch on the back of the LCD. There are two screws facing up on the bottom of the LCD topper, you will NEVER have to remove them. Just use a slender screwdriver from the top edge, and pry the switch’s brown flex-board away from it’s very subtle metal base. It’s probably bad to pry against the white part. There are 2 alignment pegs on the switch/miniboard, just a fun fact when you come back to reassembling.
Before you can pull the bottom-side out, you have to unstick the battery. Fun! I started prying the corners a bit with a flatblade screwdriver, and used a cut up business card to pry most of the rest. A keychain-size supermarket card was perfect for finishing up the length of the battery. The glue is only along the top and sides, you can see it still on pics of the aluminum shell.
Next, you can worry about opening the bottom. Vinyl, razor, 3 screws. Use a dock connector to draw out the pcb halfway, then you can worry about the control-pad connector. The ribbon side goes with the pcb, and the connector side stays with the case. Once again, that part is glued down, and you need to completely unglue the connector before pulling the circuit board all the way out. Did you remember to unstick the hold switch from the LCD? Is the battery totally loosened?
And finally, the best hint? Check your jeans before doing the wash! (Yes, it did work after tearing it down, and washing with distilled water).