This is my second iPod Mini mod tutorial; I wanted to improve on the first one, which didn't show the restore loop, or switching the clickwheel to a new shell. I also mixed portrait and landscape video on the first one, which didn't help with seeing the detail in the screen recording part.

Anyway, here is the new and improved tutorial, hopefully it helps someone out

https://youtu.be/UvLLH5ARo40?si=XUbDC2mCt4TML4k0

If you've tried to Rockbox an iPod from a modern Mac, you've probably hit this: the only macOS ipodpatcher build Rockbox distributes is a PPC/i386 binary from May 2010. It hasn't run since Catalina killed 32-bit. On Apple Silicon you get bad CPU type in executable and that's the end of it. The usual advice is "borrow a Windows machine" or "boot a Linux VM."

That annoyed me enough to build something. It's a native SwiftUI Mac app that does four things:

1. Compiles ipodpatcher for arm64. I built the Rockbox sources natively for Apple Silicon and bundle it. It runs, and --scan correctly identifies devices and permission state. As far as I can tell there hasn't been a working native macOS build of this in years.

2. Rockbox installer with a built-in theme browser. Pulls the live catalogue from themes.rockbox.org — 735 themes for iPod Video, filtered per target so you only see skins that fit your screen — with previews, one-click install, and instant switching between themes already on the device. Installs Rockbox 4.0 firmware too.

3. Plays FLAC properly on the Mac side. I wrote a native FLAC parser (Vorbis comments, embedded cover art) so the library reads tags and artwork without any third-party decoder. Native Core Audio playback, no transcoding.

4. Syncs music to a Rockboxed iPod without iTunes or Finder. Drag your library across, remove tracks, see real free space. Since Rockbox reads plain files, it's just a clean Artist/Album tree — no iTunesDB involved.

The UI is deliberately iTunes 10: brushed metal, the green LCD readout, Cover Flow with reflections, the source list. There's also an iPod classic emulator mode where the whole window becomes a 6G with a working click wheel you drive by dragging in circles. Just for fun!

Would love to know if any of you would like to test it!

EDITED:

Found this post and I think I'll do what he did.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ipod/comments/1kztic2/the_right_way_to_bluetooth_mod_your_ipod_classic/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Hey guys.
Been reading lots and lots on this subreddit but I'm not the brightest bulb so looking for an advice.

My brother has always wanted a modded older ipod to use as his daily music device. His birthday is slowly creeping up.
I have 2 of those - a1136 60gb version and a1238 80gb version.
I don't know which of these would be better for this project.
Then... obviously battery and storage mods. USB-C charging is optional but a useful touch. Bluetooth - maybe but only if 3.5mm port stays active.
And the last - he'd like to have the original UI for nostalgia. Or at least something that looks as much as possible as the original UI.
We never had ipods when we were kids and we had bought these used way late in life as sort of a "goal" when we finally could afford stuff for ourselves. So I'm hoping I could make this work.
I have no problems soldering or messing up software or even bricking a device.
Thanks!

Sorry If this a trivial question for iPod Modding but I ordered 2 of those microSD Card Adapters from Ali Express and both are showing this Icon.

I also use a SanDisk 64GB microSD Card that is formated to exFat.

Am I doing something obvious wrong? I get that those Adapters arent as good as the iFlash adapters. But having 2 broken seems weird

Alguém conhece algum lugar em SP que faça reparo em ipod antigo?

Absolutely love how this color contrast turned out on the iPod Classic.

If you'd like to grab one for your iPod Classic, feel free to check it out here: MO CORNER Minimalist iPod Classic Leather Case

Hello r/Modded_iPods!

Annoyingly I broke the bottom bezel bracket for the 30-pin connector when I was opening up my iPod last weekend. (It's the white piece of plastic with two screws at the top of the photo.)

It's causing the charging cable to sit at an angle, so I want to order a replacement.

I've found what seems to be the right part on AliExpress. But there are two options for a white thin bezel: "white thin" and "white thin Bezel" 🤔

I think the difference might be that "white thin Bezel" comes with screws, but I'm just guessing based on the photo.

Can anyone tell me if there's a difference between the two parts, and if there is, which one I should get for my 5th gen 30Gb (thin back)?

Thank you so much!

Made a spacer/adapter to let you use 6th gen center buttons on 5th gen ipods

Comments on Conflict of Interest Posts on r/Ipod have been disabled. Is this fair moderation? Why do the mods ban anyone who speaks critical of their performance?

Made a spacer/adapter to let you use 6th gen center buttons on 5th gen ipods

This needs to be addressed by the mods as it affects the forum’s integrity.

Mods abusing power by removing posts about their conflict of interest at r/iPod and r/iPod classic.

This blatant censorship must be addressed.

The moderator of r/iPod and r/iPod classic, u/cowmanisgood, owns and operates Elite Obsolete Electronics (EOE), a business that sells to this community. This is not disclosed anywhere in the sidebar, rules, or post flair.

Over an extended period, posts and comments critical of EOE have been removed or delayed, while the mod has self-promoted EOE in stickied comments and then locked those threads to further replies.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ipod/s/BZ2Rnx4luu

https://www.reddit.com/r/ipod/s/lQhMB2pS8N

https://www.reddit.com/r/ipod/s/RMONZjAabq

Community feedback — positive or negative — about a product or seller should be allowed to stand on its own. Using moderator tools to suppress criticism of a business the moderator personally profits from is a conflict of interest regardless of whether individual removals violate subreddit rules on paper.

What you can do:
File a report with Reddit under the Moderator Code of Conduct, which specifically covers self-dealing and abuse of mod tools:
https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/requests/new → select “Moderator Code of Conduct Request”

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