How can I fix my iPod Shuffle?

Question

I haven't used my iPod Shuffle in almost a year. I finally dug it out of a drawer only to find it didn't work. It worked fine when I put it in the drawers, so my first assumption was that the battery had completely discharged. I plugged the base into a USB port I was sure was working and tried to charge it. I let it sit for quite some time with no change.

I then followed the 5 R's found on the Apple website, but still no change. The computer isn't seeing it at all and the battery doesn't seem to be charging.

Should I toss it and buy a new one or is it worth having it serviced? Do you think it could be a bad adapter? Is it user serviceable at all? Can the internal battery be replaced?

If I do decide to have it serviced do I need to send it off to Apple or are there independent agents who work on these things (perhaps like Best Buy)?

Answer 1

Most like the battery is completely discharged and needs a good charge with an external adaptor, rather than a USB port before you can tell whether or not it even can  be revived. The internal battery *can* be replaced, but it requires soldering some *very* small connectoins.  I've seen 1 Gb shuffles for as low as $30 (good used) on ebay, so I'm not sure it's even worth it, time-wise.  Most of the larger ipods can be serviced but the shuffle, and even the nano, aren't worth the trouble in most cases.  The nano is almost heavy enough for a paperweight, though the shuffle has a handy clip for holding post-it notes. lol

If you give up and are going to toss it, email me and I can dispose of it for you - I need some shuffle bits and pieces!  ( you can email me via my userpic/profile)