I found my iPod at the bottom of a drawer and I'd like to get it working again. When I plug it into USB, nothing happens - the screen stays black. Is it just the battery that's dead or has the whole thing given up the ghost? Anyone managed to bring one back to life?
The battery in old Nanos often just dies after years of sitting around, so it's not necessarily toast. Have you tried leaving it plugged in for a few hours? Sometimes you gotta let it sit for a bit before it boots back up, and if the screen lights up even dimly afterward, that's a good sign.
If nothing happens after several hours, then it's probably the battery that's completely dead or the connector that gave up - with Nanos it's pretty annoying to fix yourself because they're a pain to open. Some people do manage to bring them back to life by swapping the battery, but you'll need some tools and patience to open it without breaking the thing.
The USB connector itself might be corroded or gunked up after years sitting in a drawer, so before you conclude it's the battery, try cleaning the port really well with a dry cotton swab or a little blast of compressed air 🍄 After that, leave it plugged in for a good while (like 8-10 hours minimum) even if there's no sign of life, sometimes old devices need time to "wake up". If nothing happens after that, then yeah it's probably dead-dead, but it's worth trying the cleaning first!
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