I modded an iPod Classic from 2008 to add Bluetooth, USB-C, and an SSD — here's how

Brady Snyder is a technology journalist that has written about mobile devices and computers for multiple publications over the last two years. He graduated from St. John's University in 2023 with a B.S. in Journalism and a minor in English. Prior to joining XDA Developers, Brady wrote over 500 articles for Screen Rant's tech team, where he covered an Apple beat. You'll also find his work in Android Central, iMore, Android Headlines, and his blog. Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Brady reviews consumer technology, software, and services. You can reach Brady at brady@xda-developers.com.

We've long said that the best way to keep an old device up and running for longer is to swap out the slow hard drive it came with for an SSD. But does that same advice apply to an old iPod? You may have forgotten that early iPods shipped with custom hard drives — 1.8-inch HDDs for the iPod Classic and 1-inch HDDs for the iPod Mini — with the same spinning disks as the drives on old laptops and PCs. However, unlike laptops and PCs with hard drives, iPods are far from stationary devices. They were kept in pockets, dropped, and mishandled. That's why many old iPods have hard drives that no longer work, or are on their way to breaking.

Thanks to a few hobbyists much smarter than myself, there are custom components that can be used to restore an old iPod to its former glory. I love using an iPod Classic in 2024, but hate all the pain points that come with using a device that's closing in on two decades old. That's why I took a seventh-generation iPod Classic from 2008 and added an SSD, a USB-C port, and Bluetooth connectivity to make for a more modern experience.

Adding an SSD to my iPod

There's absolutely no reason to do this, but I did it anyway

The idea of replacing the 1.8-inch hard drive that came with my iPod Classic with a tiny, M.2 SSD was just too cool of a project to pass up. But is there any practical reason for putting an SSD inside your iPod? The answer is a bit complicated. Switching to flash storage makes sense for any iPod user still rocking a device with a spinning hard drive. It's faster, more reliable, and makes the entire thing feel lighter. However, the best way to get flash storage on an iPod is to use a daughterboard that converts the HDD ribbon cable to a microSD card slot. It's cheap, lightweight, and effective.

The price of flash storage, especially microSD cards, is coming down in perpetuity. Right now, you can get a microSD card with 512GB or 1TB of storage without spending that much. When iFlash — a company that makes various daughterboards for converting iPods to flash storage — decided to make the iFlash SATA board, this wasn't the case. Buying a 512GB or 1TB M.2 SSD was cheaper than picking up a microSD card of the same size. So, if you wanted to put that amount of storage in an iPod Classic, using the iFlash SATA adapter and an M.2 SSD made financial sense.

The concept behind the iPod Classic mod is simple, and iFlash's board is incredibly user-friendly. The process of getting the sixth- or seventh-generation iPod open is the hard part, and it's one of the hardest opening processes you'll ever do. iFixit gave the repair process for replacing the iPod Classic's hard drive a difficulty rating of "very difficult," which is the highest possible rating.

There are warnings on just about every other step, and the entire project could take as long as two hours. When you get past the hard part, though, using the iFlash SATA board is easy. It has a DDK Zif Connector that connects to the iPod's hard drive ribbon cable, and an M.2 slot with clips for securing the SSD in place. There's also a thermal pad to help keep the SSD cool.

There are obvious downsides to consider when considering equipping an iPod Classic with an SSD. Only certain drives are supported, and they can get hot. And, not every iPod plays nice with this much storage. Only certain models of the fifth-generation iPod Video and seventh-generation iPod Classic can even recognize this much storage, and RAM limitations limit how many songs you can store. It was a fun project, but I'd recommend anyone digging their old iPod out of a drawer to upgrade it with a microSD card instead of an SSD.

Is it better to use an SSD or a microSD card?

I've tried both, so let's explore the pros and cons

It was a fun project, but I'd recommend anyone digging their old iPod out of a drawer to upgrade it with a microSD card instead of an SSD. After spending months daily-driving iPods with microSD cards and an SSD inside, I can say that the ones with microSD cards inside are more reliable. Although SSDs are usually the faster storage solution for PCs, they are significantly slower than microSD cards for iPods. Syncing a few thousand songs could take hours using the iFlash SSD mod, whereas the same number of tracks would be downloaded quicker on an iPod with a microSD card inside.

Battery life and compatibility are two more reasons to go with a microSD card adapter for your iPod. SSDs consume a lot of power, especially relative to the size of the lithium-ion batteries inside MP3 players. If your iPod's original battery has never been replaced, it's nearly two decades old and is certainly suffering from some form of battery degradation. Put simply, battery life will be atrocious if you put an SSD inside an iPod Classic. You'll get an hour or so of listening time, at best, and standby time will be bad as well.

Most importantly, there are microSD card mods for more iPods than the very last few models of Classics. I got a 256GB microSD card running inside an iPod Mini — the smallest iPod to ever feature a spinning hard drive. Other eager modders managed to get microSD cards inside some of the earliest iPods to ever exist. The possibilities are endless, really.

Now it's time for Bluetooth and USB-C

The more practical iPod upgrades can be had with a simple kit

The more practical upgrade comes from Moonlit Market, which sells a modification kit that adds USB-C and Bluetooth to an iPod Classic. Unfortunately, the SSD upgrade and USB-C/Bluetooth mod aren't compatible without creating a custom case that accounts for the thicker iFlash SATA board — though I will note this is very possible with 3D printing. Instead of designing a new case, I went with the microSD board to use flash storage with my iPod Classic.

People have been modding iPod Classic devices for ages, and this is far from the first iPod Classic to feature Bluetooth and USB-C. However, there are a few things about the Moonlit Market kit that make it unique. First and foremost, the entire thing is solder-less. The custom daughter board that comes with the Moonlit Market kit connects to the iPod's stock audio and battery connectors, so anyone can install it (as long as they can get past the tricky opening process).

The other intriguing part of this kit is that you don't lose anything from your iPod Classic when you install it. Many past implementations of Bluetooth or USB-C on iPods either remove the headphone jack or 30-pin connector in the process. With this mod, you gain USB-C and Bluetooth, but still keep the headphone jack and 30-pin connector.

The experience isn't perfect, for what it's worth. There are no clips on the inside of the Moonlit Market case, so you need to use glue to keep the faceplate attached to the case. This isn't ideal, because you have to assume with a mod like this that you'll be back inside the iPod at some point — like if a cable accidentally comes loose. I also found that the Bluetooth connection could be choppy at times, even after taking steps to reduce interference, such as removing the electromagnetic shielding behind the display.

Overall, the USB-C upgrade was the most useful. There are virtually no downsides, as you can use the USB-C port for charging or use the 30-pin connector instead. By optionally soldering three wires, the USB-C port can also be used for data transfer. My favorite part of the USB-C standard is that every device uses it, and now that includes my iPod Classic from 2008.

Why I use an iPod in 2024

For the same reason I use records and CDs — they're fun

Although I subscribe to Apple Music and stream music from my smartphones and other devices, there's something special about listening to music the old-fashioned way. The reason I still use an iPod Classic is the exact same reason I listen to records and CDs: it's more fun. When you take away the distractions that come with streaming music on modern devices, you become more immersed in listening to music.

Aside from this Classic, I have a soft-spot for flash iPods like the Nano and Shuffle, because I grew up with them. It's more than just nostalgia, though. Phones and streaming services aren't perfect for listening to music, but in 2024, neither is using an iPod. While I loved my stock iPod Classic, making these upgrades certainly made it easier to use in this era of tech.