We have put this guide together to help people who opt to use 3rd party high capacity batteries that can be found on various online marketplaces.
List shows compatibility in terms of fit and what depth case back is required (thick or thin) to achieve correct fitting.
Please note: This article is NOT a recommendation for these batteries, there seems to be a very high level of variation in the quality, capacity ratings (actual & advertised) and more importantly we have seen different size batteries supplied for the same advertised product!!
So you have been warned – this article is for information only and the said information is provided with no warranty or promise of accuracy. Your results may not reflect our findings!
There are couple of more batteries I have seen, and once I have managed to obtain some samples this guide will be updated!
Fitting Guide (see numbered notes below)
| Battery sold as: | iFlash-Quad | iFlash-Dual | iFlash-Solo | iFlash-Sata | iFlash-CF |
| 1800mAh (5) | Thick back | Thick back | Thick back | Thick back | Thick back |
| 2000mAh | Thin back | Thick back | Thick back (2) | Thick back | Thick back |
| 1900mAh | Thin back (1) | Thick back | Thick back (2) | Thick back | Thick back |
| 3000mAh (3) | Thick back | Thick back | Thick back | Thick back | Thick back |
Battery Specifications (for samples we obtained)
| Battery | Image | Size (mm) + volume | Observations / Notes |
| OEM Battery 550mAh (Thin) |  |
20 x 45 x 6 (5.4cm³)Weight: 12g | Original battery used in thin iPods (e.g. 30Gb/120Gb/160Gb), marked as 2.04W/hr = ~550mAh |
| 1800mAh |  |
46 x 53 x 5.3 (12.9cm³)Weight: 32g | Marked as 6.8Whr 3.8v on cell (which is 1790mAh), but actual capacity is probably nearer 1600mAh (4) |
| 2000mAh |  |
46 x 90 x 4 (16.5cm³)Weight: 37g | Capacity based on volume estimated at 1700mAh (4) |
| 1900mAh |  |
54 x 80 x 3.8 (16.4cm³)Weight: 35g | Capacity based on volume estimated at 1700mAh (4) |
| 3000mAh |  |
57 x 83 x 3.6 (17.0cm³)Weight: 39g | Capacity based on volume estimated at 1800mAh (4) |
Notes
Remove frame protusion for 1900mAh battery
(1) When fitting with a thin caseback the protusion on the iPod’s inner frame needs to be removed (as pictured).
(2) We have had some samples of these batteries which actually fitted (read: tight squeeze) in a thin (5g) caseback & the iFlash-Solo.
(3) This battery is larger than the iPod’s inner frame, it will ALWAYS require a thick caseback. This battery can be awkward to fit as it interferes with the headphone jack assembly, you may need to lift the headphone ribbon away from the rear case to allow the battery to slide under the headphone jack assembly.
(4) This is based on current energy density of li-ion based battery cells, it is a very approximate (gu)estimate as the volume measurement is based on external size of the battery pack and not the actual cell size. Other factors which may effect the accuracy is the method and quality of the cell construction and wrapping. However, it is a great method to see relative capacity claims when comparing by volume of the battery cell, of course the chemistry of the batteries need to be the same.
(5) We have seen this battery sold as 1800mAh and as 1600mAh, all examples we have seen have been a similiar size. At 5.3mm thick this battery will always require a thick caseback, and will not fit with the original HDD.
**article republished 24/02/17 – to add 1800mAh battery, and oem battery
**article original publish date was 15/06/2016
@Wagner669
“A black faceplate, because mine is full of scratches, scuffs and cracks. So far I could only find on eBay Chineese knockoffs of poor quality. Could somebody tell me where can I find a good quality replacement front cover (faceplate)?
Thank you in advance”
I ordered this one, for my Ipod 7th https://www.ebay.com/itm/1TB-Thin-Metal-Housing-customizing-Back-Case-Cover-for-ipod-classic-Black/184081471135.
I want to change my 10 years old Ipod Classic 6th gen to a gold one for my wife’s birthday, there is choice, but which one is really good? I have the same question as you..
@Support, Thanks for your information. I think I put the ribbon cable under the battery. I will open it soon do do your recommendations and to add extra memory, As you can see I put only one micro ssd in de I-flash quad and there is space for four 🙂
dear Jordan
I closed my ipod, but I made some pictures before which I can share
https://tweakers.net/ext/f/GzIgRe2nrdNOmk1rm4aoQkrn/full.jpg
https://tweakers.net/ext/f/GAoq8aGdMRwc8rGdTK6X14lU/full.jpg
you can see that the flatcable is to short. i removed all the plastic on this side to enlarge the cable and it fit 🙂
I took about two weeks from China to the Netherlands
Good luck Pandit
@Pandit – With them batteries, the recommend way is to install it upside down, and crease the excess ribbon over the top of the battery.
Yuo will cause undue stress on the battery connector trying to fit as you have shown, as the ribbon is too short that way.
In response to Pandit:
I am currently upgrading with the exact same battery that you have bought, with an iFlash Quad, in a slim back. I am just waiting for the battery to arrive now (how long did it take for yours to come?). I was wondering if you had some more specific details on how you installed or potentially some photos which you could share with me?
Thanks in advance,
JT
Jordan,
How did you get on installing the battery? I have one, but it seems to long to squeeze between the headphone and on/off switch and the 13 pin connector?
Any advice?
I own a iPod Video 5.5 120GB and I am currently waiting for my iFlash Solo SD in order to put a 128GB Samsung SD.
Before upgrading, I need to source two things.
A battery
I replaced the original with an OEM of the same capacity around 5 years ago.
I saw the link in the previous comments and it seems that the xiaowan-88 still has them in stock.
A black faceplate, because mine is full of scratches, scuffs and cracks.
So far I could only find on eBay Chineese knockoffs of poor quality
Could somebody tell me where can I find a good quality replacement front cover (faceplate)?
Thank you in advance
Now I own three Ipods 🙂 a generation 6.0 , 6,5 (which I have no for 10 years) and last month I bought a 7th gen from an auction site for only €40,-. This one I modified with the I-flash Quatro and the 2000mAh battery pack and now one 256gb SDcard (Lexar 633)
Since I bought it (original with the 160gb hard drive) it has a strange issue. When I play a song in cover flow mode and press menu it refuse to go back to coverflow mode and freezes for a few seconds while to song still play. when i keep pressing for 5 seconds it returns to the music menu (skipping the coverflow menu)
My other Ipods go direct back to de cover flow menu after one press of the menubutton. I was hoping that after the modifications the problem went away. unfortunately not 🙁 . I did a diagnostic check (menu+ok and after showing Apple logo Left+ok). everything is good (clickwheel, memory etc.). Is Interchange of the harddrive with a Iflash and initializing the IPOD with Itunes contains also an hardwarereset?
Anybody a idea?
Answer to ACTPOHABT: “Has anyone been successful installing 1900/2000/3000mah battery keeping the thin back iPod Classic late 2009 160GB with any of the iFlash adapters?”
As you can read at my post from 24 December last year I bought one from ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/2000mAh-Battery-Upgrade-replacement-for-iPod-Classic-6-6-5-7-Video-5-5-5-Thin/383285057188 . together with a I-flash Quatro from here. It all fit in my ipod 7th gen. Only one issue. The flat connectioncable is to short. I remove the plastic from the battery pack at the thin side of it to stretch the connection cable a little bit. Enough to reach the logic board. It fit like as glove with the original thin backcover. Later I fill add extra SDcards to the Iflash adapter and change the backcover with a black one with 1TB 🙂
Has anyone been successful installing 1900/2000/3000mah battery keeping the thin back iPod Classic late 2009 160GB with any of the iFlash adapters? Any specific batteries you could recommend? Does it require the removal of the protusion on the iPod’s inner frame described in Notes (1)? Thank you.
After a long search I ordered this one from ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2000mAh-Battery-Upgrade-replacement-for-iPod-Classic-6-6-5-7-Video-5-5-5-Thin/383285057188
I hope it will fit in the Ipod Classic 7th gen with Iflash Quad. The future will know 🙂 , I don’t like to change the cover with a thick one.
I want to buy the 2000mAh battery from the list above. I search on Ebay and Ali express and can’t find the same like this one. Anyone know a place where these are for sale.
Thanks for the reply
Right. I exchanged the 256gb card with 128gb card from my DLSR and changed back to the apple software, and the Ipod works like a charm.
What about the battery, There is some much to buy from Ebay. Which one you can recommend ?
Regards Pandit
This days I received the Iflash Solo and a Lexar 256gb\633 SD Card I bought from amazon. I opened the Ipod in less then 10 minutes with the only good instruction I found on Youtube (https://youtu.be/4AF1Pjbwc6c).Before to start print the PDF with instructions!. Replacing the broken Harddisk with the I-flash was a peace of cake. Also reinstalling the software with Itunes. Before that I removed the exfat partition and create a fat32 one.
To use the full 256gb I installed rockbox, also easy with the instructions from here.
But with copying files I get some verify errors (I always use Total Commander).This get me worried. Something wrong with the flashcard? I bought a good brand.
Further I don’t see much fysical space for a bigger battery, Now I’m in doubt wich battery I should buy. See my other message. All advices are welcome, so I can finished this project
@Pandit – During your pre-purchase support emails, we did explain to you that Rockbox has issues with Solid State drives, and it is not something we support or recommend currently.
Rockbox is extremely sensitive to the underlying SD card, and generally causes filesystem corruption, etc. Many people have found SD cards that work well, but this information we do not collate or experience with.
@Pandit
there is a special build of Rockbox that provides for the use of the hi-cap SD cards. search for it. flash with that.
and *all* RB versions suck with native file transfer, ime. better to boot into native apple BIOS and do your file transfers via MTP. then switch back to Rockbox and you’ll be all good.
love my ‘souped-up’ Gen5 w Rockbox. they rule!
I Own 2 Ipod’s classics, one mb562 (6,5 th gen 120gb) which I own for 10 years and still working like a charm, even the battery holds for many hours. Because I love it so much and everything can go broken I bought a used mb029 (6 th gen 80gb) with a broken hard disk. The plan is to upgrade this last one with a I flash Solo (I bought already) , a Lexar – 256 GB Professional 633 X UHS1 SD-card. and a high capacity battery. Because of the LBA28 limit I don’t no yet which software I will use. I think the original apple software, price-difference between the 128 and 256 card was little that’s why I bought the 256 variant of the Lexar SD-card. Maybe rockbox. My question now is the battery. I read a lot but still not sure which battery fits best for my Ipod in combination with the Iflah Solo. On Ebay and Ali-Express are many for sale.
This one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3000mAh-Upgraded-SSD-Battery-for-iPod-Video-30GB-6-7th-Gen-Classic-80-120-160GB/382624651924
This one shows pictures of the Iflashadadpters:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3000mAh-Battery-replace-for-iPod-Classic-6-7-80-120-160GB-Video-5-5-5-30GB-Thin/322475430352
or this 2000ma one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2000mAh-Battery-Upgrade-Replacement-For-IPod-Classic-6-6-5-7-Video-5-5-5/323788217923
My Ipod’s are thin models 10,5mm , The back of the second one has a small bend, maybe I have to change this to with a thicker model. I prefer small off-course.
Which battery fits best for my Ipod?
@Matt I just upgraded my thin iPod 5th gen with Tarkan iflash quad adapter and a 3000mah battery. This one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/High-Capacity-3000mAh-Upgraded-SSD-Battery-for-iPod-Classic-6-7-Video-5-5-5-THIN/183771235204
It worked even though the ebay item description says you need a thin ipod with a thick back cover. I had to install it under the iflash adapter for the battery cable to reach the connector. Almost broke the cable before I figured that out.
Hi.
I just ordered Iflash-Quad for my 7th generation of iPod Classic (late 2009 – so I guess it’t thin version).
Now I am reading this post about batteries and I am wondering will 2000mAh battery fit to my iPod without changing back to thick. I can’t find any information tellnng me with which iPod you were testing (only the one saying that 2000 should fit into thin one (all thin ones?))
Thanks for such a good job with your site!
As a follow-up on the iFlash Quad….. I’ve been using the iFlash Quad and the 3000mAh battery in a thin backing. No issues so far. I’ve left it charging for 2 days while it synchronized my full collection. No issues there. As with all new batteries, I never leave them alone unattended the first few weeks in case they do catch fire…. but from what I’m seeing, it fits with no issues in a thin backing with the iFlash Quad
I just upgraded my Model A1238 160gb iPod 7th generation due to original battery failure. Bought the iFlash Quad and 2 Sandisk 256gb Micro SDXC Cards. Upgrade worked like a charm. Reformatted the SDXC cards per iFlash instructions. So, I am going to get greedy and attempt either a 1900mAh or 3000mAh battery upgrade. Just bought a “thick” rear back housing on eBay along with a “thick” headphone jack & hold switch cable assembly. I am expecting everything to fit quite nicely. The only difficult task was removing the iPod rear case. You need the iFlash flat metal tool and a number of thin objects like guitar picks to hold all the tabs open around the perimeter of the case, and a lot of patience. 512gb of music with 200-300 hours of Battery life … Amazing. And I still have slots 3&4 available for even more capacity. FYI, I use this iPod in my car connected via USB to the built in sound system. Entire music library will now be available while on the road. This could NOT be done without the iFlash adapter. Thanks iFlash!!
That is absolutely correct! It’s so exciting to have all your music at your finger tips, I have a 1 tb 7th gen iPod classic w the Evo minisata dadapter and drive. Works like a charm and I also added the extended battery pack.
If you need help or anyone for that matter opening the case or otherwise doing the upgrade I’m in the LA area and can help with any upgrade for a small fee. Best of luck!
Does anyone have a reputable link to a legit battery upgrade for thin-backed 7th generation iPods using iFlash-Quad?
I read there was a problem with a lot of fake/knockoff batteries floating around on eBay… just want to find one that gives more uptime and will fit the thin 7th generation 🙂
Want to upgrade my 30gb 5th gen iPod with a 3000Mah battery, was wondering if the original 30gb back would be large enough or if I should go with an 80gb back?
Wow so even after replacing the HDD with an iFlash-Quad the 850mAh battery is still too thick? Guess I’ll have to try this one instead and hope I can fit it in without damaging the screen (pressure when closing, etc.):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2000mAh-Battery-Upgrade-replacement-for-iPod-Classic-6-6-5-7-Video-5-5-5-Thin-/191209866425