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Farhan360

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 22, 2012
22
0
I have an Ipod 2G and I replaced the battery but as I was putting the screen/digitizer back on a Golden "Piece" fell off from under where the Home Button is and then I lost it. I have three questions: 1.Does anyone know the proper name of the "piece"? 2.Does anyone know where I can get/buy a new one? 3. When/if I get one how do I put it back on?

Here are some pictures of where the piece fell off from:
 

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hchung

macrumors 6502a
Oct 2, 2008
689
1
I have an Ipod 2G and I replaced the battery but as I was putting the screen/digitizer back on a Golden "Piece" fell off from under where the Home Button is and then I lost it. I have three questions: 1.Does anyone know the proper name of the "piece"? 2.Does anyone know where I can get/buy a new one? 3. When/if I get one how do I put it back on?

Here are some pictures of where the piece fell off from:

It's a springed contact that connects one terminal of your home button to the logic board. The other terminal is the other gold clip to the left of the dock connector.

I don't know if it has a proper name, I don't think you can easily buy one.
If you get one, you'd have to solder it back on.

When I lost it on one device, I ended up taking some wire and soldering from that pad to the gold pad on the home button assembly in order to fix the iPod Touch.

If you have soldering skills and happen to have a piece of springy metal, you might be able to cut and bend a replacement yourself. I would have but I just didn't have the right kind of metal. So wire it was.
 

Farhan360

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 22, 2012
22
0
This is what I NEED. Click on the picture for a bigger size.
 

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Farhan360

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 22, 2012
22
0
I have no skills in soldering but can anyone explain how I can?
(And when you say solder do you mean glue it or what?)
 

LaazyEye

macrumors regular
Jul 9, 2010
131
0
I have no skills in soldering but can anyone explain how I can?
(And when you say solder do you mean glue it or what?)

This statement alone tells me you shouldn't have even opened that ipod up.

Soldering is the heating of a low-melting alloy (based on lead or tin, or others) that is used to join less fusible metals.

And you should practice a lot of soldering before you even think about doing it to your ipod. (unless you don't mind the high risk of ruining your iPod)
 

Farhan360

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 22, 2012
22
0
Okay but does anyone know where I can get the right metal? and when I do, do I just heatit up and put it on and hope it stays?
 

likethesoup2

macrumors 6502a
Mar 29, 2011
529
21
Orlando, Florida
Okay but does anyone know where I can get the right metal? and when I do, do I just heatit up and put it on and hope it stays?

Do yourself a favor and don't go NEAR that thing with a soldering iron; take it to a reputable repair shop, and let them do it. You're just going to end up frying the whole thing.
 

Gemütlichkeit

macrumors 65816
Nov 17, 2010
1,276
0
I highly doubt there's a parts catalog online for that specific part. You'll most likely have to buy a used/broken ipod from ebay and change out that specific part.
 

Jb07

macrumors 6502
Oct 31, 2011
433
1
Dallas
If you don't know what you're doing, don't open up the iPod. Let Apple take care of it.
Also, did you really write those words in MS Paint?
 

Carlanga

macrumors 604
Nov 5, 2009
7,132
1,409
you can buy the part and solder it in or just buy a used one on eBay and sell yours for parts.

or upgrade it come Sept; if they release new models :)
 

PinkyMacGodess

Suspended
Mar 7, 2007
10,271
6,226
Midwest America.
That looks like the home button contactor. Without it, no home button. The chances of making something to work the same way is so close to zero, I'd not advice you even try.

One way to find small parts that have gone missing is to check the vacuum. Vacuum the area with a new bag and dump the bag onto a clean well lit surface and start picking through it. Another possibility is to use a powerful magnet in a ziplock bag. Wave the magnet, or push it on, the area where you think you lost the piece, and if it's magnetic, it should end up on the bag. Turn the bag inside out and all the magnet picked up will be in the bag.

And next time, just have someone else do things like this... If you sent this to a service place and they lost this part, you'd have grounds to demand they replace your touch.
 

Farhan360

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 22, 2012
22
0
Thank You all :) but if anyone does happen to come across the piece just post the link please
 

Gasu E.

macrumors 603
Mar 20, 2004
5,032
3,150
Not far from Boston, MA.
Okay but does anyone know where I can get the right metal? and when I do, do I just heatit up and put it on and hope it stays?

Please read an article on soldering before you do anything. Personally, I'd recommend you avoid soldering altogether, as it takes a bit of skill and experience to do this safely. It is fairly easy to give yourself second degree burns, and exceptionally easy to ruin the device. You sound like a novice so I would recommend against it.
 

NewAnger

macrumors 6502a
Apr 24, 2012
904
3
Denver Colorado
Okay but does anyone know where I can get the right metal? and when I do, do I just heatit up and put it on and hope it stays?

You have to use some solder and use just the right amount. Too much and you end up with a giant ball of silver and risk shorting out other circuits. I would never attempt such a task on an iPhone. In the factory, this is done by a machine.

You clearly don't have the skill going by your statement above.
 

Farhan360

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 22, 2012
22
0
can you guys explain how to solder for example: Shape the wire like an SA then put the tip of the soldering iron to the tip of the wire then you put the ...
 

hchung

macrumors 6502a
Oct 2, 2008
689
1
Soldering isn't something that I can teach you over the net. I learned how to use a soldering iron probably 24 years ago. And for the first 3 years of that, I probably would have botched this repair job. Friends who have learned to solder and done it for about a year would have had a hard time. (I know because I was helping them build stuff earlier this year and I finished at a rate 6 times them and with better production quality too.)

There is no glue involved. For what I did, you'd need a nice soldering iron. A small amount of thin rosin core solder. (I used 60/40.) Steady hands like a surgeon, the skills to use the iron, and 2 inches of 30 AWG wire stripped 1mm from each end. The tools and wire are easy, there's just no chance you'd be able learn the skill without practice.

I will say that you will not succeed if you attempt to use glue you find at the local hobby shop. Trying so will lower the chances that somebody else will be able to fix this.

Find somebody in your neighboring area who is skilled with a soldering iron. If they know how to handle the soldering job necessary to consistently solder in mod chips into older video game consoles like the PS2, they have a good shot at it.

The one alternative to soldering I can think of is also very risky, involving the use of conductive epoxy used for repairing windshields defrosters. I haven't tried it, and would not know how well it'd hold the wire on. But you'd better have the painting skills of a warhammer30000 figurine fanatic.

Unless you're in NorCal, there's very little I can do for you. Sorry.
 
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hchung

macrumors 6502a
Oct 2, 2008
689
1
By the way, you said you replaced the battery? How? Or who?
It's soldered in on this model. Whoever soldered on the new one sounds like somebody you should ask for help.
 
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