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
Tarkan,
When in need of a “thick” back panel for a 5th gen iPod Video just where can you buy them ? I have tried to buy then from China/Alibaba but then only ended up with the same back panels (11 mm high) as the original. I have purchased your iFlash adapter for use with a 2000mAh battery and a 500Gb mSATA card.
Any clues would be welcome.
Regards
John
@John – Normally they will quote back panel for 60Gb/80Gb iPod Videos – which should be the thicker back case.
Hi. There is a new 2600 mAh battery out, how does it perform to the rest above? Can you update specs on it etc. Many thanks!
I’m really tempted to fit a 2,000 MaH battery while my iPod 7G is open (I just fitted the quad and two 128GB Micro SDs).
However, the five-year-old stock battery is only half-empty at 12 hours.. if it gets to 24 hours, then even though this is ‘low’ and 100 hours sounds appealing, I have to ask when I would ever need to play music for more than 24 hours solid, without charging?
Tempted to ‘play it safe’ and stick with the stock battery, even though I always like to max out! Surely there’s a risk factor with any randomly-provided Chinese battery to factor in?
I have an iPod Classic 7th gen and I am doing my research for an upgrade. I will probably buy an iFlash-Quad and 2x SanDisk Ultra 200gb. I think is the best balance for longtime and speed. I also don’t like SSD’s vulnerability for storing data when are without power for a long time.
Anyway, I’m now investigating the best battery upgrade but it seems that the 2000mah is not available to ship to Europe. At least the one from eBay.com shipped from china. Maybe is the new IATA rules for handling lithium batteries on Planes in Europe?
Regards,
José
I have a simple question: When installing an iFlash Quad along with one of these extended batteries into a thin back case, is it necessary or recommended to use the foam or any other sort of padding or insulation? Or is it just fine to have the battery lay right on top of the iFlash?
It doesn’t seem like there’s room for any padding, but I’m just a little concerned about having the battery laying right on top of the controller and the microSD cards/slots due to heat when the iPod is being used heavily (or when syncing for the first time). Is this a needless concern?
Any advice will be greatly appreciated. 🙂
@Tony – There is no room for the foam pads in that configuration – everything will be held tight just by the fact that it is a tight fit!! The iFlash-Quad and the MicroSD’s do not product much heat – so there is nothing to be concerned about in that respect.
Hello Tarkan
I asked this in 21 of June : could you provide a smal power supply circuit which can provide enough current to an Ipod without battery, even for powering up the Ipod?
It could be very useful for domotic audiophile / home use
Thank you
I read elsewhere that you guys sold batteries but it doesn’t seem so.
I have a Gen 5 with thick back that I would like to put an iFlash Dual in.
Any recommendations for the biggest and best to put in there?
@Les Garten – No we do not sell batteries due to heavy regulations surrounding the shipping and posting of batteries – while Chinese sellers are happy to totally disregard and ignore these rules we cannot and would not.
If you are keeping the thick case back then any of the batteries shown in this article will be ok – I think majority of users tend to go for the 2000mAh as that has been around the longest.
Thanks! I got it installed, but am still rather scared and skepitcal because of the orientation of the battery as to how the flex ribbon fits into the logic board, the ribbon is having to nearly bend in half if that makes sense. I have attached a picture which I took previously before I got it fitted. http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac302/garrettgoerl17/IMG_1833_zps5uuhydjp.jpg
I’m just worried of putting a kink in the ribbon cable for the battery and breaking the connection. So I’ve left the top of the case off for now. Also, why does my ipod say the battery is full when charging and when I disconnect it says it’s only half?
@Garrett – if I remember correctly that is what we had to do to fit that battery. The FPC will be ok bent back like that.
I have a 3000mah with a thick back, but the battery can’t fit all the way under the headphone jack, is it supposed to? I was reading on another site that sells these batteries that there is an alternate thick headphone jack?
@Garrett – The 3000mAh can be awkward to fit, you need to play around with it to fit correctly, try removing the pad underneath the jack socket.
Hello guys,
i am new here and a little bit lost in this battery jungle.
I plan to modd my ipod 5g 30GB with a iflash-quad, keeping my thin back.
2000mah seems to be the good choice, but i can’t find the one battery portrait in your post.
Would this fit in my case?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2000mAh-Battery-Upgrade-replacement-for-iPod-Classic-6-6-5-7-Video-5-5-5-Thin-/191209866425
If not, can someone please give me a link to the good one please : )
Thank you and bravo to the team for making these real.
mathieu
@gsu – that looks like the 2000mAh I got here, so it probably will be ok.
Thank you !
Just to get back on my broken flex cable of my 3000mAh battery.
I peeled away the kapton tape on the charge controller and found the charge controller seperated from the ground tab of the battery. So I resoldered it and sealed the battery again and poof! works like a charm now.
Hi! Is it possible to use iFlash with iPod Classic A1059? I’m currently running a CF adapter and it works just fine. I like the idea of having 4 x 128GB microSD-cards tho!
@Robert – We have the 4th Gen converter which allows the fitting of our iFlash boards in Toshiba 44pin HDD based DAP’s – unless you are running Rockbox I think 512Gb will be overkill for the 4G!!!
Hi Tarkan
I am upgrading my Ipod Classic 7th gen Thin. I want to install the 3000mah battery. Will i need a thick back if i’m installing a msata drive in there?
@Daniel – Yes, the 3000mAh will always need a thick case back, as it is too large to fit inside the inner frame of the iPod.
just as a note.
before upgrading my old iflash solo with the quad, I tried to fit the 3000mAh into my 5.5 gen iPod with the thick back plate.
the back of the CF-SD card reader did bend the flex cable excessively, resulting in a broken electrical connection. just as a warning to be careful and don’t prebend the flexcable.
I ordering a 2nd battery to fit it with my quad adapter. will report back if that works.
@David – The 3000mAh battery requires the thick back even with the iFlash-QUAD, also I suggest you use the supplied Foam pads as there will be a gap between the battery and the iFlash-QUAD, and you do not want the board bouncing around!
@Lawrence Tapp
Generally they have to be ordered from China, most easily via ebay.
I’m just about to order an iflash dual off you, I want to upgrade the battery but I can’t find anything like what you have reviewed in the UK! where can I find a 3000mah? My HDD has just given up the ghost on my 5th gen 60gb and the battery is not far behind lol
@Lawrence – ebay USA site is where I found my mine, don’t worry it is the USA site, your ebay UK creds will work.
Hi,
No answer on my question?
Max
@ Max – Not sure what the purpose of this would be, having a battery in the iPod does not change anything if the iPod is constantly in a dock – The firewire 12v input on the dock has the means to power up the iPod without a battery. Otherwise depending how involved you want to get, you can make a small power supply circuit to produce the required 4.0v to replace the battery, it would have to have an extremely low internal resistance spec to work in all cases (especially if using mSata drives) <- we use something like this for our testing iPods.
Hello Tarkan,
Thank you for your answer.
I am using mSata drives
Are you sure an ipod can work without a battery when connected to a dock (i am using a Pure i-20 dock)? Do you think powering up the Ipod doesn’t make any issue?
How do you synchronyse an Ipod without a battery? Windows/MAC won’t have any problem to mount the Ipod? Even if we use a Y cable?
Could you provide a small circuit ? I am interested for “domestic” purpose , I prefer to plug an Ipod and I prefer not to care about the battery charge
You can email me directly if you prefer
Thank you , I appreciate.
Max
@Max – Sorry when I meant Dock – I meant the firewire 12v power input on the iPod docking connector will power up the iPod without a battery installed – I have not seen any dock units which supply 12v’s over the firewire pins.
If you use an mSata drive then the firewire will not provide all the necessary power for peak current demands which can only be drawn from the battery connector.
Thank you Tarkan
So, my question is : could you provide a smal power supply circuit which can provide enough current to an Ipod without battery, even for powering up the Ipod?
Thank you
Pretty cool that you’re able to fit the 2000mAh with the iFlash-Quad on a slim back.
Thanks for providing this.
I almost bought the 3000mAh battery for my 5G + iFlash-Sata but didn’t order after a dubious exchange with the (eBay) vendor. I ended up using an 850mAh battery + thick back and am happy with the result.
Hi Tarkan,
Do you think it could be possible to make an Ipod work without a battery?
Would it be possible to make it work with a power supply plugged on the 110/220 V ?
I mainly use my Ipod at home, always connected to its dock and it would be great if i have not to mind about the battery. i think I am not the only one in this situation
Best regards,
Max