Fixing An iPod Shuffle's Dented Clip...

Listening to: You're The Man Now Dog!


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The second-generation iPod Shuffle has a clip at its back that lets you hook it onto your shirt/jeans pocket. The Shuffle keeps up to 1Gb of music in a package around the size of… umm.. a postage stamp?

tape Walkman is hungry...!!

A nice compact library of 250 songs in an aluminum case. And aluminum is a soft metal. Which became a problem one day when I sat down in my car, with the Shuffle clipped to the back pocket of my pants. The clip was slightly dented but I only did realize this later when I wanted to connect the iPod to the USB-dock/recharger. I could only fit the device into the groove after a little force was applied…

The bent clip prevents you from easily fitting
the iPod Shuffle into the USB-dock above...

pic courtesy of TychoUnder

And apparently, I’m not the only guy with this problem.

What’s equally bad is clip couldn’t hold firmly to your clothes anymore. So imagine yourself one day… iPod Shuffle with a bent clip on your jeans pocket. And thanks to the bent clip, the iPod comes off your pocket and freely falls towards the hard concrete floor below. Did I mention earlier aluminum is a soft metal…?

I tried bending back the clip with my bare hands, but it was difficult for such large hands to manipulate a tiny object. And the thing with aluminum is, it bends when you don’t want it to, and doesn’t bend when you need it to.

Fortunately, this guy Pete had devised a method to fix his own Shuffle. Following his instructions below…

You’ll need:

1. One butter knife. For Christsakes, use a blunt one!
2. Your iPod
3. A soft piece of wood. My desk makes a good one.

Now place the knife as in the photo below, so the clip is between the wooden surface and the knife.

Apply force (reasonably!) with your hands on both sides of the knife's blade... until the clip is flattened out. You won’t get it totally straight, but enough so you can connect it to the USB-dock and use the clip on your jacket pocket again…

Meanwhile, I need to write a letter to Steve Jobs about this…

And I hope you’re using a BLUNT knife…?