Taking Apart the ilo256

Or, how I fixed my MP3 player with a Tootsie Roll wrapper

WARNING: I'm not responsible if you destroy your MP3 player using these instructions. Do this at your own risk.

Just days after my ilo256's paltry 90-day warranty expired (note to self: check warranty on portable electronics before purchasing in the future), the left channel audio started cutting out.  At first I thought it was just the headphone cable, but alas, I got the same results on known good headphones.  So the player itself was at fault.  Probably a cold solder joint on the headphone jack.  Shouldn't be too hard to fix, right?

Well, when I finally figured out how to open the player, I was disappointed to find that the solder joint wasn't easily accessible.  So I buttoned up the unit and decided, well, at least it functions as a (somewhat bulky) 256MB USB drive.

Some weeks later, I received an email from a fellow ilo256 owner, Len Palmer, who had the same problem--and fixed it.  Here's what he had to say:
There are 3 small screws that need to be removed to lift the board off the back of the case.  The left channel solder connection is under a secondary board that is soldered to the main board.  You can reach the ground and right channel connections easily though.  I desoldered both these connections and removed the jack.  Soldered a wire to the now visible left channel.  Replaced the jack and resoldered the right and ground connections.  Soldered the left channel wire to the top of the jack.  I did get a little too much solder on the top, so the headphone jack is a little snug now, but otherwise works great.
Armed with this knowledge, I decided to crack open my player once more, and fix it this time.

The first step is to remove the two screws under the battery cover:

External Screws

Next, pry around the sides of the player using a flathead jeweler's screwdriver, working from these screw holes around to the headphone jack.  You'll be unlatching clips that look like these (there are more on the sides):

Clips (there are more on the sides)

Once you've got the top cover off, there are three more screws that must be removed in order to remove the circuit boards from the case and access the headphone jack solder joints:

Three more screws

The last disassembly step is to gently pry the indicated locations to separate the SD reader from the plastic case.  (The card reader is on a second PCB that is permanently attached to the main one.  It kind of looks like the SD daughterboard plugs into the main board--that's what I initially thought--but they don't come apart.  Fortunately my SD reader still works...)

Separating the SD Reader

The photo below shows a view of the naked ilo from the bottom.  All that's holding the headphone jack on is the three electrical connections to it, which are soldered to the surface of the board (they don't even go through it).  Looking at this, I'm not surprised so many people have experienced this problem--the three solder joints by themselves just aren't strong enough to support the jack and the jostling transmitted by it.  I'd consider this a fundamental design flaw in the player.

Anyhow, the right channel and common ground solder pads are easily accessible--but the left channel is hidden beneath the SD daughterboard.  Len Palmer managed to get to it by desoldering the headphone jack in its entirety, attaching a wire to the left channel pad, resoldering the jack, and then attaching the wire to the exposed metal on the top of the jack. 

Headphone jack solder pads

I decided to attempt the same.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find my desoldering wick.  I tried to desolder it just by heating up the joint and then pulling the jack off with a pair of pliers, but I failed in my attempt. (I think I'd need an extra pair of hands to do it that way.)  Worried that I might have just made things worse, I connected the battery and turned the naked player on.  My intent was to discover whether the unit still mostly worked, or whether I would be best off commencing my repair efforts with a sledgehammer and perhaps high explosives. Anyway, I found that the right channel still worked (phew)... and that if I put slight pressure on the headphone jack, I could bring back the left channel too.

Hmm...

A chocolatey jack hack

It's worth a shot.

A candy wrapper supporting the headphone jack

Fortunately, the screws on either side of the jack allow the paper candy wrapper to apply sufficient pressure to the headphone jack to restore contact to the left speaker wire.  It works!!  Who knows for how long, but I've been listening to the player for over an hour since the "fix" with no problems--full stereo.  It didn't even blip when the player slipped from my grasp and dangled from the headphone cord.

Will the decidedly low-tech hack hold?  (Hopefully, because it looks like I might have stripped that screw on the right side.) 

Watch this space.

UPDATE - Going on four months later, my ilo is still kicking. What's more, I've heard from several others who have fixed their players in the same way:
"Wanted to send thanks for your tear it down and rebuid it better, faster, stronger walk thru. I had been suffering from single channeldom, with even the right going in and out on me, but thanks to your pictures, a few beers, and a bit of duct tape, the mighty ilo is kicking again." -Dave
"Well you guessed it just 90 days after the warranty ended my 12 year old came to me and said it stopped working. The jack was completely off the circuit board. I took it apart and solder the two spots and then used the patent pending tootsie roll wrapper fixxer. After putting it back together it works 10 times better than before. Awesome thank you for the step-by-step with pictures. Your a genius, I would have know to solder the 2 spots but, would have blown it up to get to the other one. The tootsie wrapper worked excellent." -Ryan
"I dropped my ILO this weekend and I got the short in the left ear-piece that many people have been complaining about. I used the fix with the tootsie roll paper that you displayed. It Works!" -Mark

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