Installation of the Rockbox bootloader on iPod Classic (80/120/160 GB)

Last updated: 14 August 2018

This page will contain a link to the most recent version of the bootloader, until it gets merged into Rockbox, and the Classics become an officially supported target. When this happens, this page will redirect to Rockbox's installation instructions.

Current stable version: v1_0 (28 February 2017)

Current legacy version: v8 (31 January 2016, updated on 7 July 2016)

There is a GUI installer for Windows (Rockbox Utility). For Linux and Mac, there is a command-line tool mks5lboot, which can install, update or uninstall the bootloader.

Jump to: Compatibility | Installation instructions for Windows, Linux or Mac | DFU mode | Download stable or legacy | Building mks5lboot | Usage | Support | Contribution

Compatibility

All compatible iPod models are listed below.

Model Numbers Capacity Model Name (Wikipedia) Model Name (freemyipod) MB029, MB147 80 GB 6th Gen Classic 1G MB145, MB150, PB145, PB150 160 GB 6th Gen MB562, PB562, MB565, PB565 120 GB 6.5th Gen Classic 2G MC293, MC297, PC293, PC297 160 GB 7th Gen Classic 3G

IMPORTANT! Please check if your model number (in menu Settings - About) matches, before proceeding with the installation!

IMPORTANT! If you have an adapter for mSATA or SD card (iFlash, ZIF to CF and CF to SD, ZIF to mSATA, etc.) please keep in mind that file transfer in Rockbox or Rockbox Bootloader USB mode MAY not work, depending on the adapter type and card type! In this case you need to use Apple's firmware to transfer music, then you need to reboot into Rockbox to listen to that music. List of recommended SD cards can be found at iFlash Solo page in tab SD cards, below the picture.

WARNING! If your adapter/card does not work well with Rockbox, connecting the USB cable while Rockbox or Rockbox Bootloader USB mode is running will lead to filesystem corruption and you'll have to re-format the iPod as FAT32, reinstall Rockbox and re-upload all files that you need (music, etc.). You'll need to do that while running Apple's firmware.

Installation instructions for Windows

Connect your iPod in normal mode (iTunes/file transfer). Get the EXE version and start the executable. When Rockbox Utility opens, select the checkbox named Show disabled targets, and point the installer to your iPod's drive letter (E:, F:, etc.). On the installation screen make sure that Rockbox is selected and Bootloader is not selected. You can install themes or the game files if you want. Start the Rockbox installation. When the installation is complete, select Bootloader and deselect all other options Start the bootloader installation, and follow the on-screen instructions! They require you to press certain buttons at some point. When the installation is complete, you should have Rockbox up and running!

Installation instructions for Linux

Connect your iPod in normal mode (iTunes/file transfer). Download Rockbox Utility for your operating system. When Rockbox Utility opens, select the checkbox named Show disabled targets, and point the installer to your iPod's mount point. On the installation screen make sure that Rockbox is selected and Bootloader is not selected (it should be grayed out anyway). You can install themes or the game files if you want. Start the Rockbox installation. Download the bootloader in .ipod format. Download mks5lboot for your operating system. Alternatively, you can build it from the source code. You need to have package libusb-1.0.0 installed in order to run mks5lboot. To make sure the installer is marked as executable, start the following command in the terminal: chmod +x mks5lboot. Start mks5lboot from a terminal with the following command-line: ./mks5lboot --dfuscan -l. It should scan for DFU devices every second. Put your iPod in DFU mode When the device is detected, press CTRL+C to terminate the scan process, and proceed to the next step. Start mks5lboot from a terminal with the following command-line: ./mks5lboot --bl-inst path/to/bootloader-ipod6g.ipod, providing the correct path to bootloader-ipod6g.ipod that you downloaded earlier. When the installation is complete, you should have Rockbox up and running!

Installation instructions for Mac

IMPORTANT! Please make sure that your iPod is formatted using FAT32 (a.k.a. WinPod) before attempting to install the bootloader! Installation will not work on HFS/HFS+ iPods (a.k.a. MacPods).

Connect your iPod in normal mode (iTunes/file transfer). Download Rockbox Utility for your operating system. When Rockbox Utility opens, select the checkbox named Show disabled targets, and point the installer to your iPod's mount point. On the installation screen make sure that Rockbox is selected and Bootloader is not selected (it should be grayed out anyway). You can install themes or the game files if you want. Start the Rockbox installation. Download the bootloader in .ipod format. Download mks5lboot for your operating system. Alternatively, you can build it from the source code. You need to have package libusb installed using Homebrew (brew install libusb) or MacPorts (port install libusb) in order to run mks5lboot. To make sure the installer is marked as executable, start the following command in the terminal: chmod +x mks5lboot. Start mks5lboot from a terminal with the following command-line: ./mks5lboot --dfuscan -l. It should scan for DFU devices every second. Before continuing to the next step, it is important to stop iTunes (dock icon -> Quit) and iTunesHelper (using Activity monitor, find the process and select Quit or Force quit if it keeps restarting). Otherwise iTunes will put your iPod in wrong mode, and you will not be able to proceed with the installation. Put your iPod in DFU mode When the device is detected, press CTRL+C to terminate the scan process, and proceed to the next step. Start mks5lboot from a terminal with the following command-line: ./mks5lboot --bl-inst path/to/bootloader-ipod6g.ipod, providing the correct path to bootloader-ipod6g.ipod that you downloaded earlier. When the installation is complete, you should have Rockbox up and running!

Entering DFU mode

At some point during the installation, you need to switch your iPod to DFU (device firmware update) mode. This has proven to be tricky, so here are additional instructions

Lock the HOLD switch Wait 1 second Unlock the HOLD switch Press and hold down MENU and CENTER at the same time Wait 12 seconds - the timing is important, so either look at your computer's clock, or count to 12 Release both buttons

A device in DFU mode is hard to tell apart from a turned off device. The screen is completely black, nothing happens if you press any of the buttons. But if you connect it to a computer, the USB IDs are different - Product ID is 1223 (here's a table of iPod Product IDs).

Download

Which version should I use?

v1_0: Uses the new driver for Bootloader USB mode. It should work fine, while some people reported that Rockbox USB mode is slow or broken.

v8: Does not provide Bootloader USB mode.

If you are using v1_0, please try if Bootloader USB mode works for you. If not, use Apple's Disk mode.

If you are using v8, please try if Rockbox USB mode works for you. If not, use Apple's Disk mode.

Stable version

Includes the latest DesignWare USB driver. Enables using of bootloader USB mode (file transfers before Rockbox has loaded).

Please note that mk6gboot has been renamed to mks5lboot.

Legacy version

Building mks5lboot from source

You need git, GNU make and a compiler (gcc/clang). Also, you need to install the development package of libusb (called libusb-1.0.0-dev on Linux or libusb-dev on Mac)

Clone Rockbox's Git repo using git clone git://git.rockbox.org/rockbox.git. Change the directory to rbutil/mks5lboot. Build the tool using make.

Usage

Turning on the iPod

Unlock the HOLD switch, or press any button if already unlocked.

Turning off the iPod when running Rockbox

Hold down the PLAY button, until you see Shutting down...

Switching from Apple's firmware to Rockbox

Hold down MENU+SELECT, until the iPod reboots. Release them immediately after the screen goes black.

Switching from Rockbox to Apple's firmware

Turn off the iPod, then turn it on and immediately lock the HOLD switch.

- OR -

Turn off the iPod, then turn it on and immediately hold down MENU.

Entering Apple's Disk mode

Turn off the iPod. Power it on by holding down SELECT+PLAY, keep holding until Disk mode starts.

Entering Apple's Diagnostics mode

Turn off the iPod. Power it on by holding down SELECT+LEFT, keep holding until Diagnostics mode starts.

Entering Rockbox's Bootloader USB mode

Turn off the iPod. Power it on by holding down SELECT+RIGHT, keep holding until you see the USB Mode message.

Support

If the installation is not successful, please ask for support at #freemyipod-support@irc.freenode.net (or use webchat if you don't have an IRC client installed). Alternatively, you can post to the mailing list at freemyipod-general@lists.freemyipod.org.

Contribution

These instructions are available on GitLab, and merge requests are welcome.