Apple iPOD 3rd Gen Replacement Battery 616-0159 3.7V 900mAh

Apple iPod 3rd Generation — 3.7V Li-ion Replacement Battery (616-0159)

This 3.7V, 900mAh Li-ion cell replaces OEM part 616-0159 in the Apple iPod 3rd Generation. It fits the 15GB (M9460LL/A), 20GB (M9244LL/A), and 30GB (M8948LL/A) models. When the original cell degrades and the player loses portability, this swap restores full standalone operation.

• 3rd Generation iPod compatibility: The M9244LL/A, M9460LL/A, and M8948LL/A models share the same connector pinout, physical cell dimensions (48.22 × 31.90 × 6.50mm), and 3.7V voltage rail — so one cell covers all three variants without modification.
• Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this cell through charge and discharge on a 3rd Generation iPod board. The BMS accepted charge current normally, voltage held steady through playback, and the protection circuit tripped cleanly at the low-voltage cutoff threshold.
• First charge after installation: If the player sat unused for months before the swap, connect it to a charger immediately after fitting the new cell and leave it for at least 30 minutes before attempting to power on — the iPod's charge controller needs to deliver a trickle current before it will accept a normal charge rate.

Battery percentage jumping after a cell swap on the iPod 3rd Gen

The iPod 3rd Generation uses a voltage-threshold method to estimate charge level — it does not have fuel-gauge circuitry that learns the new cell's profile. After a cell swap, the firmware is mapping an unfamiliar discharge curve, so the indicator can jump or read inaccurately for the first few cycles. Run the battery down until the device shuts off on its own, then charge it uninterrupted to full. After two or three full cycles the indicator will settle and track more accurately.

Playback cutting out before the battery indicator shows empty

The audio amplifier in the iPod 3rd Generation draws a higher instantaneous current than the idle logic circuits. As the cell nears the bottom of its discharge curve, voltage sags under that load even though the resting voltage still reads above the cutoff threshold. The BMS trips on the load voltage drop, not the idle voltage, so the player shuts down while the display still shows a partial charge. This is normal cell behaviour — it is not a fault with the replacement. If it happens consistently at the same apparent charge level, run a full discharge-to-shutdown cycle followed by an uninterrupted full charge to let the firmware recalibrate its cutoff estimate.