HOW-TO: Hacking the iPod firmware (changing the graphics)
posted December 8th 2004 7:47PM
So on Monday over at Hack A Day we posted a link to an iPod hack over at iPodHacks that let you extract all of the fonts and graphics from the player's firmware. Since then, a new application came out, and we wrote up how to change all the graphics on your iPod.
Before we get started, here's a video (QuickTime) of our first hacked firmware to give you an idea of what we changed.
In this How-To we're going to show you how to change the "Do not Disconnect" circle/slash icon that endlessly and annoyingly flashes all the time on our desk. We replaced ours with the Engadget logo, the Sony CEO, and Hello Kitty but any graphic will do. You can also change battery icons, power status, boot up logos and fonts, or so it seems. We sprinted to write this up, so we might update it as we try some new things. Now on with the How-To!
For this hack you'll need an iPod, obviously. We're using the iPod photo, but it should work with most iPods, so far we've seen one person also hack an iPod mini and a 3g iPod.
Next you'll need a Windows PC with Apple's iPod software installed.
You can get that from here.
Download and install the Apple software, this software contains the firmware we're going to add our own graphics to.
Warning: When you do this, you will be restoring your iPod and will loose all data, etc...Also, this most certainly voids
your warranty, so if something happens, you're screwed. But hey, you'll have your own branded iPod, that's hot and well
worth it, right?
Next up, download "iPod Wizard" from
here.
We're not sure if Apple is going to freak out about this, it's just like changing icons in Mac OS X, so it shouldn't
be a problem.
Unzip the file, and start iPodWizard.
Click Open Updater and choose the Apple Update Application you downloaded, it should be in Program files > iPod.
Once open, choose the firmware for you iPod, we hacked the iPod photo first, so it's the IDR_FIRMWARE 5.4.0, we didn't try all the others out yet, but we're guessing folks will post which one is for which iPod as they start to hack away at it. The color one was easy, once you select the firmware you can click the arrows to see the icons, in our case, they were color.
Find the image you wish to replace, we wanted to replace the circle / slash icon. Once you find it, click Save
Bitmap and save the file to your system.
From there use any bitmap editor to edit the image, we used PaintShop Pro and pasted the Engadget logo over the icon
then saved it. Click Load Bitmap and load in the image you just created.
Click Write, this will edit the firmware on your PC and then prepare it to restore to the iPod. Once that is complete, open up Apple's iPod update.
Make sure your iPod is plugged in, and iPod updater will look for what firmware you can restore to, for us, it found the iPod photo and we had the option to restore, which will then add the new firmware with our custom image.
Click restore, and in about 5 minutes you'll have the new image you made, keep in mind this kills all your data, so back up before you do this. Here's ours...
The other one is Hello Kitty, since we know it's just a matter of time until someone starts selling a Hello Kitty
branded iPod.
Here's Sony's CEO holding the Network Walkman upside down. We like this image to remind us that even if you're Sony and invented the WalkMan, someone like Apple can come along and beat you hard.
An image proclaiming that our iPod does not have any RIAA music or content!
And, of course, Mickey Mouse.
We also made one for our pal Leander from Cult of Mac. We think this is a great way to protect your iPod if someone steals it, too. Add your picture, name and phone number, it won't stop the thief, but it's still a good measure.
On a side note, Apple and every other music player maker should make this part of the software that comes with their
device, we all change the icons, desktops, and everything else on our computers, so it makes sense to be able to brand
our music players any way we want.
Here are some of the other graphics that you can likely change, lots of cool stuff for sure. Please post up links to
your images in the comments, if someone does something really wacky, we might give out a prize or something.
For more information on all this, and some troubleshooting, post up in our comments or over on where it all got
started and where folks are still trying lots of things, on
iPodHacks.
iPod Wizard, whoever you are, nicely done!
Phillip Torrone can be reached via
http://www.flashenabled.com
Hi, I'd like to know how to edit strings. I attemtped to change the "Do not disconnect." string with a hex editor, but this didn't quite work. I can't seem to find a way to do it with iPod Wizard 1.04 although I did find the string listings that way. Anyway, I saw someone had changed it, but last time I tried it ended up making me restore the ipod to a different update.
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Graham Everfield
Im just wondering is anyone in this blog on their way to a mac version? I got a mac and a pc but the pc's got no usb.
I want a mac version as well!!!
this is so goddeamn cool stuff!
i have my ipod for about 2 1/2 years now,
and i was suprised that no-one made something like this before!
keep up the good work!
Scott-your best best is to probably take it apart and make sure the switch isn't messed up, and clean it out.
Russ-People have been posting their sites with new ipod graphics at the ipodhacks forum. The later pages like >12 i believe. i can only remember podite.com (not the best)
Graham-Try askin on the actual ipodhacks thread, people will be able to help there.
and on the mac version CHECK THE IPODHACKS THREAD. they are talking about it there, it IS in the works.
btw i haven't even gotten my ipod yet, i just have alot of free time to read, lol
Tweaq - thank you for the info. I have never used an ipod, it just arrived the other day and I want to customize it.
What I really need to know is, in your experience, and in every ipod user's experience, which graphics are the ones shown all the time on the unmodified ipod? For instance, is the big battery symbol always showing, or rarely? Just a list of "top 5 icons that are displayed" so I'll know which ones to bother changing. I would guess the helicopter isn't shown all that much.
I want to change some images but want most bang-for-buck in doing so, rather than replacing every image.
Thanks again for your advice. I'm trying to make a Winnie the Pooh ipod for my wife. Which icons should I change to honey pots and so on? (I already changed the "Do Not" icon, which happens to be the biggest and from what I can tell, the most annoying.) What are the other prominent icons that are worth changing?
Cool hack. Where can I find a copy of that Hello Kitty icon?
I found it by doing a google image search for "hello kitty"
Russ,
The icons you'll see the most with the iPod are the battery icons (all of them - the upper right, the ones when it's plugged into the wall and charging, the one when it's fully charged, and any other places the battery shows up), the arrow to the right of all menu items (yes, you can edit that icon), the "Do Not Disconnect" icon (which you already edited), the "Play" and "Pause" icons when you push those respective buttons (they appear in the upper left corner), and the ratings icon (that might be the best place to put your honey pots).
In addition, over at Ipodwizard Central (http://will-burn.net/index.php), you can learn how to edit strings through IpodWizard. That'll allow you to change menu items, titles, and other bits of text in the iPod. For instance, you could change the title on the main screen to "Pooh Pod" or some such thing . . .
Russ,
The icons you'll see the most with the iPod are the battery icons (all of them - the upper right, the ones when it's plugged into the wall and charging, the one when it's fully charged, and any other places the battery shows up), the arrow to the right of all menu items (yes, you can edit that icon), the "Do Not Disconnect" icon (which you already edited), the "Play" and "Pause" icons when you push those respective buttons (they appear in the upper left corner), and the ratings icon (that might be the best place to put your honey pots).
In addition, over at Ipodwizard Central (http://will-burn.net/index.php), you can learn how to edit strings through IpodWizard. That'll allow you to change menu items, titles, and other bits of text in the iPod. For instance, you could change the title on the main screen to "Pooh Pod" or some such thing . . .
www.capcom.com/fanbuilder/8lEoN0
Resident evil 4 media, and info...
lol the pooh pod, that just cracks me up. but everyone has been doing the do no disconnect icon and the batteries, thats all i know, i don't have my ipod yet :(
Made a Game And Watch charging icon. Wiggles a little bit but i cant be bothered tweaking it. Enjoy.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neodoxy/2455042/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neodoxy/2455041/
I just tried to update everything and nothing changed! I'm using a brand spanking new 4g 40. I went into the hidden and set it back to 1 instead of two, opened the app, changed the bitmaps, clicked write, then went and ran the ipod updater. Maybe I changed the wrong firmware? I changed 4.3.0.2 any ideas?
Update... the PoohPod lives! It's an iPod Photo 40Gb. I'll repost with photos.... assuming I get (or another family member gets) a digital camera for Christmas (doh!). Thanks for all your help.
One issue. When do the dual giant battery icons get displayed? I replaced the small progressive battery drains with a pair of honeypots that slowly drain out top to bottom, and I replaced the giant batteries with some hand-drawn stuff I spent a lot of time on... but don't ever see them.
More on PoohPod. The play button is Winnie, the pause button is Eeyore. The ratings star is Tigger. The "Do Not" symbol is Pooh, which shows up really well. The title "iPod" had just enough space to accomodate "PoohPod". For those interested, the string "iPod" is located near the word "Legal" in the Photo firmware. Also, upgrade to the latest IpodWizard (WORKED GREAT FIRST TIME! String replacement is a snap! Thanks, Wiz!)
Improvements to make would be a Pooh-specific font (you know it, the scrawly, wobbly kind written on his sign, "Mr. Sanderz") and replace the menu text with his rickety spelling style, but this is going way deep and I don't have that much time to play.
I have other issues with the iPod, I had a really hard time getting it to connect to the XP box and it crashed the iTunes a couple times (have to wait 2 minutes to connect) but that's off-topic. For now, she'll enjoy PoohPod.
the i pod is great but get boring after a while, so is there any softwhere like this for the mac?
IF YOU READ THE OTHER POSTS, THERE IS NO SOFTWARE FOR MAC YET. it is in development, check the official thread for updates. so read before you post people
Russ,
The PoohPod sounds awesome! I think my fiancee would really love to see her 'Pod like that. I was wondering... could you send some of the graphics to me? It would be really cool to make a theme out of it, and I would be also willing to make a theme for the non-photo iPods.
minervice87 @ gmail dot com
I have a U2 version iPod. I tried editing it and got all of the pictures on the program. Once I updated the firmware however, they werent on my iPod. Does the U2 use a different firmware? I used 4.3.0.2
This isn't hacking. It's customizing. ;)
my pods sysinfo has this
buildID: 0x04008000 (4.0)
visibleBuildID: 0x01008000 (1.0)
how would i change this so i don't lose any of my songs? thanks
ahh, yea, 4G photo pod
okay, forget the 4G part...
okay, forget the 4G part...
okay, forget the 4G part...
Ipod mini's firmware isn't 3.2.4
6.2.4 worked for me...and why doesn't it change the apple logo?
I got a 20gb iPod non color and when i try to change the dont not disconnect icon and some others the option on the iPod Wizard to load bitmap goes away. Like half of the icons have the option enabled and the other half dont. Wats going on?
Hi everyone.
I firstly want to congratulate for the code writer of this app. I think this app is great. This is the first big progress to hacking the ipod. I can feel that soon maybe the whole "ipod source code" will be decompiled allowing to edit all the menus. For 1G 2G and 3G users this could mean that we will get all the extra functions that are available in 4G.
Oh and lol .. Its funny how the mac users want a program like this.
i have a stupid question.i can get everything the way its supposed but i cannot get the image that i want to post .what is the secret to doing this when your using the paint shop.
and once again THIS IS NOT THE OFFICIAL THREAD. no one answers any questions here but me, and i don't even have an ipod. go to the ipodhacks thread and they would be able to help you more.
can i be positive that it wont screw up my ipod? i dont want anything to ruin it seriously
can i be positive that it wont screw up my ipod? i dont want anything to ruin it seriously
Hi Friends,
I like the iPod firmware even without hacking it but I like the codes written and explained! iPods are really smart little additional tools I wouldn't like to miss anymore.
Regards
theglobalchinese
Hey, i tried to add my own images to the original icons, i got them fit to the original size and all that jazz. I followed the instructions to write and to go to updater and restore. When i charged the ipod the only thing i wound up with was an empty ipod and no new icons, i was aware the data would be lost, but was not aware that i would do everything for nothing. HELP!!
i love u haha...if u help/
Make sure you loaded and wrote to the correct firmware.
On my 4th gen 20gb, it was 10.3.0.2
The only problem when you use windows windows version is that your iPod is formated fat32 and not MacOS Extended.
There is now an app that does the same thing but works with OS X.
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ipodicons
I downloaded and used the 0.2.3 and it worked great!
So how do i go about changing the firmware on my 20gig, and what am i supposed to type in.
anyone have any ipod mini fonts? hard to come by..
I WAS JUST WONDERING, DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO HACK THE IPOD FONTS IF THIS IS POSSIBLE WITH THE NEW VERSION OF IPOD WIZARD. IT SAYS IT IS EASY TO CHANGE FONTS BUT I CAN'T MASTER IT? SOME ONE HELP PLEASE? IF YOU WANT SEND ME AN EMAIL AT bbender90@sbcglobal.net
thanks
bryce
Can i change the name "ipod" at the top? if so can you guys show me how
Dose any one know if you can copy songs directly from Kazaa to the new 4th Gen Ipod. If not do you know the hack for it ??
Please help
Thanks
Peter
Dose any one know if you can copy songs directly from Kazaa to the new 4th Gen Ipod. If not do you know the hack for it ??
Please help
Thanks
Peter
Dose any one know if you can copy songs directly from Kazaa to the new 4th Gen Ipod. If not do you know the hack for it ??
Please help
Thanks
Peter
Hey guys! I am really hoping someone can help me with this. I ran the program just like it said: I installed the updater and found it with the program. Then I found the firmware. I am using 4.3.0.2 for my 4th Generation Clickwheel ipod. I then changed the images with ArcSoft Photo Studio and it shows up in the program just fine. I then click Write and go through the process of restoring and then plugging it in to the power source. When it turns on though the image is exactly the same as before!! FREE GMAIL ACCOUNT INVITE TO ANYONE WHO HELPS ME!!! Please email me at the address below. Thanks a lot, guys!
Kevin Simons
kevinsimons@gmail.com
Peter,
why do that, just import them to your iTunes, figuring it imports automatically, and just do it iwth iTunes, i had the same problem and that's what i did!!
bryce
Using IpodWizard v1.0.7
4Gen 20gb iPod = FIRMWARE-10.3.0.2
Anyone know of some good sites to get icons and themes for the iPod?
Anyone know of some good sites to get icons and themes for the iPod?
A well-done site with tons of info about iPodWizard, FAQs, guides, and galleries of fonts, themes, and graphics can be found at http://will-burn.net/.
YOU CAN MOD IPOD'S ON A MAC by using VIRTUAL PC to run IPODWIZARD.
Where there's a will, there's a way!
Check my Doctor Who pod..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19339281@N00/?saved=1