Rockbox is a custom open-source operating system for a wide range of MP3 players, including iPods. It adds a large amount of features to supported devices, including the ability to play FLACs and install themes.

Rockbox
RockboxLogo.png
Rockbox Logo
DeveloperThe Rockbox Project
Release dateJune 1, 2002

This article will talk about Rockbox for iPods. For Rockbox in general, visit wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbox or https://rockbox.org


Supported iPods
iPod (monochrome) iPod (1st generation) iPod (2nd generation) iPod (3rd generation) iPod (4th generation)
iPod (color screen) iPod photo (4th generation) iPod video (5th generation) iPod classic (6th generation) iPod classic (7th generation)
iPod mini iPod mini (1st generation) iPod mini (2nd generation)
iPod nano iPod nano (1st generation) iPod nano (2nd generation)

Features

Rockbox implements a number of features that were not available in the stock OS. Some features include:

  • Gapless Playback
  • Audio settings, including EQ and Crossfeed
  • High-resolution volume control, 64-100 levels
  • Ability to use or create custom UI themes
  • Image viewer and Text editor
  • Advanced on-device playlist curation
  • FLAC support
  • Support for up to 241 bytes (2 TiB) of storage without RAM limitations, via iFlash (currently limited to iFlash-Dual and iFlash-Quad)
  • Accessibility features like Spoken Interface
  • Lots of Plugins - like Metronome, and Pitch Detector
  • Free software according to the GNU, meaning anyone and everyone can contribute
  • Run DOOM!

Automatic Installation

The simplest and easiest way to install Rockbox is to download the Rockbox Installer.

For more on the tool used to install Rockbox, see Rockbox Utility.

Manual Installation

If you would like to manually install Rockbox, instructions are available here.

Links

Official Website: https://rockbox.org