Although Apple’s iPod is easy to use, occasionally, you may encounter a problem with yours. We’ll cover the basic troubleshooting steps that you should take to put your iPod in working order.
Where To Start
If you have any trouble related to using iTunes, shopping in the iTunes Store, or connecting your iPod to your computer, make sure that you have the most recent version of iTunes installed. As an example of why this is important, if you use a version of iTunes older than v.7.4, iTunes won’t recognize an attached iPod touch.
The next step to take, particularly if you’re having trouble playing content that you bought from the iTunes Store, is to make sure that your iPod has the most recent software installed. To do this, connect your iPod to your computer. Then, in iTunes, click the iPod icon in the Source list (in the left pane). In the right pane, click the Summary tab. You should then see information about your iPod in the right pane, including whether there are any software updates available. If so, click the Update button and follow the instructions on the screen to update your iPod’s software.
What Next?
If you have the most recent version of iTunes and the iPod software, you should move on to what Apple refers to as “The Five Rs” (Reset, Retry, Restart, Reinstall, and Restore). These five steps are valid for all iPods except for the iPod touch. (If you have an iPod touch, see the “Touch Troubles” section below.)
If you experience a problem with your iPod, one of the first things you should do is connect your iPod to your computer, click the Summary tab in iTunes, and click the Check For Update button in the right pane.
Start by resetting your iPod. To reset an iPod classic, nano, or other Click Wheel iPod, slide the Hold switch to the Hold position and then slide it back into the Off position. Place your iPod on a flat surface and then press and hold the Menu and Select (center) buttons for at least six seconds. You should see the Apple logo appear on the screen. If you do not see the logo after about 10 seconds, release the Menu and Select buttons, wait a moment and then try again.
To reset an iPod shuffle, make sure that it is not connected to your computer or a USB dock. Turn your iPod shuffle off by sliding its power switch to the Off position. Wait five seconds and then turn your shuffle back on.
If resetting your iPod doesn’t work and the problem is related to connecting to your computer or transferring files from iTunes, try connecting your iPod to a different USB port. Note that often problems occur when you connect to a USB hub rather than directly to your computer’s USB port. If that doesn’t help, disconnect your iPod from your computer, restart your PC, and then try connecting your iPod again.
If you are still having any type of difficulty with your iPod after taking all of the steps above, you should try updating the iPod Software. This is the step that Apple refers to as “Reinstall.” However, what you’re really doing is checking for an update. First, download the latest version of iTunes and then connect your iPod to your computer, click your iPod in the Source list in iTunes, click the Summary tab, and then click the Check For Update button.
If you started having a problem with your iPod touch after adding new content, such as a new podcast, try removing it to see if it was causing the problem.
Finally, if all else fails, you can restore your iPod. This is only a last resort because it will erase all of the songs, videos, audiobooks, and other content on your iPod. In theory, after a restoration, your iPod’s contents should be exactly the same as when it was new. If you have media stored in your iTunes Library, you should be able to load it back on the iPod after the restore.
To restore your iPod, follow the same steps you took to check for updates to the iPod Software, except you won’t click the Check For Update button. Instead, click the Restore button. You may see only one restore option, or you may see up to four (Restore, Use Same Version, Use Newest Version, and Restore And Update). In most cases, you want to choose Restore, which will restore your iPod with the version of the software that you already have on your iPod. (This should be the most recent version if you followed the previous steps.) However, if you only experienced problems with your iPod immediately after updating the iPod Software or if choosing the Restore option did not fix the problem, you may want to experiment with the other restore options available to see if a different version of the iPod Software might fix the problem. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the process. When you’re finished, you’ll need to transfer your media and other files back to your iPod.
Touch Troubles
You will follow different procedures if you have an iPod touch. First, make sure that your iPod touch is fully charged. Next, try restarting your iPod touch. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button (the button on the top of your iPod touch) until the screen turns on and you see the red slider labeled Slide To Power Off. Use your finger to move the slider into the Off position. Then press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until you see the Apple logo on the screen.
If your iPod touch is on but “frozen” and not responding, press and hold the Home button (the round button under the screen) until your iPod powers off. Then try restarting your iPod touch following the steps in the previous paragraph.
If restarting didn’t fix the problem, try resetting your iPod touch. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button simultaneously until the Apple logo appears on the screen. Procedures for troubleshooting the iPod touch are slightly different than for other models.
Image Courtesy of Apple
Just as your computer may exhibit unexpected (and undesired) behavior if you have recently installed a bad program or saved a corrupt file, your iPod touch may not operate properly if one of the files you’ve saved to your iPod is corrupt or in some way problematic. If you transferred a new file (music, podcast, audio book, video, calendar items, contacts, or photos) to your iPod touch shortly before the problem began, try removing that content from your iPod.
If you are still having trouble with your iPod touch, disconnect it from your computer. From the iPod touch’s home screen, press Settings, General, Reset, and Reset All Settings. You will lose some of your preferences but not any data or media files.
If that doesn’t help, you may need to delete all content from your iPod touch and copy the files back after you resolve the problem. To delete all content, go to the Home screen and press Settings, General, Reset, and Erase All Contents And Settings. If you are still experiencing problems, connect your iPod to iTunes, click your iPod in the Source list, click the Summary tab, and click the Restore button. Follow the instructions on the screen.
