There are a lot of different iPod models and a lot of different things that can go wrong with them. But you can fix any problem—on any iPod—using the simple troubleshooting tips in this guide.
Whether your iPod won’t turn on or gets stuck on the Apple logo, we’ve got you covered. Follow the steps below to fix your iPod touch, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, or iPod classic, whatever the issue is.
Contents
- 1 Troubleshooting iPods Is Easy With The Five R’s
- 2 Some of the iPod Problems You Can Fix With Our Troubleshooting Steps
- 3 Step 1. Make Sure Your iPod Is Fully Charged Up
- 4 Step 2. Turn Off Your iPod Then Turn It On Again
- 5 Step 3. Force Restart Your iPod
- 6 Step 4. Update the Software on Your iPod and Computer
- 7 Step 5. Erase the Content and Restore Your iPod
- 8 Step 6. Contact Apple for One-to-One support
Related:
- Using Your iPad as a Flash Drive
- iPod Touch Help and Troubleshooting
- How to Know What iPad or iPod Model You Have
Troubleshooting iPods Is Easy With The Five R’s
- Reset your iPod by turning it off and on.
- Retry the connection to your computer with a different port or cable.
- Restart your computer and try everything again.
- Reinstall the latest software updates on your iPod or computer.
- Restore your iPod to factory settings, erasing all the content from it.
Some of the iPod Problems You Can Fix With Our Troubleshooting Steps
All manner of things can go wrong with your iPod, which stops you listening to music when you want to. Most of these common problems are easily fixed using the troubleshooting steps in this guide.
For example, the guide below can help when your iPod:
- Won’t turn on or start up
- Gets stuck on the Apple logo
- Freezes or becomes unresponsive
- Shows an unhappy iPod icon
- Shows a folder with an exclamation point
- Doesn’t sync music from your computer
Before following the iPod troubleshooting steps below, find out which model iPod you have. You need to know that to follow the appropriate instructions.
Step 1. Make Sure Your iPod Is Fully Charged Up
It’s possible your iPod won’t turn on because the battery is dead. Low battery can also affect performance, which might explain why your iPod is slow or unresponsive.
Plug your iPod in to charge for at least four hours. Make sure you use an official Apple cable and adapter with it.
Don’t charge your iPod from a computer port, as it may not provide enough power. Connect it to a wall outlet with a power adapter instead.
If your iPod still won’t turn on after charging for a few hours, try charging it again with a different outlet, cable, and power adapter. If this doesn’t work either, you may need a battery replacement from Apple.
Step 2. Turn Off Your iPod Then Turn It On Again
Whatever problem you’re experiencing with your iPod, a good troubleshooting tip is to try turning it off and on. Don’t force restart it yet, as that can damage the software.
Instead, follow the instructions below to power off your iPod safely. Then wait at least 30 seconds before powering it on again.
You should also restart any computer you want to sync your iPod with.
How to Restart an iPod Touch
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button.
- When prompted, slide to power off your iPod.
- Wait 30 seconds, then press the Sleep/Wake button again to restart.
How to Restart an iPod Nano
iPod nano (6th generation) and later
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the screen goes blank.
- Wait 30 seconds, then press the Sleep/Wake button again to restart.
iPod nano (5th generation) and earlier
- Turn off the Hold switch by sliding it so you can’t see any orange.
- Press and hold the Play/Pause button until the screen goes blank.
- Wait 30 seconds, then press any button to restart the iPod.
How to Restart an iPod Shuffle
- Slide the power switch to the right, so that no green is showing.
- Wait 30 seconds, then slide the switch back to restart the iPod.
How to Restart an iPod Classic
- Turn off the Hold switch by sliding it so you can’t see any orange.
- Press and hold the Play/Pause button until the screen goes blank.
- Wait 30 seconds, then press any button to restart the iPod.
Step 3. Force Restart Your iPod
If your iPod is stuck on the Apple logo or unresponsive, it might be impossible to restart it normally or perform other troubleshooting steps. In this case, you can force your iPod to restart using a specific set of button combinations.
When you force restart your iPod, it abruptly stops what it’s doing and turns off. There’s a chance this could damage the software on your device, but if your iPod isn’t working anyway, you have no other choice.
As the iPod shuffle uses a physical switch, you don’t need to force restart it.
How to Force Restart an iPod Touch
iPod touch (7th generation) and later
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Volume Down button.
- Keep holding both buttons until an Apple logo appears.
iPod touch (6th generation) and earlier
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button.
- Keep holding both buttons until an Apple logo appears.
How to Force Restart an iPod Nano
iPod nano (7th generation) and later
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button.
- Keep holding both buttons until the screen goes blank.
iPod nano (6th generation)
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Volume Down button.
- Keep holding both buttons until an Apple logo appears.
iPod nano (5th generation) and earlier
- Turn off the Hold switch by sliding it so you can’t see any orange.
- Press and hold the Menu button and the Center (or Select) button.
- Keep holding both buttons for eight seconds or until an Apple logo appears.
How to Force Restart an iPod Classic
iPod models with a click wheel
- Turn off the Hold switch by sliding it so you can’t see any orange.
- Press and hold the Menu button and the Center (or Select) button.
- Keep holding both buttons until an Apple logo appears.
iPod models without a click wheel
- Turn off the Hold switch by sliding it so you can’t see any orange.
- Press and hold the Menu button and the Play/Pause button.
- Keep holding both buttons until an Apple logo appears.
Step 4. Update the Software on Your iPod and Computer
Depending on your computer software, you need to use iTunes or Finder to sync music to and from your iPod. Make sure the software on your computer is up to date for the best chance of syncing successfully.
After updating your computer software, troubleshoot your iPod by connecting it to Finder or iTunes and installing the latest available iPod software updates.
Follow the instructions for all of that below.
How to Update the Software on a Mac
- From the menu bar, go to > System Preferences > Software Update.
- Wait for your Mac to check for new updates to macOS.
- Download and install any available updates for your Mac.
How to Update the Software on a Windows
- Click Start and go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.
- Wait for your computer to check for new updates to Windows.
- Download and install any available updates for your computer.
- Open the Microsoft Store and search for iTunes updates. Or visit Apple’s website to download the latest version of iTunes.
How to Update the Software on Your iPod
- Use an official Apple cable to connect your iPod to the computer.
- In Windows or macOS Mojave and earlier:
- Open iTunes and select the iPod icon from the top-left corner.
- Go to the Summary page and click Check for Updates.
- In macOS Catalina or later:
- Open Finder and select [Your iPod] from the sidebar.
- Go to the General tab and click Check for Update.
- Download and install any available updates for your iPod.
Step 5. Erase the Content and Restore Your iPod
The most effective troubleshooting step you can use against any iPod problems is to erase all the content and restore it to factory settings. This should resolve any software-related issues.
Restoring your iPod deletes all the music and content from it. Make a backup of your iPod touch before restoring it. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to back up other iPod models.
This is a particularly good step to try if your iPod is stuck on the Apple logo, won’t turn on, or refuses to sync with your computer. But it can fix most other issues too.
How to Erase and Restore an iPod to Factory Settings
- Use an official Apple cable to connect your iPod to the computer.
- In Windows or macOS Mojave and earlier:
- Open iTunes and select the iPod icon from the top-left corner.
- Go to the Summary page and click Restore iPod.
- In macOS Catalina or later:
- Open Finder and select [Your iPod] from the sidebar.
- Go to the General tab and click Restore iPod.
- Follow the on-screen prompts to restore your iPod, then set it up again.
Step 6. Contact Apple for One-to-One support
If you can’t fix your iPod using the troubleshooting steps above, it’s possible you need to book it in for a physical repair. When your iPod is less than one year old, Apple should cover it under the limited manufacturer’s warranty.
Even if your iPod is older than that, speak to Apple directly to find out if any quality programs or consumer law issues apply to your iPod. Let us know what Apple says in the comments!
Dan is a freelance writer based in South West England.
He spent two years supervising repairs as a Genius Admin for Apple Retail and uses that knowledge to keep our troubleshooting guides up to date.
Long before that, Dan turned to Apple products from a musical background. Having owned iPods for years, he bought a MacBook to learn sound recording and production. It was using those skills that he gained a first-class Bachelor of Science in Sound Technology.
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I need to restore an iPod nano gen 7. When I want to put music on the iPod, the computer says that it is already on it.
How can I solve the problem?
Hi Marina,
Disconnect your iPod Nano from the computer, then follow these steps to force restart it.
Press and hold both the Sleep/Wake and Home button until the screen turns off. Wait for your device to restart.
Once restarted, power it off normally, wait 1-2 minutes, and power it back on.
Next, connect to iPod to iTunes and backup your iPod Nano to your computer.
Only after you back up the iPod Nano, should you restore it. When you restore, all data is erased from your iPod, including songs, videos, files, photos,
and any other data. A restore sets your iPod Nano back to factory settings. Once done, you reconnect to your back up to restore all your data.
If you don’t want to restore, you can also choose to update your operating system without erasing your data.
1 Open iTunes
2 Connect iPod nano to your computer
3 In iTunes, select iPod nano, then click Summary
4 Click Update, if available, to install the latest version available for your iPod
5 Alternatively, click Restore to restore iPod nano to its original settings. Remember, restore erases all data
6 Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the restore process
7 Connect your iPod Nano to your back up (if desired)
Once you finish this process, you should then be able to sync your music using either Sync Automatically or Sync Manually in iTunes
I have an iPod classic.
The left track seems to be out when it is played through the thirty pin connector that hooks the thing up to the sound system in my car.
Same thing happens when played through the docking station to the system in my house.
However the thing works just fine when hooked up to my friends system (thirty pin) in her Subaru.
When played through the headphone jack coupled with the Aux in car and home stereo things are fine.
Any ideas?
have a 7 or 8 year old nanopod that is about 1 1/2″ square, not sure what generation it is and it wouldn’t turn on one day so I thought it needed charging so I charged it and then kept holding down the on/off button and nothing and then set it aside and later I noticed that it was showing the apple icon in the screen and I couldn’t get it to do anything else or make it go away. Has anyone else ever herd of this?
Rick
Hi Rick,
Plug your iPod Nano (6th generation) into power, then try again to press and hold both the Sleep/Wake and Volume Down button for at least 8 seconds until you see the Apple logo.
If that doesn’t help, let us know
Hi Elizabeth
Thanks for the reply. I am not sure what the sleep/wake button is? all I have are the two buttons on the top left for up or down volume and then one other button on the top right that you hold down to turn the unit off or on or do things like a menu after the unit is turned on.
Rick
Hi Rick,
The on/off button is also the sleep/wake button. So try pressing both the on/off/sleep/wake button and the volume down button–hold these together until the Apple logo appears on screen–and make sure the iPod is connected to its charger during this process as well.
If that doesn’t make any difference, let us know.
Liz
Hi Liz
I did what you said and the apple icon disappeared for a second and then came back.
I did it a couple more times and it did the same thing and then on the 4th try the icon disappeared off the screen.
I held down both buttons again and the icon returned again so I did it again and the icon disappeared and then clicked on the computer to tell it that I wanted to unplug it as you have to do and got the window that said ( eject device) and when I clicked on that, it took about 30 seconds and then a window appeared that said, (windows is unable to stop the device ‘USB Mass Storage Device’ Don’t remove this device while it is still in use. Close any programs using this device and then remove it)
Rick
Hi Rick,
First, try to eject your iPod using one of the steps outlined in this article.
You might want to try putting your iPod Nano into Disk Mode–take a look at this Apple article outlining those steps.
Disk mode is usually performed when you cannot restore your iPod Nano or if iTunes does not recognize the device at all.
If you can see your iPod on your My Computer and you are okay with reformatting the iPod, try these steps:
Right-click on your iPod and Format it in Fat32
After formatting, open iTunes and see it if shows up. If not, try ejecting it first, restart your computer, and then open iTunes again to check if it sees it
If your iPod Nano continues to not appear in iTunes then try disk mode.
Song shuffle keeps repeating same track continuously.
Hi Andrew,
It’s likely your repeat track button is pressed.
Look at the top of the Apple Music’s Up Next screen, and turn repeat off–it looks like arrows in an oval.
My iPod 6th generation, suddenly play my song over and over, it used to play each song on the list once and would go on to the next song. how do I correct this?
Hi Bob,
It sounds like your music is stuck on Repeat.
In the Music App, try to swipe up in the Now Playing view and tap the repeat button to turn it off.
Hi there,I have an old 160 gb Ipod Model A1238 that sat in storage for a long time and acts like it takes a charge but will only show the Apple icon.I also noticed it makes a very low audible sound when held up to my ear.Any ideas?
When I open Google the weather card is missing from feed; the weather forecast use to be the first thing to show up on homepage when I opened Google, now it is missing and I cannot get it back…Help!
Hi Janice,
After opening your Google App, go to Settings and then tap Feed. Choose weather from the list.
You can also search for weather in the google search bar and then when you see the card you want, tap the Follow (+)
Hope that helps,
Sam
Often when I try to sync a large work from iTunes to my iPod touch it savers to my iPod in the wrong order, What can I do to correct this?
My entire toolbars bar has vanished! I can’t look at bookmarks’ history or go back a page!
My ipod says its disabled and to try again in 23,972,504 minutes. Also shows wrong date and time.
????????????
Using an itouch I am unable to share photos from my camera roll
I select the photo, select share, select mail, select to, add an address, and hit send
I hear the swoosh but the picture is never received nor does it show in the sent file
What am I missing ?
my ipod nano 4th ge brightness is not increasing , i tried alot to increase the brightness..but its
not hapenning …rest evrything is working fine .what should i do
My iPod is not syncing to my iTunes I don’t have the problem with any other of my apple devices just my iPod I have rebooted my iPod & re installed iTunes with no avail