iPod Woes
Several weeks ago I began having difficulty with my 5th Generation 60 GB iPod. Symptoms included:
- resetting in the middle of a song
- skipping songs
- playing a few seconds of a song and then skipping to the next song
Over the course of a couple of weeks I visited Apple Support and did a lot of Googling. The problem escalated. At first the above symtoms seemed random, but as I dug in I noticed that all of the songs I had purchased from the iTunes music store would not play on my iPod…but played fine in iTunes on my computer. Songs I had imported from CDs I own were not an issue.
The Apple Support site made the following suggestions:
- reset iPod
- deauthorize/reauthorize computer
- restore iPod to factory defaults
- rebuild the iTunes library
- uninstall/reinstall iTunes
- make sure most recent version of iPod software updater is in place
The only suggestion that had any effect was restoring to factory defaults. (This does remove all songs from your iPod…so make sure you have a backup before doing this.) However, the only effect was when an Apple iTunes purchased song attempted to play for the first time it would play for about 3 seconds before skipping. Thereafter, all iTunes purchased music would skip without playing a note.
I finally contacted Apple Support on the phone. I spent about 30 minutes on the phone with the support guy that answered the phone. He had me run through a bunch of tests…the same tests published on the Apple website which I had already tried. The last thing we tried was to burn a purchased song to disc (in .aiff format) and then import it to iTunes from the disc (stripping the DRM). Naturally this worked and the support guy declared success. I told him that this was not a viable solution. Not only was I not going to burn all my purchased music to disc…but I wanted my purchased music to work without having to “hack” it…and I don’t see how any music going through two conversions like that could not lose resolution. He put me through to a product specialist.
The specialist had me run a series of expanded tests…most of which I had not thought of. This process eliminated the possibility that my computer or software was to blame. The specialist announced that the issue was a hardware problem…and that they would be replacing my iPod at no charge. I was given a case number to follow-up with if I continued to experience the problem when the new iPod arrived.
I received my iPod replacement today. Preliminary testing was successful. I am currently loading the remainder of my almost 2000 songs onto the replacement iPod.
I worked support for the iTunes music store for 3 months ( I LOVE Apple’s products, but working for them is a total fucking joke, they’re TERRIBLE ). Anyway, at any point did you deauthorize and reauthorize your computer and then re-sync your iPod? ( this often fixed the problem you were having ) Hope all’s well.
-Michael
Comment on May 16, 2006 @ 8:03 am
@Michael - I did indeed try the deauthorization/reauthorization - resync trick…it didn’t fix my problem. Thanks for the suggestion though. I have had no difficulties with the replacement iPod so far! *cross fingers*
Comment on May 17, 2006 @ 1:54 pm
hi. unfortunately i am having the same problem. 1 1/2 years of excellence and now all of the sudden difficulty with skipping not only purchased itunes music, but also music from cd’s that previously had no problems. I am also experiencing slower loading times of songs.
I would really appreciate if u could give me the phone number that you attained to call apple. Also, were you still under warranty??
Please Help As Soon As Possible!!! Thanks.
Comment on August 29, 2006 @ 10:34 pm
@Matt - Unfortunately my iPod was not under warranty…and I did not have the Apple Care plan. This would have made my life a lot easier…I will be purchasing the Apple Care plan on every Apple product I purchase from now on. It’s a small cost to avoid a huge amount of hassle.
I simply contacted Apple using one of the numbers published in their support area.
Comment on August 30, 2006 @ 8:14 am
hmmm. so they gave you a new iPod without being covered under tany plan. that is good news to me because i really do not want to buy a new iPod for something that i had no control over.
thank you for your help- it is much appreciated.
Comment on September 3, 2006 @ 12:34 pm
Yeah. I had to go through a whole process to prove that it was without a doubt a hardware problem and not a software problem. Also, my iPod was in perfect physical condition. (not a single scratch on it) Good luck!
Comment on September 3, 2006 @ 12:59 pm
I had on a similar problem but my ipod was covered under the basic warranty. Since the ipod was to be replaced because of a brain dead hard drive, I asked to be upgraded to an 80 gig unit and pay the difference. I was denied this opportunity being cited “company policy” forbids this. That pissed me off more than the ipod taking a dump.
Comment on December 6, 2006 @ 7:20 pm