iPod nano Lockup Reset When Frozen

My iPod nano locked up and I had no idea what to do. Holding down buttons wouldn’t turn it off. Toggling the hold switch didn’t do anything either. It was in a stuck state where hold was turned on and none of the buttons would respond.

If you own an iPod with the Click Wheel (iPod with video, nano, iPod photo, iPod, or mini) follow these steps to reset the iPod:

  1. Toggle hold switch on.
  2. Toggle hold switch off.
  3. Hold down the menu and middle button for a few seconds.
  4. You might need to repeat.

Both times my iPod nano has frozen up I was plugging the ipod into the USB cable while the the hold switch was toggled on. Make sure to hold switch is togged off when connecting your iPod with the USB cable.

To reset some of the earlier iPods including like the iPod, iPod (scroll wheel), iPod (touch wheel), and iPod (dock connector), follow these steps:

  1. Toggle hold on.
  2. Toggle hold off.
  3. Press and hold the Play/Pause and Menu buttons until the Apple/iPod logo appears, about 6 to 10 seconds.
  4. You might need to repeat.

To reset an iPod shuffle:

  1. Move the switch on the back of iPod shuffle to the off position (green stripe not visible).
  2. Wait 5 seconds.
  3. Move the switch on the back to the play in order or the shuffle position (green stripe visible).

Still having problems?

  1. Connect to a different USB or FireWire port on the computer.
  2. Install the latest Operating System upgrades.
  3. Restart the computer.
  4. Reinstall the iPod with iPod Updater
  5. Reinstall iTunes
  6. Restore your iPod using the latest iPod Updater.

    *Restoring an iPod will erase all songs and files from the iPod, restoring it to the original state. Backup all files from the iPod before restoring it. Once restoration is complete, you can transfer your music and files from the computer back to your iPod again.

iPod displays sad iPod icon

In most cases, the sad iPod icon indicates a hardware issue. If you are able to force iPod into Disk Mode, then it may not be a hardware issue, and you should try to restore your iPod with the latest software.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

This entry was written by Nick, posted on October 3, 2005 at 12:18 am, filed under Entry and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.

759 Comments

  1. Tony
    Posted October 5, 2005 at 6:06 am | Permalink

    thanks alot foe the help, on how to fix the ipod nano

  2. Paul
    Posted October 5, 2005 at 4:31 pm | Permalink

    I’m hoping this is going to work next time my 20gig freezes. This may be the most helpful post ever on mtdewvirus.

  3. RONY ABRAHAM
    Posted October 7, 2005 at 8:49 pm | Permalink

    I AM DUMB I CANNOT RESET ALLAALA

  4. Chris
    Posted October 8, 2005 at 12:40 pm | Permalink

    Thanks for the great tip..I was getting a little worried.

  5. Rachel
    Posted October 8, 2005 at 4:11 pm | Permalink

    thanx for the info mine did the exact same thing.

  6. Berto
    Posted October 8, 2005 at 6:43 pm | Permalink

    Mine did the same thing too. Your tip worked like a charm. Thanks.

  7. Mario
    Posted October 8, 2005 at 11:45 pm | Permalink

    My Nano 4GB did the same ten minutes ago, thanks for the tip it worked like a charm.

  8. KC
    Posted October 10, 2005 at 12:22 am | Permalink

    Wow! I was like ???? I broke it already?? First post I checked to help and it was fixed!! Thank you!!

  9. sukhi
    Posted October 10, 2005 at 2:27 pm | Permalink

    yo dis shit really helped me yo, thx , at least i didnt had to go to future shop and complain about it

  10. Brenda Benedict
    Posted October 11, 2005 at 1:07 am | Permalink

    Thank you so much!!! We were at our wit’s end!!! You’re a peach!!

  11. Kevin Reynolds
    Posted October 11, 2005 at 10:22 pm | Permalink

    accidentally booted mine into disk mode somehow, and it got stuck, thanks for the tip.

  12. Aisling
    Posted October 12, 2005 at 3:19 pm | Permalink

    i just want to say thank you so much for ur tip i was ready to to put in a huge companit now i am glad i never thanks again

  13. Midnightsun
    Posted October 12, 2005 at 11:47 pm | Permalink

    Thank you for the tip.. worked perfectly!

  14. Mike
    Posted October 13, 2005 at 12:41 am | Permalink

    THANK YOU i was getting very worried.

  15. Mark
    Posted October 13, 2005 at 1:25 am | Permalink

    Thanks alot thought I broke it too, but was ready to pound hard on the table with the 20gig, (use it like a hammer) to get it to work but found this site first with google.

  16. Kim
    Posted October 13, 2005 at 2:24 pm | Permalink

    hey :) omg thank-you so much for the advice! – was starting to freak out! :| cheers! x x x x

  17. Wechsler
    Posted October 15, 2005 at 5:35 am | Permalink

    Many thanks, that probably just saved me a few hours’ aggravation… (nano 4GB white stuck at B&W battery symbol)

    (PS: Thank * for google, too)

  18. Ian
    Posted October 15, 2005 at 9:28 am | Permalink

    Thanks so much for posting this fix ;) . Worked like a charm. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw my Nano had frozen up.

  19. MARK DYER
    Posted October 15, 2005 at 9:56 am | Permalink

    Thanks greet help,thought i would have to mess about taking it back…

  20. Larry
    Posted October 15, 2005 at 10:21 am | Permalink

    it worked!!!! thanks

  21. Oscar
    Posted October 15, 2005 at 12:20 pm | Permalink

    ohhhh thank you so much, i thought my ipod was gone forever… im so happy now :D :D :D

  22. Fred
    Posted October 15, 2005 at 2:20 pm | Permalink

    Thanks, my nano locked up connecting after upgrading to Itunes 6. Problem fixed

  23. Kate
    Posted October 15, 2005 at 10:53 pm | Permalink

    it won’t work on mine.

    :’(

  24. Killer
    Posted October 16, 2005 at 2:48 pm | Permalink

    Master of the fixer .. lovly…

  25. Andreas
    Posted October 16, 2005 at 5:02 pm | Permalink

    Didn`t work on mine :/

  26. Nick
    Posted October 16, 2005 at 5:32 pm | Permalink

    It took me a couple of times to get it right. If it doesn’t work, try again and try the steps a little bit slower.

  27. George
    Posted October 16, 2005 at 9:40 pm | Permalink

    thank you for this it worked the first time but it locked up agin and i can get it to restart this time. btw apple tryed to charge me 60$ for them to tell me how to do it. so you saved me 60$ ty.

  28. jr
    Posted October 17, 2005 at 7:46 pm | Permalink

    Dude, you rule. Thanks!

  29. TexasTodd
    Posted October 18, 2005 at 7:37 pm | Permalink

    Thanx for the heads up. It workd….pEace

  30. E Spatz
    Posted October 19, 2005 at 1:38 am | Permalink

    Without any action from me, my new Nano locked itself up in disk mode, displaying a check mark and stating it was “OK to disconnect.” No amount of button pushing invoked any reaction whatsoever. Your fix did the trick the first time, and I’m back to enjoying my playlists. Thanks so much!

  31. kim
    Posted October 19, 2005 at 11:57 pm | Permalink

    My ipod locked up after upgrading itunes 6 as well. This definitely did the trick!

  32. Brad
    Posted October 20, 2005 at 11:56 am | Permalink

    Yea, mine did the exact same thing and that worked. Thanks for the tip!

  33. karl
    Posted October 20, 2005 at 9:41 pm | Permalink

    Awesome tip, thanks!!

  34. HargraveGas
    Posted October 22, 2005 at 11:35 am | Permalink

    Thanks very much for that – seems like the Itunes 6 update has been causing a lot of lockups!!

  35. Megs
    Posted October 22, 2005 at 5:10 pm | Permalink

    I had the same problem as well .. Thanks for the tip

  36. Charles
    Posted October 22, 2005 at 5:24 pm | Permalink

    Thanks for this! That was awesome. I didn’t know what to do. My manual was at home, and I’m chillin at work.

    Thanks again!

  37. Lisa
    Posted October 23, 2005 at 2:39 pm | Permalink

    Thank You :) I thought I was bitten again by the ‘bad mp3 player monster’ :p

  38. Tyler
    Posted October 24, 2005 at 1:01 am | Permalink

    Thx so much i thought my ipod had broke :D !

  39. TracywithouttheE
    Posted October 24, 2005 at 1:57 am | Permalink

    Thank you! thank you! thank you!

    Took me a while to understand what you actually meant in my moment of panic but once I slowed down and breathed a bit I worked it out.

    Thanks so much now if you can tell me how to fix my camera I will be over the moon!!!

  40. Heather
    Posted October 24, 2005 at 3:03 am | Permalink

    Thank you so much! I was just about ready to smash the thing when I read your fix-it advice. Again, thanks!

  41. Kat Hill
    Posted October 24, 2005 at 3:01 pm | Permalink

    Yey! You rescued me just when I was about to panic — I have grown dependent on my ipod nano to accompany me during my workouts at the gym!!! It is working again! Gracias!

  42. Cathy
    Posted October 25, 2005 at 6:25 am | Permalink

    I love you! (okay–perhaps not really, but this reset tip made my day).

  43. Apple Fan
    Posted October 25, 2005 at 10:20 pm | Permalink

    SWEEEEEEETTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!

  44. mary
    Posted October 26, 2005 at 11:06 pm | Permalink

    I freaking love you!!! this worked!

  45. bennet
    Posted October 27, 2005 at 9:01 am | Permalink

    thank you so much you are the best….. everyone when you hold down menu and the middle button make sure that hold is off!!!

    Thanks Again

  46. Naeem
    Posted October 27, 2005 at 7:38 pm | Permalink

    what can i say,. my ipod froze during software install, googled it, found this site and BAM! 30 secs later….. (drum roll)… my problem was solved!!!! i love you!!!

  47. Jack
    Posted October 27, 2005 at 9:08 pm | Permalink

    Thanks my friend!! You saved me. I didn’t know where else to look but you came through.

  48. grant
    Posted October 28, 2005 at 10:33 am | Permalink

    forget 30 seconds ,google it 2 seconds, read 2 seconds , hold down menu and and center button and fixed 6 seconds ,that leaves me with 24 seconds to smile

    thanks

  49. austin crume
    Posted October 28, 2005 at 8:33 pm | Permalink

    dude like thanks SSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOO much im not like those other idiots so im gona say thanks instead of “i love you” thanks dude later.

  50. Dave Rotter
    Posted October 28, 2005 at 10:25 pm | Permalink

    )(&*^%$#@@#W$E%(*&^%$#@!#$%^& !!!!

    ANGER>>FRUSTRATION>>TORMENT>>GOOGLE>READ…..

    ahhhhhhh………peace, Serenity, happy happy joy joy………………

    Big thank you…..

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