::grumble:: Mac won’t help me restart my iPod without paying them $60 so i’m hoping someone here might be able to help.
My iPod’s software thinks that it is on hold (even though the slider at the top says otherwise). It fell under this magical state in the first week of April. I web-searched and someone on the web said to let the battery die to nothingness. I did this. To no avail. Whenever i plug it back in to power, it’s still on hold.
There’s no way to do the restart via the three buttons because it’s on hold. Isn’t there a manual restart somehow? Like one where i can erase the whole disk and get it to restart?
I have to admit that i’m *really* cranky with Mac about this one. You’d think that a noticeable defect in the software (documented by others on the web) would mean that they’d support you in fixing it. I’m a bit resentful by being demanded to pay $60 to fix it when i was thinking of upgrading at the end of the summer. Now i’m just questioning whether or not it’s worth upgrading because my iPod has been broken for half the time that i’ve had it.
I had the same problem. Haven’t read the whole post, but the problem where the hold button seems stuck on hold, and none of the buttons are responding.
I opened the ipod, and the external hold switch on the outside of the case connects to a little one that is connected to the hardware. It seems like the two were misaligned. after flipping the little switch, the hold function worked correctly. I then put the case back together, and it seems like the two aligned themselves again. hope that helps.
OK…I’ve opened up the iPod while I was trying Heather’s solution, and I found a cable disconnected on the top of the ipod that connects the hold button and the earphone jack to the main part of the iPod.
I put it back into the slot and I found it working! XD
I have a nano that was having the same “stuck hold” problem…I was seriously surprised to find out how many people were having my same problem. I don’t know all that much about ipods, but I would seriously advise against that suggestion of hitting it against a hard surface until it works, since that was probably the initial cause of the problem…
I tried pushing the hold switch really hard to the left. I thought it was going to break off….but it worked. Awesome.
I had the same problem. I noticed that when I put a lot (a real lot) of pressure downward (toward the screen) on the hold button while it was in the non-hold (to the left) position the lock would disappear. However when I released the pressure the lock icon appeared again. (If you cannot apply enough pressure with your finger hold the nano in both hands and push it against a hard surface (edge of a desk)with only the lock button making contact with the hard surface.) I then tried applying a lot of pressure on the hold button when it was in the right side lock position (again using the two hands and hard surface method) and I think I heard the small click noise that some of the other’s have mentioned here. Then when I moved the hold button off the lock position, the lock icon disappeared and my problem was solved. I guess this is a variation of the Heather solution. The problem was mechanical … not software.
I was looking for a solution and i found one
just hold down it will still work even when frozen and “on hold” just hold down the menu and middle select button for a while the screen will turn black and then go to normal
I just found this i was scared i was going to get in trouble for breaking it even if it broke itself
I have found the answer. I was looking for it on the internet and a site said to hold down the menu and the middle select button. The screen turns black and then ur ipod will be normal. I swear! I just did it.
If your video ipod is stuck in the hold mode and it doesn’t seem like it’s a physical issue, hold down the menu and the middle select button at the same time for about 10 seconds. I tried smacking the ipod as suggested by a few folks but it didn’t seem like a hardware issue because the ipod is only 45 days old.
“OK…I’ve opened up the iPod while I was trying Heather’s solution, and I found a cable disconnected on the top of the ipod that connects the hold button and the earphone jack to the main part of the iPod.
I put it back into the slot and I found it working! XD”
Zeraxeal…do you have a normal Ipod with a click wheel? I think this might be my problem. Is the “cable” you’re talking about sort of a flat, wide piece of copper wire with circuitry on it? It seems like it should be connected to something on my Ipod but I can’t figure out where.
I accidentally locked my colleague’s ipod when itunes crashed on my pc while he was connected. stressed out for 40 minutes then fixed it by holding down the menu and select buttons for 10 sec.
/phew
My iPod nano was stuck in hold too… i could move the button but the lock symbol wouldn’t go away. Holding down the MENU and SELECT button at the same time (with the hold switch off) for a couple seconds worked for me!!!
I’m so glad I wasn’t the only one with this problem.
Thanks for the help everyone!
Our iPod had the same problem with being locked and having no way to “reset” it because the keys were frozen.
We tried the method that was mentioned above where we “squeezed” the actual iPod on it’s sides until we heard an audible “click” sound and it worked!!
The original cause of the problem was a drop incident, so something must have been knocked out of place and the sqeeze puts whatever it was back into place.
Good luck everyone else!
Hey, I had the same stupid problem with it. I was so frustrating! Then I went to apple.com an they said it would a $100 to fix it but then i went to where they said how to fix it. The said to put the ipod on lock and then unlock it. After you do that you press and hold the menu button and select button (the button in the middle)for about 10 seconds unitl the apple logo appears on the screen. Sure enough it worked.
Amazing…I had a locked icon that wouldn’t disappear with any amount of on-off-on-off back and forth with the hold button. Found this site,I used a version Grant’s solution (5/5/05 post) and voila! A click, and off went the dreaded stuck lock icon. (Instead of the tiny screwdriver Grant suggests, I used the thin blade of a steak knife, sliding the blade gently between the silver back & white front on the iPod’s LEFT side. I didn’t pry hard, just sliding the blade in produced the “click” and the lock/hold icon disappeared!) Thank you Grant, now I can get back to savoring the stunning narration on Crime and Punishment.
Oops, that reference was for Grant’s 4/5/05 post…
HELP!!! I have a first generation iPod mini, and this past weekend it dropped into a hot tub for about 10 seconds. I pulled it out as fast as I could and wrapped it in a towel to dry it off, but the screen went blank and everything shut down. I have put it in front of a fan to dry it out, but it still doesn’t turn on and nothing has worked…I really would love any help whatsoever…my husband gave it to me and had it engraved…so, I would love to get it fixed for very sentimental reasons…please e-mail me at jmain214@hotmail.com Thank you!!
::Sigh:: I’ve tried EVERYTHING here…an am about to give up. I’ve Only had this dumb thing since Christmas and it was working fine up until an hour ago.. I plugged it in to charge…and the computer didn’t respond to the Ipod, the clock won’t work, and the lock icon is there…no matter where the switch is….and the battery won’t run out….Any help? If not….R.I.P. Ipod
WEEEE!!! I also took Heather’s advice — turned the ipod on its side and pushed on the silver side right around where the hold button is, until I got the distinct click sound. Sure enough it WORKED, as if the casing and the silver popped back into place. So happy! The screen no longer shows a permanent lock symbol.
Thanks Heather! Great solution. 🙂
I USED EVERY METHOD THERE WAS I EVEN TRIED YOUR IDEA HEATHER, AND NONE OF IT WORKED. I WAS SO ANGRY I WAS READY TO JUST THROW MY IPOD OUT THE WINDOW UNTIL I SAW DAVE’S SUGGESTION. HE SAID TO HOLD DOWN THE MENU AND THE MIDDLE FOR 10 SECONDS LO AND BEHOLD THE IPOD IS WORKING AGAIN, THANKS DAVE YOU ARE A LIFESAVER!
Forgot your password to unlock your iPOD…
Let this for the pros… Go to the explorer, tools, folder options, view files types, and the uncheck de Hide protected operating system files… then go to your iPOD on My Computer Icon you will see your iPOD as a hard drive like H:\ or any other word the go like this:
H:\iPod_Control\Device you will see this file:
_locked copy to your computer for safety and erase it and thats it, you wont spend any money… jaja so easy. there is no such word file and if you want to know your forgoten password just open the file in word with the files type (*.*) and you will see your password… please apple reps don?t read this
ok my ipod mini would never turn on since the day i got it so i opend it up and unpluged the batter and hard drive and re pluged them back in just like i would if i lost a pc drive and it finnaly turned on now when i installed the soft ware that came on the disk it said it had to be formated to ipod config so i began to do that then my ipod turned off half way through and now i have no OS on it so i plug it in and try to restore but for some reason my ipod keeps rebooting turns off then on again and i have tried doing the manual reboot by pressing menu and select at the same time for 10 sec and tried the hold button trick but nothing works if any one has any idea how to fix this problem plzzz tell me im desprate
my ipod is stuck in disk mode.. help would be nice..
right this one worked for me after trying everything else on this site!!! Get a small tool very fine but strong like a dental probe!!! Place it in between the screen and the middle of the hold button ( inside the ipod) and bend it down towards the screen while toggling the hold switch and hey presto the padlock is gone. Just don’t put it back on hold, you’ll never get it off again!
My iPod nano has been having trouble with only having half of the screen show up. Ive tried the menu center button thing but that doesn’t work. HELP!
I’ve the same problem today on my iPod Video 30gb, the Dave solution (September 20, 2005 05:15 AM) to
“try holding down the middle button simultaneously with the menu button for 10+ seconds” worked fine for me.
Thank you Dave!
WOW!! My iPod got stuck and I tried all the recommendations on the Apple site and nothing worked. So i tried the “push hard” method described here. I push hard on the edge of the screen directly under the hold switch. Nothing happenend. I then moved the hold switch back and forth a few times. Then I did the “push hard” thing again. Then I did the reboot by holding menu and the center button and all of a sudden it reboot! SWEET!!
This is the second time the “stuck on hold” thing has happened to me. Last time I just let the damn thing die over night and re charge it the next day. Hopefully It’ll work this time
i have an ipod that will not respond to a charger or to the computer when i plug it in with the usb, the manual reset wont work and the screen just stays permanently blank it ownt turn on and there is no symbol to say it is stuck in lock mode…help!! what can i do??
throw it to the wall and then pick it up if dont work throw it agin and if it dont work throw it one more time to the wall and if that dont work well can can i say… i ran out of ideas…lol
Carl, thanks man. I was about to flip out because I restored my computer (deleting 2,500 songs), reconected my i-pod, and the damn thing wouldn’t unlock. I did what you said, and it saved me. Can’t thank you enough
I bow before you heather.
Click and it works again!!
I’m glad I didn’t have to pry it open =)
hey guys could u pliz help me i was sitting with my ipod on my legs and i forgot so i standed up and it fell down from a jheight of 15 cm and for my bad lock it was locked and know it doesnt unlocks pliz help me
e-mail me annah8a@hotmail.com
i am an ashole because i was holding my ipod on the window of a 30 floor building i was in the last floor and i said to myself lets throw it to see what happens so i let it go and it is locked and does not respond any more send me any recomendastions to my mail aditi281@hotmail.com
okay so i dont know what happened to my ipod (i have the nano) and all of the sudden i turned it on and half of my screen was blank. i googled this page and it said that some one had the same problem but half way i got tired of reading the post and i just want to know if some one could help me.
I had the same problem….. just happend earlier today.I had my ipod on that screen lock.. then like 2 hours later i tried to unlock nothing happened. I was so frustrated. I heard that if you cant unlock the ipod plugging it into itunes will unlock it. well i tried that but the damn computer didnt pick anything up. so i came here. saw that alot of people had the same “fricken” problem. But the Pressing Menu and select button for a few seconds helped me. Now to wait 1 hour while i re-install windows xp because i was so damned freaked out i thought my xp computer was messed up. well thanks for all the info.
Geuss what… all u guys were giving advidce that didn’t work, then i got angry and lobbed my nano across the floor and vwaula perfect ipod.apophenia
Violence IS the answer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alright seen one other post that describes my problem, but no responses, am a bit lost as to what to do, I have a 30 gig Ipod. Oddly it charges fine, it connects and plays from the computer fine, just the click wheel is completely frozen, and if i toggle the reset button from on to off, poof the whole thing resets. Screen fades out, and then the apple logo comes up.
hi i really need some help my ipod nano has completly frooze i connected it to my computor bythe usb cable to put some more songs on it and it has frooze for the first time with the song still on it and the lock button on it won’t do a thing i even took the battery out and then back in and it didnt even turn off??? its completly frooze iv tried the reset tips none work and the light finally turned off 20 minutes ago but is still froozen and i cant turn it off to reset or do any with it. can someone please help!!! kirsty xxx
my ipod nano is stuck in hold even though the switch isnt on hold and ive tried everything even resetting it and nothing works. i need to know how to fix it because i have over 1000 songs on it and i cant afford to erase them all.
hi i went to work earlia and left it in my bedroom n wen i came bk it had turned bk 2 normal n was working fine!! i took the battery out then put it staright back in and switched the hold button back and forward repeativly then left it for 3 hours in my bedroom and it went back to normal try it it mithe work but its wrth a try! kirsty xxx
heathers method doesnt work, and neither do any of the others!!!!
what should i do???????????
need desperate help…the ipods not mine!!!
i tried to fix it using heathers method, but the screen broke…thanx a lot heather…you just cost me $200
i used heathers advice, and it WORKED, but know i havwe to tape down the hold button because if it shifts just a little, it goes on lock again!
I SET A 4 DIGIT CODE ON MY IPOD AND I FORGOT WHAT IT WAS AND MY IPOD WONT UNLOCK. WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME
I dropped my 20GB color photo ipod at work yesterday . For an entire day it was messed up . The ipod kept on showing me everything from the sad face icon , to the Apple logo but it would’nt light up . I even heard the clicking sound. I kept trying to reset it switching it back and forth between my fire wire cables and my USB cable that came with the ipod . I searched every ipod website on the net and I was about to get fed up . I plugged the ipod up the usb cable into the wall adapter and held the menu and play/pause button and VOILA – its working !
My Ipod is stuck in the “hold” position. I can’t do anything I have reset the whole thing and it is still in the lock position. Someone help me please!!!!
Thanks Heather ur solution of using might rather than software subtelities worked for me even…I brought it from Germany and I stay here in India..so i was pretty confused ..hoe to get the damn thing working again if this had not worked….
Cheers
Sourav
ok so i got my ipod nano 6 months ago a couple days ago the hold switch got stuck no matter which way you moved it, it was still STUCK! i heard about the people banging their ipods on a desk but that just sounds stupid to me im not gonna do that even if they say it works and i dont think im gonna open up my ipod ( im not that handy) so im just thinking about going to an apple store and getting an exchange, what do you think?
Thanks Heather!!!
After trying all the reloads and wiping my ipod clean.
Nothing ever worked.
but your method did
I HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIX
I HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIX
I HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIX
I HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIX
I HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIX
I HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIX
I HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIX
GET A FLATHEAD SCREWDRIVER OR KNIFE AND PRY AT THE SIDES A BIT, THIS SHOULD FIX IT. TRUST ME!!!!!!!!
TESTED AND PROVEN
I HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIXI HAVE FOUND A FIX I HAVE FOUND A FIX