::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 alreaky tried that method it just won’t work for mine please help me,,,,the screen lock is on and i don’t know the passwork please help me
An ipod i had for a while was cutting out one of the earphones i took the back off and there is a flat wire that runs from the circuit board to the top controls including lock, moving this about as the conections had come a little loose, possibly from movement (general walking) made the earphone work but the ipod lock continually, i repeated moving the wite until everything was fine and closed it back up and it is fine now, only recommend this if you happy to open it and its out of warranty, but get a guide on how to open it as you could cut the wire inadvertantly.
I had the hold switch problem (lock wouldn’t go away no matter what position the switch was in) this morning, but it was fairly easy to fix. After trying a few suggestions on here (squeezing/hitting the ‘Pod), I decided to pry the thing open with a guitar pick and see what was inside. Try this if Heather’s solution didn’t help:
-Open up the iPod. There are many ways to do it. Guitar picks, fingernails, knives, screwdrivers, etc all work.
-Try jiggling the flat wire connecting the front of the iPod to the back where the hold switch and headphone jacks are. This might be all you need. If not, continue reading.
-Bust out a tiny hex screwdriver and unscrew the green board-thingie (I’m not very technical) inside the top of the iPod’s back panel. There are two screws. When you take this out, you’ll see a tiny black switch right under the hold switch. Simply line it up with the hold switch that sticks out through the top of the iPod.
-If you accidentally separated the flat wire from its connection on the green board-thingie, having the board detached from the inside of the iPod’s back plate makes it easy to put the wire back in. Flip up the tiny black piece on the connector, insert the wire, and close the black thingie again.
-Once you’ve set the hold switch back in place, close up the iPod and try it out.
Hope this rather non-technical description is of some help. It saved me from buying a new iPod!
hey, i dunno if anyone can help. my ipod got wet for the second time a few days, as before i left it to dry then tried recharging it except this time that doesnt work 🙁 the apple signs comes up then is followed by an exclamation mark picture. no light comes on and it doesnt recognise that its being charged. i am distraught, i want it to work – any ideas???
ta
ya well my sister gave me her old ipod but she forgot the password so does any one want to help me
plaese help
I have a 3rd gen (touch wheel) 30 GB iPod. A modified version of Heather’s advice worked for me:
Place the iPod on its face, press down in the middle of the back (silver side) until it ‘clicks’ into place. Presto! Hold switch is back in action. (PS. I tried everything else — software updates, slide the hold switch fast, etc. but those did not work for me…)
ok, my ipod had the same problem. The hold icon was on the screen yet the slider said otherwise. This is what I did and it worked for me. The press on the back thing didn’t work, what I did was I threw the ipod on the floor (which is probably how it got stuck on hold in the first place). Don’t do it strongly, just throw it as if it were an accident. Hope this works!:)
I’m currently having the same problem. I can’t even turn on the screen because it’s on hold. I have to plug it into my computer to turn the screen on. I NEED my music, I can’t live without i’m just glad my warrintiy isn’t up so I can get it fixed!
one absoloute cure without having to loose your data on your ipod.
1.Connect your ipod to the computer
2.Browse your ipod from my computer
3.Make sure that your computer shows Hidden files
4.Open the folder named ” iPod_Control ”
5.Then open the folde ” Device ”
6.There is a file in this folder named ” _locked ” or maybe ” _unlocked ”
7.open this file either wit Notepad or Wordpad
8.Amazingly your password is written there!
You know what is confusing me is that why doesnt
the apple site tell this to the people having this issue!! anybody can answer me?!
cause im sure they know this trick better than me.
hope it helps.
i had the SAME problem and it took me FOREVER to figure out!! but hold down the middle circle button and the MENU (top button on click wheel) and its fixed. at least it worked for me. GOOD LUCK!!!!! 😀
Hi,
I saw that everyone is using Heather’s method to fix the hold problem. However, and I believe it works, I’m not exactly sure where to push. I have the 30 gig black video ipod. Please Help!
I also have the stuck on hold problem with my Nano. I dropped it, and then it wouldn’t turn on or go off hold. I tried heathers method, banging it, throwing it, and even took it apart and moved the switch into place, but nothing is working. Does this mean my battery is dead? I’ve had my nano for about 6 months. Does the warranty mean I can get it fixed for free? Because I desperately need my nano for a nine hour plane ride in a few days! HELP me find a way to fix it!
I’ve tried everything to get my nano off hold after I dropped it, Ive opened it up and thrown it and tried heathers method but nothing works. I need to fix it as soon as possible! Help!
So I got a new ipod nano, and tried to put my itunes on it but it wont work. Do i have to get a new itunes program to go with my new ipod? Because I have too many songs to lose! Someone help!
shut up with heather crap, mine was stucked and that didnt work so, some people need to try something else, please enough thanking let other people post
i found a ipod nano but it is stuck on hold. i have tried everything but its still stuck. PLEASE HELP!!!!!
hey i had the problem where my hold wouldnt turn off. what worked for me is i just let my battery run out. when i charged it up again, the hold was off and it worked fine.
i had the same lock up problem and heathers way didnt work at all as it happened after id tried 2 reinstall the li-lion battery in my ipod mini. this was because of a hardware problem with my motherboard so it was kind of obvious what to do – replace the motherboard! it works a treat now and you can get motherboards off of ebay really cheap now so id try that if nothing else has worked or it happened after battery replacement. hope this helps you
I had the same problem with my 7 month old 30gb video iPod. I was getting really frustrated and just about ready to take it to the Apple store when I first found this website. I tried the pushing on the silver side *hard* and it worked again – for all of a week. And even during that one week, I had to occasionally slide the hold button back and forth a couple of times to get it to unlock.
But then it froze again and I tried pushing it from every conceivable angle, but couldn’t get it to unlock. When I tried sliding the cover back and forth, I realized that it was a little loose and on closer inspection (i.e. (wo)manhandling it with a screwdriver) I realized that there was a little gap at the top between the hold button and the plug for the earphones and at the bottom right where the dock connector was. I took it the iPod in my hand with my thumb on top and my index and ring finger on either side of the dock connector and squeezed gently – now it’s working perfectly fine again and the cover and silver back where they’re supposed to be.
I guess the cover and the silver back can get slightly dislodged and that will cause the unlock button to no longer unlock it. Depending on where they are dislodged, you’ll have to apply pressure on different parts of the iPod to slide it back into the right position.
As i think my last comment was sent to the junk folder, i’ll try and help you again. I had the same problem but this was due to me installing a new battery and the my ipod froze and set in the same way with the locked symbol on it. If you know how to take apart your ipod like i did with mine to change the battery then the fix is extremely simple – but another motherboard. They’re really cheap on ebay these days and when i did it it fixed mine perfectly. Hope this helped
….I have the 20G ipod (~2 yrs old). I, too, am stuck on “hold” even though I am able move the selector. I went to the apple store and they suggested that I remove the back (silver) cover and attempt manipulate the hold switch underneath. anyone have any experience with that?
Thanks once again are due to Heather! Your trick worked first try. You rock!
I had the same problem discussed in this lengthy string. After two weeks of trying to “reset” my ipod I followed the advice a friend gave me; drop the ipod in the yard from head high let it hit in the grass and this should unlock it. No lie, this worked!! DO NOT DROP YOUR IPOD ON ANY HARD SURFACE THOUGH! Dropping it in the grass was enough to get it unlocked.
OKay I have tried EVERY DAMN THING everyone has said.
I have a 30G Ipod Photo and i think i have had it ever since Christmas. I was also given a BOSE SOUND DOCK speaker thingy in which you place the ipod on the speaker and it blass music while charging it.
ok so i left my ipod in the car and it was a very hot day. i forgot about it, i went back in the car and it wouldnt turn on. the next 4 days i kept banging it on tables and what not. when i stuck it on the BOSE thing it turned on, but while the logo showed a picture of an ipod with X’s as eyes showed up. it was weird. then it finally turned on!
but the lock was showing and the switch said otherwise. i tried everything.
please help!!!
I locked my Ipod video and i dont rember my code… tried reseting it and letting batery die out and still wont work
I was having the same problem too with the switch stuck on hold and i read earlier in this blog that if you sit to ipod on its side and press the side on it next to the hold switch while the hold switch is in the off position it will go off. I tried it and it worked! It was weird and i don’t understand it, but it worked!
i forgot my password on my ipod and am unable to download vidoes or music from my pc… i am lost and need help
hi everyone,
please help me! When i plug my ipod nano into my computer it says “do not disconnect” and when i try to restore it, it says “please plug in an ipod” so my computer does not understand its plugged in. When i unplug it i reset it and its all ok but i cant put any more new songs on because my computer doesn’t understand it’s there! I’ve tried practically everything now. Is it time to get a new one?? Please help!!!!
the exact same thing happend to me and i just bought thr thing i put it on screen lock and then i put my password in and then pressed enter and nothing happend i am so pissed off i took it back to where i bought it from and they said that there is nothing they can do about i am so pissed i spent $367.00 and there’s nothing they can do about it
i had this problem, and another one where it kept turning itself on and off, non stop, the apple sign at the beginning was all it would go to, then it would turn off, and on, and off, and on, and off, etc.. so i let the battery die, it turned off completely, charged it up again, turned it on, apple sign, off , on , off , on, so i pressed all the buttons really fast and it went off it and refreshed the screen, its like a test for ur ipod, u jus press all the buttons really fast then the ipod will test itself to find whats wrong with it
My son fiddled with my 30Gb Ipod Video until he keyed in some numbers into the Lock Code. Apparently not knowing the numbers he keyed in I couldnt unlock the Ipod.
A Google search brought me to this site.I tried presing both the Menu and Centre button but to no avail.I also tried a solution here by browsing my ipod from ‘My Computer’ in order to locate a folder named ‘Ipod_control’in order to find a password/code stored somewhere but that didnt help either.I then connected my Ipod to my PC and updated it with some stuff on my iTunes Library and…presto! the Ipod interface was restored simultaneously/instantaneously.
I had a problem with my 6 month old Nano. The hold switch was not working. Unit thought it was on hold no matter what position the hold switch was in.
I did all the tapping and pressing that everyone suggested but what ended up working for me was the
comment about pressing “select” (white circle) at the same time as pressing “menu”…hold for a few seconds and the apple screen comes up.
I didn’t lose anything on the Nano either!
Thanks
Heather you are something else, had hold switch problems like the rest read you fix, read others who tried your problem, they got good results why shouldn’t I me thinks. give it a try, after a few hard pushes to the rightk low and behold hold icon disappears, me happy again.
thanks again heather you have just made a lot of instint friends
My iPod nano is indeed stuck on lock too. It is playing songs but it’s frozen on lock. I’m really frustrated. Any suggestions would be nice :]
Hi. i have the ipod 30gb video one.
so i was uploading some songs onto my ipod. then i unplugged it (it was safe to)
and then decided that i wanted to put more on, so i re-plugged it.
now the ipod is saying it locked and it won’t unlock….so i can’t edit ANYTHING on my ipod or put anything else on…..
i’ve tried everything….resetting, restarting, clicking hold back and forth.
fairly new ipod!! will the apple store help me out, you think, or is this an easy thing to fix that i’m just stupid??
I just found a tip. ıf any one ıs ınterested. If you forgot ur lock code. plug the ipod ınto ur computer, go to my computer and open the ıpod drıve, make sure you can see the hıdden fıles, open the devıce folder and look for a fıle called “_locked” . just deletd that and PRESTO! hope ıt helps worked wıth me
press the menu and middle buttons and hold them for 6-10 seconds should work if not ur screwed
Hurrah! My ipod 60 G got totally stuck on “hold” for two days. I tried (almost) everything until I tried the fast switch movement – which did it! Some conneticon is probably weak and I have to keep on repeating the trick. Time will show. Thanks anyway!
holy crap, I had the hold button problem too. I too dropped mine – a 15GB iPod that has worked flawlessly for a long time – and the hold got stuck. After reading this, I tried pushing the iPod down on the hold button on my desk, heard a click and it fixed it!!
Hey, I have a question, I have an ipod mini, and the menu button won’t work. It will turn on the backlight an all of that, but it refuses to bring me back to the last page, meaning at the moment I’m stuck with my ipod on shuffle mode. Can anyone help me? Thank you very very much!
~Rose
my ipod is lock
my ipod has a lock on it and i dont know what it is. the ipod isnt showing up on itunes either
i just got it too
Hi There
Hey guys, this is a helpful site.. I have a similar problem: My hold button just doesn’t seem to work on my iPod mini.
The “lock” appears for a few seconds then disappears, I have tried the switching the hold button really fast, but the same thing happens.
Do you think this is software or hardware problem? As I have dropped my iPod a few times.
Do you reckon I try open the iPod, and see if the hold switch has “jumped off” the switch on the inside?
Also, do you know any website that show how to open an iPod mini?
Any help would be great! Thanx
it sed on my computer update ipod so i pressed ok and now its wipe all my songs and locked it what shall i do
I tried to restore the iPod, but it won’t let me as it says that it needs to Lock the iPod, and it is unable to do this…?
I too had “famous ipod lock” problem. The lock switch didn’t seem to work. No other buttons were functional. I tried out all the banging tricks, talking to local (Bangalore,India) Apple store folks (who btw shamelessly offered me for Rs. 11000/- (around $250) exchange offer)… So I was left with no option but to try and fix it myself. I used a knife and carefully wedged out and separated the white front and metallic base of the iPod. The lock switch and other parts that are attached to the metallic base. While the main iPod mechanism is connected to the white cover. The parts on the base are connected to the parts on the cover via a connector wire. In some cases when the iPod is dropped this wire comes out causing the base parts to be disconnected from the parts on the white cover. So the switch stops working. In some cases, this becomes lose hence banging around the corners works in some cases and doesn’t in some others. Opening the cover and pushing this connecter into its rightful place (There is only one so you can’t miss it, atleast in the click wheel model) and will make your iPod work like before i.e without you adding additional dollars to Apple’s topline. Hope this works for all of you. Opening and closing the iPod is not too difficult. The white portion has a hook kind of mechanism which holds it to the metallic base. Be careful if you are using a knife. A precision screw driver is a better option.
I didn’t expect Apple iPod service to be so bad. I will not recommend anybody to buy an apple anymore. Pay $500 plus and I do expect some decent service.
Thanks soo much for the post soxos!!!
Holding the menu and select button down did the same thing for me..
It reset the hokd button and turned it off.
Ty =]
I had the same lock problem and I tried the move the lock back and forth quickly technique. That worked for me.
A DOES ANYBODY KNOW HOW TO UNLOCK AND IPOD SO U CAN PUT MUSIC INTO IT USUALLY THE NAMES OF THE SONGS ARE BLUE BUT THERE ALL GREY AND I CANT HIGHLIGHT THEM ANY IDEAS OR HELP GET BAK AT ME