iPod nano Lockup Reset When Frozen

Nick Momrik765 Comments

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.

765 thoughts on “iPod nano Lockup Reset When Frozen”

  5. i helped my mom try and download songs and her ipod froze so we did the steps and it worked like a charm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

    THANX A TON!!!!

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  9. haha, I’m a dumbass. Me and my slight case of dyslexia I swear I have took forever to read the instructions right. I was huffing and puffing and cursing and throwing things all for nothing. I’m usually not an angry person, but without music, I can be down right mean. Thanks dude.

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  12. Thank you! I couldn’t unfreeze my Nano to save my life but your first suggestion worked immediately.

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  13. I have had to reset about 5 times and your system works perfectly. I have updated software but notice that when I am connected to the USB cable the “Do not discoonect warning on the Nano never goes out” Is this normal and part of the same problem. It would seem to me that once the unit is fully charged the “Do Not Disconnect” warning should go out.

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  14. well my 4GB i-pod froze on me as well…thanks for the info…i also read a few other websites and holding the center button on the wheel didn’t do anything. HOlding the center button and the Menu button is how i was able to unfreeze the ipod in just a few seconds. Back to listening to my musik

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  15. Thanks so much! It worked. It was a little weird though… took about another min after the reboot before it would let me turn it off.

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  16. my 4gig ipod nano wont reset. i’ve tried the above steps over and over. the pod is making a hi-pitch noise when plugged into USB. there is nothing on the screen. this sucks 😦

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  17. I have a ipod nano product, it froze on the menu screen saying “now playing” but was doing nothing.

    I googled the issue and found this. Worked like a charm! thanks so much

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  18. omigosh! THAANK YOOOOOOOOU! (=D

    seriously, i was starting to get a teensie bit angry there for a second =T

    have a good day! =)

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