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”

  1. my nano froze up and i tried everything and nothing worked until i found this site. Thank you for the info it really worked

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  2. I have tried the above steps, but nothing works. I do have a lock display on the Ipod Nano. I’ve tried different computers, different usb cables. What do I do?

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  5. OMG THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH! I WAS ABOUT TO CRY BECAUSE ALL OF THE OTHER INFO I HAD READ DIDN’T READ THEN I FOUND THIS WEBSITE!!!! YOU R SOOOO NICE, THANKX ALOT!!!!!!

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  6. OK, so my the hold switch to my Ipod mini got stuck and i couldnt even turn my ipod on. I searched all over and couldn’t find out how to fix it so i just tried myself. If you have this problem hears what you do: Get a guitar pick and slid it between the colored caseing and the top white part (the part with the hold switch) Carefully take this part off. You will see what looks like a little orange nub inside that you can push back in forth. Push it back the other way and put the white part back on. The only thing is that the hold switch no longer works but at least you can use your ipod!

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  11. I didn’t know how I locked it up, but you knew how to fix it when itunes couldn’t. It worked the first time. Thanks!

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  13. I forgot my enter code on My Ipod nano 8gb. How can i reset it. I already try turn on and off then hold down the menu and middle button for a few seconds . it still ask my enter code. Please advise.

    Thanks

    Ken

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  14. thank you, I was able to unlock my little girls ipod nano and she went to sleep feeling a whole lot better and I ffelt like a whiz.

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  15. thank u guys really helped me out i spent like half an hour trying to fix it now it works thanks alot

    !

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  16. Thanks for this fix tip. My ipod nano froze and I did not find any info from the manual. It was a great help. I was afraid I might loose all of my songs, but your tip just got is started and running again. Thanks

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  17. Hey, you’re the GREATEST ! ! ! Worked for my nano….it has begun happening and is doing it more frequently. Whatz up with this?

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  19. Thank you! I was ready to cry because I got this as a gift and I have no receipt. Stupid Apple site was no help. Kudos to you.

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  20. I can’t believe how amazing this is because with my IPOD nano 2GB it frose up this evening for the second time…And the first time it frozed up on me was a few days after my birthday since I got the IPOD as a birthday gift I thought I had broke it then…And like I said before it frozed up on me again because at first I was searching for a certain song and then it wouldnt stop it kept going forward to the next song and the next.and when it finally did stop it wouldnt play so I was freaking out so I couldnt go to bed until I was able to get it back to where I can actually listen to my music…So Thxz for the TIPS they really work…And I will def print them up so if it happens again I can have them right there in my room with me…:)

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