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. ipod froze at work whilst using the menu, hit shuffle songs and that was it, froze, much head banging ,swearing etc. Found your solution 20 secs later no problem, Many Thanks ++++++++++++

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  2. Thanks. Nano stuck on a split screen (weird!) half way between list and album icon. Was able to fix it no prob. Fabulous!

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  5. Thank you so much, i was freaking out thinking i broke it, haha. This is wonderful!! I am so happy!

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  11. My co-worker came up to me and said hey my ipod is frozen and it has been this way for an hour. I called my sister the IT expert and she told us to google the problem. I googled what was wrong with with the ipod and the first thing that popped up worked wonders for us. This was great advice thanks.

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  14. Thanks for the answer to the froze up ipod nano. This site saved me from going to the store and acting like an idiot. I was ready to throw the thing across the room. Thanks again.

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  16. fank yhoo 4 the help im glad i found this article because it was my friends ipod that was frozen not mine !!

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  17. You are a true champion!! it’s been two days that it has been out of the box my f###*%$ Nano and i was gonna send it to oblivion, thank you for saving my nano from an iternity of hate. Yours truly Gizmo Wrecker!!

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  18. thanks! i was getting really pissed at my ipod! I was like “WHY AREN’T YOU WORKING!!!???” and then i decided to go google it! Thanks!!!

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  20. you guys are the best i was freaking out when my nano froze up trying everything possible except this ofc thanks… made my day

    cav

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