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”

  3. my lil brothers ipod wont allow me to put songs on it . im using a different computer than the original this ipod was installed on. how do i unluck it so i can put my music on it from my seperate pc

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  4. THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!! giv urself a pat on the back

    U saved my Green iPod nano. I WAS ON THE EDGE OF SMASHIN IT !!

    THANKS MATE,

    _____________

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  5. Thank you sooooo much for the tip. I was ready to throw the damned thing into a wall. Best tip ever!

    Love. Peace. Aloha

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  6. my ipod nano with the crome back has frozen,the hold button has frozen and i took it to currys and thy sent it away does anybody know wen i will get it back coz they said 21 days..and it has been 21 days and they havent rang

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  7. Thank you for tip. My Ipod video locked up & i kept getting a message on the computer saying the USB device wasn’t recognised – this helped resolve the problem!

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  9. If you accidentally lock your ipod and dont know the code just do this.

    connect your ipod to any computer then open it from my computer.Now goto the folder ‘ipod control’.Inside this folder open the folder ‘device’ .Now look for the file ‘locked’ ,get it,remove it (cut it or delet it).That is it have fun.

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  10. i have an 8gb nano. only had it a few hours before a hour glass appeared on the screen and froze. I cant turn it off or reset it also. ipod doesnt show up on my computer or itunes

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  17. Excellent thanks very much, made me look like a bit of a hero when my girlfriend thought her nano was busted!

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  20. hey it worked for me but i need to know how to unlock the ipod with the combnation lock if you forgot it without using a USB and itunes cuz i lost it and i need to kno NOW

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