iPod *DEAD iPod Nano* - Frozen on Language screen

Let the battery run all the way down. See if a hard 'restart' helps.

TechNutt said:

Really? I'm pretty sure the battery was drained all the way down. How do you do a hard reset on it besides what I've done already?

Click to expand...

You seem to have tried all the options; I just thought that if it was hanging at a particular point, then 'restarting' might help, and iPods never really seem to switch off completely unless they're out of juice. Hence let the battery drain out, then charge it up again.

However, it sounds like your click wheel is dead.

My wife's iPod Nano just started having the same problem. I restored the factory settings but it did no good. I can hold down the menu button and the select button and restart the iPod but once it reboots it hangs. She's angry and rightly so. Not sure how to fix it.

Okay. Someone posted a "fix" on another forum that I tried and it worked. You ready for this? Tape. Scotch tape or clear packing tape. Cover the scroll wheel making sure there are no air bubbles and then try. Worked for me. Sort of a haphazard way to fix it but it works.

Someone else tried clear nail polish and claims it worked too.

Uhm, seriously don't see how that could work, seeing as it does sound like a hardware failure. I have no idea how the little iPod nano is laid out inside (although you could have a look on ifixit), but with my old iPod photo, I found that a connector connecting the hold switch to the logic board had come undone and it was a simple matter of slotting it back into place. Seeing as the nano is so small, even if you were willing to open it up, it would probably require some resoldering or something. I suggest you buy a new one sorry, because the iPod bar won't be willing to do anything for an old product unless you have Applecare, and its just not worth paying to fix it.

01jamcon said:

Uhm, seriously don't see how that could work, seeing as it does sound like a hardware failure.

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All I know is that the iPod touch wheel and buttons became unresponsive (except when resetting it). Someone recommended tape over the wheel and for lack of anything else to try... I tried. And it worked. Not sure what to tell you. The person who posted the suggestion claims it works similar to the InvisibleShield protector.

TechNutt said:

What? That works. Did they have the same problem where the language screen is frozen and nothing else works? I'll try it, but it does seem like a stretch. Thanks for the tip......I appreciate any help. I'll report back if it's yea or nay.

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Can you hold down the Menu and Select button's and reset the iPod only to have it bring the language screen up? If you can do that then we had to same problem. The original blog with comments that suggested scotch tape is here. Search for the 4 step process from CALVIN. He says to wet the sticky side (I didn't) but he explains how it fixes the problem. A few comments down someone else recommended the nail polish.

So I'm not making it up, if that's what you were thinking. I was also as skeptical as you but if your iPod isn't working what harm is there sticking some tape on the wheel?

If it is a software problem, you could try using Disk Utility to completely wipe the iPod's memory, and then restore it in iTunes.

My wife's iPod Nano just started having this same problem. TechNutt, how did the scotch tape work. I really would like to fix this but can't seem to find anything other than the scotch tape idea...would like to hear about this working for some other people.

Since my wife doesn't want to keep the tape on her iPod Nano I ordered the invisibleSHIELD from ZAGG for the iPod Nano. Looks like it might do the same thing but make it look a little nicer. That might be another option for you.

I tried the tape trick. It didn't work...

Must be something disconnected inside.

Lol, yeah... i had a gooey tape mess too.

I'm not giving up also. I can see it light up when I toggle the Hold switch and it still lets me reset it....so it's really odd that the click wheel isn't responding to other actions.

I'm just going to put it in a drawer until a fix comes along. Until then, it's back to humming to myself as I walk or cycle.

Sorry to hear the tape trick didn't work for you. Maybe your problem is more serious than mine?

Rahsten said:

Lol, yeah... i had a gooey tape mess too.

I'm not giving up also. I can see it light up when I toggle the Hold switch and it still lets me reset it....so it's really odd that the click wheel isn't responding to other actions.

I'm just going to put it in a drawer until a fix comes along. Until then, it's back to humming to myself as I walk or cycle.

Click to expand...

I'm not much for humming so I've been using my old Creative Nomad II (too small capacity, but I've never had such a sturdy, reliable mp3 player since (great sound, too). I'm new here, but saw your problem. You're stuck on the language screen? Maybe it isn't the clickwheel. I have a 2nd gen 8Gb nano which also was stuck on the language screen after being restored.

Is yours locked? Is there a lock icon in the upper left corner of the screen? If you hadn't locked it, hadn't used the hold button, you may not even have looked at this. Makes no difference. I might have used the hold button twice in the almost 2 yrs I've had it. I never used the password lock function. Mine decided to lock itself. No reset/restore, no toggling of the hold button, no connecting to itunes, portable speakers, ac charge (or any combination of the above) worked.

I did manage to move off the language screen. I pulled the USB connector out of the computer while still keeping it attached to the nano. The screen flashed warning signs until the battery ran out about 6 hrs later. I plugged it back into the computer. By then the lock was flashing. It continued to flash & I pressed the clickwheel changing the language screen & jumping immediately into playing the 1st playlist. The lock still flashed, the playlist skipped. I couldn't change anything else or stop the playlist, so I reset. The lock reappeared, and the nano was stuck on lock again.

I'm going to try manually opening up the nano near the lock mechanism and messing with it according to the suggestions found in this forum at https://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-99928.html. If yours is also locked, this might work for you, too. Good luck

Heathen said:

I'm going to try manually opening up the nano near the lock mechanism and messing with it according to the suggestions found in this forum at https://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-99928.html. If yours is also locked, this might work for you, too. Good luck

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I opened up the case on the hold button side (using an exacto knife), slid the hold button, but it remains locked. Its also not responding to any poking and prodding as described in the post mentioned above. Resetting changes nothing, it's still locked. I hope you have better luck. As for me, I'm never buying an ipod again

It WORKS!!!

I have Nano 4gb, got it off ebay and had the stupid thing hanging up on the language screen, stuck. I had spent 2 days looking for answers, tried 3 other click wheels, fully charged and no luck. Found the tape idea here and it friggin' worked!!! COOL, Thank you to that person! I just wonder how do people come up with these ideas????

Solution

I had the same problem.

I would restore, etc.. reboot the ipod, all those things.

When it would come up to select the language, it would not accept any input from me other then rebooting it.

I read all over the place, didn't find anything to help.

Finally...

I held the ipod in my right hand, holding the screen side with screen facing up.
Then I slapped it on my leg, like a whipping/flipping action.

Next thing I know, everything worked again!

Xajen said:

...

Finally...

I held the ipod in my right hand, holding the screen side with screen facing up.
Then I slapped it on my leg, like a whipping/flipping action.

Next thing I know, everything worked again!

Click to expand...

I have a 16GB Nano 4G that had the same problem up to a few minutes ago.
I had thought it may be a bad connection but holding Menu+Select was resetting it so it couldn't be.

Out of desperation I followed your instructions...

It worked!

Xajen, you should apply for a job at Mac.