iPod 2G Shuffle won't sync 90% of the time

[AVR2]

All of a sudden - as in, starting today - my Shuffle is not syncing about 90% of the time. It mounts fine in iTunes, but when I drag audio to it, sometimes it will copy as normal, but more likely I'll get a "Waiting for iPod" box followed by a sync error and the suggestion "Disconnect and reconnect, then try again".

Is this indicative of a hardware problem with the Shuffle? I've tried several Restores, and they all seem to work fine. None have cured the problem though.

 

[jjhoekstra]

I had a similar problem once where the problem turned out to be the cable connecting the Shuffle with the computer. A new cable solved it. It is at least worth a try to test another cable.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Or twist the cable connector while inserted into the Shuffle. I had one that got finicky, and I looked in the connector hole and it was kinda gross. I ended up using a q-tip to clean it out. It worked fine after that. Had the same issue once with a Shuffle Stick.

 

[AVR2]

Thanks guys, I'll give it a try. Being the second-generation Shuffle the USB cable has that little docking station thing into which the iPod sits, so it's not possible to twist the cable while it's connected to the device. My wife has a later Shuffle with the simplified USB-to-jack cable with no docking station, so I'll try that instead.