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  • iPod repair tips

  • By Dave Phelan

  • Everybody loves their iPod, which makes it doubly infuriating when they break down. But before you bin yours, Time Out has some handy repair tips

  • Ipod.JPG‘I love it. It can be a nightmare, but I love it.’ This is one of the emails from a teeming mailbox of replies we got when we asked you if you had iPod issues. It’s typical of the love-hate relationship we have with the hugely successful music player. Apple is one of a tiny group of brands that people feel really passionately about, so people are delighted to purchase one (we had no emails complaining about the iPod being anything less than gorgeous) but when things go wrong, they’re majorly pissed off, although Apple claims the failure rate is no more than 5 per cent (not exactly negligible, though Apple points out that some pieces of electronic equipment – like mobile phones – have far higher failure rates). Your complaints ranged from iPods that didn’t stay switched off to headphones that blew, but most issues seemed to concern batteries that wouldn’t recharge (see ‘Further Advice’, below) and iPods that failed just after the warranty expired. Feature continues

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    Although nothing can cheer you up when your iPod has gone bad, there’s good news as well. A recent survey of customers by www.macintouch.com found that more recent models seemed more reliable, which is an encouraging trend. But it also found that one model had a notably worse track record than others – deep breath now – the 40GB clickwheel. So if you do have problems, here’s what to do:

    First steps
    If your iPod suddenly won’t play ball, or music even, there’s a series of steps to take before you throw it out of the window. First, try resetting your iPod by pressing and holding Menu and Select for up to ten seconds. For iPod Shuffles, switch it off for five seconds. If this doesn’t work, go to www.apple.com/support/ for more tips. If still no luck, it may be something more serious. If the unit is still in warranty (and you can check online by typing your serial number in to the same support page) then you may need to get it repaired. Go to http://depot.info.apple.com/ipod to start the repair process. Apple will send you a box to return the unit and will send you the repaired iPod or a replacement. In our experience, it’s a speedy and efficient process which is turned around in days. It’s certainly reassuring to know that if things do go wrong within the first year, the service Apple offers is extremely slick and effective, and has been praised by Time Out staff and readers alike. Be sure that it’s a technical fault, rather than user damage, or Apple won’t fix it. You can also take your ailing iPod into an Apple Retail Store, such as the ones in Regent Street, Bluewater and Brent Cross.

    Too late to be free
    If your iPod is out of warranty, try a company like www.UKipodrepairs.com. This Brighton-based operation has been going since 2003 and has just performed its eight thousandth repair. It attends to all sorts of iPod problems: you can get a new battery fitted in a Nano for £30, or a new screen on the iPhone or iPod touch for £100. The site doesn’t fix Shuffles or first- or second-generation iPods, but it might be prepared to buy your broken iPod from you which it uses for training only. It claims most repairs are done within 48 hours. The most common repairs are LCD screen and hard drive replacements and the company offers a three-month warranty on parts and repairs. Having your iPod fixed here does void your Apple warranty, but presumably you’ll only be using this company when your warranty has finished anyway.

    Further advice
    Or look elsewhere for guidance. Method Shop, at www.methodshop.com, promises iPod tech support and repair help. It’s a US site, so it’s not as easy to take advantage of its repair service, but it is a mine of information. Here’s an example of the kind of stuff included on the site, suggesting solutions to battery problems: ‘Update your iPod’s firmware. An Apple Genius at the Apple SoHo store in New York City suggested people with battery problems should upgrade to the latest firmware, fully discharge their iPod, then charge it and just let it play, non-stop, without touching it. Anytime my battery acts weird, I set the backlight to “always on” and let my iPod play until the battery dies. I then recharge it and my iPod usually works fine after that. But make sure you have the latest firmware on your iPod.’

    Beyond the iPod
    Issues with MP3 players aren’t limited to iPods. Fortunately other units that play up can be reset easily, too. The excellent Creative Vision:M, which offers a better screen than the iPod, and includes an FM radio you can record, requires only a paper clip in the reset hole. Not as elegant as Apple’s solution, perhaps, but it works. For more serious issues, http://uk.europe.creative.com/support/warranty will help.

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56 comments

  1. Posted by jason bright on 06 Jul 2009 21:00

    can anyone please help me !!?? when i try to connect my ipod classic to itunes it wont synchronize. the arrows rotate in a clockwise fashion but the word synchronizing doesnt even appear underneath now, it just says connected. this goes on over and over again until i just have to disconnect it manually. apart from this i ipod is working fine, i have tried all relevant troubleshooting via apple but nothing has worked!

  2. Posted by tom on 04 Jul 2009 07:17

    my ipod wont charge and wont come on tried reseting it and no joy. shall i just put it on one off these web pages for repair?

  3. Posted by Adrian on 24 Jun 2009 15:59

    My 30GB IPod classic has today just stopped coming on. I have tried charging through a docker and PC but still just getting a blank screen. Any ideas please.

  4. Posted by Tony on 21 Jun 2009 08:47

    Although my Ipod is still working my screen has gone dark and I cannot read any of the functions,do I assume the 'backlight' has failed and can it be repaired?
    Any ideas please

  5. Posted by Roger on 06 Jun 2009 20:52

    My Ipod Touch won't let me use the letters "O and P" when using the QWERTY keyboard in Mail but the area of screen is fine in other applications
    Any ideas Please
    Roger

  6. Posted by Karen on 28 May 2009 16:52

    We have two 8gb Nano out of warranty by 3 months, both brought on same day and died on same day...suspicious or what..anyway been arguing with apple/curry. Been told to get an independant assessment on them to see what the prob is and if manufacture problem, if so, they will repair or replace foc. But where do I get this assessment done? can anyone advise please?

  7. Posted by emma on 28 May 2009 01:41

    my ipod wont play the music

  8. Posted by adeagbo ridwan on 18 May 2009 22:17

    keypad doesn't press

  9. Posted by Mick on 06 May 2009 14:59

    That holding down the menu and select button for about 20 seconds worked a treat on what I though was my corpse of an Ipod nano. Thank you.

  10. Posted by Laurice Hall on 05 May 2009 13:55

    I have a 5th generation black 30gb ipod and the headphone jack needs replacing. I have tried for the past week contacting ukipodrepairs.com but have heard nothing from them. Does anyone know of any other good services?
    Thanks

  11. Posted by helen on 26 Apr 2009 20:42

    hi
    when i switch my ipod on it comes up with a big red cross an says go to apple support but they dont help me i have tried restartin the ipod but its the same can anyone help me?
    if anyone knows anything please write back to me

  12. Posted by Rob on 08 Apr 2009 12:18

    Hi
    My ipod Nano won't load up songs from my computer, I think the cable is OK as it charges up just fine so something must be going wrong inside the ipod.
    Does anyone know what the problem could be and the best way of getteing it fixed.
    Cheers

  13. Posted by tim on 08 Apr 2009 08:03

    Anne, it sounds like the hard drive needs replacing try ukipodrepairs.co.uk they fixed mine and had it returned in 24 hours! much cheaper than buying a new one

  14. Posted by anne on 06 Apr 2009 12:02

    Hi, my sons ipod has the dreaded red X on screen. Tried holding the menu and select buttons loads of times but screen does nothing. just stays black. Don't even know if it's charging while wired into laptop. Any ideas?

  15. Posted by matt taylor on 30 Mar 2009 13:49

    my ipod screen shows a red circle with a red x in middle.
    when menu and select are pressed,apple icon comes on, but then is replaced by this circle and cross can anyone help?
    very frustrating.

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