Doing the iPod shuffle
p2p news / p2pnet: “My ipod no longer can be formatted by IPOD UPDATER. It gives me a Cant mount ipod error now as well. It shows up in device manager as Player Recovery Device Class, and other pc’s and macs cannot recognize it. Ive tried multiple ports and it does not work. When it is connected to the port it beeps as it should but then it will randomly beep as it is connected.
“Also it does not work at all disconnected from the computer. The light doesnt work on it at all and there is no response whatsoever.”
So says Clayton Hunniford, posting on the Apple Discussions forum.
From Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada, he’s working on his fifth iPod Shuffle, says PC World, going on:
“The four previous ones all died. Two failed with one very conspicuous symptom–what he calls ‘the flashing orange and green lights of death.’ Often when that happens, the Shuffle never plays again.
Nor is Hunniford is alone.
“A single topic on Apple’s iPod Shuffle support forum has garnered more than 36,000 visits since late October, according to statistics posted on the forum index page,” says the story. “Dubbed ‘Green and Orange flashing lights,’ the thread stretches on for more than 550 posts.”
“I have the same issue but now when I try to update it does not recognize the IPOD at all,” says cconnoll on the forum.
“At one time it stated the IPOD could not be mounted. My PC does acknowledge’s it is plugged into a port. Also my IPOD does not work. It has a charged battery but after I turn the power on and try and play music the LED’s blink back and forth yellow and green with no ability to play any music.”
And, says T.O., “First time post, same problem… I have a 40gb ipod and when I try to update/reset the ipod through the Ipod updater, the ‘can’t mount ipod’ screen comes up while the folder w/ the exclamation point appears on my Ipod, if anyone a has a solution please post thanks.”
Flashing green and amber lights on Shuffle indicate a generic “error” has occurred, according to Apple’s documentation, “But most of the problem-related posts on the Apple forum are from people whose Shuffles have suddenly died with the same symptoms as Hunniford’s,” says PC World.
“Some users, like Ron Mellum of Minneapolis, have successfully revived their Shuffles by downloading the latest iPod Updater software and following Apple’s reset instructions. But for Hunniford and others, neither the updater nor iTunes recognizes the docked Shuffle, so resetting or restoring is not an option.
“Since the Shuffle has no display, the owner can’t read an error message or troubleshoot easily. As a result, users of dead Shuffles generally are left with warranty coverage or nothing. Rose Ferri’s 15-year-old son saw his Shuffle fail, with the telltale lights, on June 16, three months after the one-year hardware warranty had expired.”
Apple officials, “did not respond to repeated requests for comment, and have not released any numbers relating to total owner-reported problems,” says the story.
Meanwhile, Denis Heraud, another Canadian student, this time from Longueuil, Quebec, has done more than merely posts complaints on Apple Discussions.
He’s started a blog called Shufflers Unite on which he says, “This blog denounces a potential defect in Apple’s iPod Shuffle portable music player and demands that action be taken concerning this issue.”
He adds:
“Stuart Johnston is the author of the ‘Bugs & Fixes’ column for PC World Magazine. He wants to write a news story about our Shuffle woes and he needs your help! Please email him at the following address and tell him about your personal experience with your iPod Shuffle. stuart_johnston@pcworld.com”
PC World points out that if you’ve had no joy with the latest iPod Updater software, “can call Apple for free single-incident phone support if you’ve had the player for fewer than 90 days. If your Shuffle is still under the 12-month hardware warranty, Apple’s policy is to replace it. If you’ve had the device for more than 180 days, the company charges $30 for shipping and handling.”
Digg this story.
Also See:
PC World – If Lights Blink on Your iPod Shuffle, It Could Be Bad News, June 22, 2006
The Local – Maritime office sets sights on Pirate Bay, June 22, 2006
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June 23rd, 2006 at 5:43 pm
what do you expect when buying a piece of cheap crap!
June 23rd, 2006 at 6:10 pm
hasn’t it already come out that these are built by cheap labor (50$ a month minus living expenses) in destitute conditions?
sorry i just don’t feel your pain ipod owners.
i owned one of the first hard drive mp3 players (Archos Jukebox 6000). That thing was a beast. a full sized 3.5″ hard drive with a casing and some bumpers on the edge. 6GB was the largest they had at the time. If i bought an mp3 player nowadays i would buy a creative labs player.
June 24th, 2006 at 6:33 am
the story says there’s no display, but the picture of it above clearly shows a display.
anyway, it’s a piece of crap, just like any apple product. there are much better players. even my cheapo stick mp3 player is better than ipod.
after the first 2 breakdowns, why didn’t hunniford figure out it wasn’t worth it? why did he get a 3rd, a 4th and a 5th unit? what a dope. what a maroon.
what an applehead. he could have got out soon, but decided to stay to get the full shafting.
June 27th, 2006 at 12:26 am
Buy a Creative brand jukebox. I have a Nomad, dropped the thing countless times & it plays fine, its been in rain, the hard drive is easily replaceable, the battery pops out & can be replaced easily, & the Creative people are really nice even after the warranty expires (they’d better be, Apple is eating them alive). Anyway, the #1 seller usually could give less than 2 shits about you. There’s 9 million other buyers waiting in line. Creative will probably come to your house because they’re so far behind in sales.
June 27th, 2006 at 12:27 am
Amen brother.
June 27th, 2006 at 12:29 am
Yeah, what is Apple, the mob? Once you buy, you can never stop?
Fuck Apple.
“Everytime I try to get out, they pull me back in.” – Steve Jobs as Don Corleone in “The iPodFather”