Beat the iPod

5Oct2006 Filed under: Geek Out

Recently, my fourth-generation ipod (the photo ipod) started acting up. It’s only about a year old, and I’ve taken quite good care of it … but it was starting to get stuck and not reset, and then when I went so far as to try to restore it, it had a major malfunction and started making a strange little ping noise. I started to get angry — what the fuck is up with disposable electronics that cost $400+ and are designed to crap out in a year?! My old sidekick (now Dre’s sidekick) is starting to crap out, too … it’s just not right!

After doing a little research, I found a discussion amongst other people suffering similar problems with their 4g ipods, and what was the solution? Shake it. Or drop it. Or slap it. Basically, beat your ipod.

I was dubious, but I had nothing to lose. And so I did what you’re never supposed to do to hard drives: I shook it. And what the fuck!? It totally fixed the problem! It was also really satisfying.

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5 Responses to “Beat the iPod”

Damien
October 5th, 2006 at 6:17 pm

I feel your pain - my 60gb iPod Video from last December simply stopped turning off a couple of weeks ago, and multiple resets and a full restore was no help.

The good news was that since it was still under the 1-year warranty, I was able to get the retail store folks to replace it for me on-site. If yours is on the right side of a year, I’d suggest you do the same, cause whacking it (pardon my French) will only work for so long.

Sadly, it wasn’t free, since according to the fine print, there is a $30-something “convenience” charge for replacements after the first 6 months. That said, if you pay $59 to “re-up” your AppleCare for another year (2 years from the purchase date), they waive the replacement fee.

So I ended up with a shiny new ‘Pod for $59 (I vow: no scratches on this one) and another 14 months on the warranty, in case this ever happens again. Which I’m sure it will.
Meesha
October 6th, 2006 at 9:58 am

A coworker of mine is 4 for 4 with dropping the troublesome iPods from chest height onto a carpeted surface. Good as new!
cooper
October 6th, 2006 at 1:23 pm

dropping it worked! it fired right up!
Alison
October 7th, 2006 at 7:40 am

You know, as un-fancy and grey as it is, I love my 3rd Gen old school ipod. It doesn’t even have a click wheel, but it always works fine. The battery doesn’t really hold much of a charge anymore, but I can easily replace that for $20 with a generic battery. There’s a 40 GB one up on ebay right now that’ll probably go for $40. If your video ipod keeps giving you trouble, that’s always an option. I’m just sayin’
Ariel
October 7th, 2006 at 3:51 pm

Amen, Alison. I used my second-hand 1G ipod until it finally stopped holding any charge at all. Only then did I upgrade to the photo ipod.

Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.

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