iPod shuffle - Chapter 6:  Tips and Troubleshooting

Tips and Troubleshooting

6

Most problems with iPod shuffle can be solved quickly by

following the advice in this chapter.

The 5 Rs: Reset, Retry, Restart, Reinstall, Restore

Remember these five basic suggestions if you have a problem with iPod shuffle. Try
these steps one at a time until the problem is resolved. If one of the following doesn’t
help, read on for solutions to specific problems.

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Reset iPod shuffle by turning it off, waiting 10 seconds, and then turning it back
on again.

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Retry with a different USB 2.0 port if you cannot see iPod shuffle in iTunes.

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Restart your computer, and make sure you have the latest software updates
installed.

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Reinstall iTunes software from the latest version on the web.

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Restore iPod shuffle. See “Updating and Restoring iPod shuffle Software” on page 33.

If the status light glows red persistently or you hear the error message “Please use 
iTunes to restore”
Connect iPod shuffle to your computer and restore it in iTunes. See “Updating and
Restoring iPod shuffle Software” on page 33.

If iPod shuffle won’t turn on or respond

Connect iPod shuffle to a high-power USB 2.0 port on your computer. Your

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iPod shuffle battery may need to be recharged.
Turn iPod shuffle off, wait 10 seconds, and then turn it on again.

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You may need to restore iPod shuffle software. See “

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Updating and Restoring

iPod shuffle Software” on page 33.

If iPod shuffle isn’t playing music

iPod shuffle might not have any music on it. If you hear the message “Please use

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iTunes to sync music,” connect iPod shuffle to your computer to sync music to it.

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Slide the three-way switch off and then on again.

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Make sure the earphone or headphone connector is pushed in all the way.

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Make sure the volume is adjusted properly. A volume limit might be set. See “

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Setting

a Volume Limit” on page 27.
iPod shuffle might be paused. Try pressing Play/Pause (

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’).

If you connect iPod shuffle to your computer and nothing happens

Connect iPod shuffle to a high-power USB 2.0 port on your computer. Your

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iPod shuffle battery may need to be recharged.
Make sure you’ve installed the latest iTunes software from

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http://www.itunes.com/download.
Try connecting the USB cable to a different USB 2.0 port on your computer.

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Make sure the USB cable is firmly connected to iPod shuffle and to the computer.
Make sure the USB connector is oriented correctly. It can be inserted only one way.
iPod shuffle might need to be reset. Turn iPod shuffle off, wait 10 seconds, and then

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turn it back on again.
If iPod shuffle doesn’t appear in iTunes or the Finder, the battery may be completely

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discharged. Let iPod shuffle charge for several minutes to see if it comes back on.
Make sure you have the required computer and software. See “

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If you want to

double-check the system requirements” on page 32.
Try restarting your computer.

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You might need to restore iPod software. See “

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Updating and Restoring iPod shuffle

Software” on page 33.
iPod shuffle may need to be repaired. You can arrange for service on the iPod shuffle

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Service & Support website at www.apple.com/support/ipodshuffle/service.

If you can’t sync a song or other item to iPod shuffle
The song might have been encoded in a format that iPod shuffle doesn’t support.
The following audio file formats are supported by iPod shuffle. These include formats
for audiobooks and podcasts:

AAC (M4A, M4B, M4P) (8 to 320 kbps)

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Protected AAC (from the iTunes Store)

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Apple Lossless (a high-quality compressed format)

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MP3 (8 to 320 kbps)

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MP3 Variable Bit Rate (VBR)

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Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+)

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WAV

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AA (audible.com spoken word, formats 2, 3, and 4)

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AIFF

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Chapter 6    

Tips and Troubleshooting

A song encoded in Apple Lossless format has near CD-quality sound, but takes up only
about half as much space as a song encoded in AIFF or WAV format. The same song
encoded in AAC or MP3 format takes up even less space. When you import music from
a CD using iTunes, it’s converted to AAC format by default.

You can have iPod shuffle automatically convert files encoded at higher bit rates to
128 kbps AAC files as they’re synced with iPod shuffle. See “Fitting More Songs on
iPod shuffle” on page 21.

Using iTunes for Windows, you can convert unprotected WMA files to AAC or MP3
format. This can be useful if you have a collection of music encoded in WMA format.

iPod shuffle doesn’t support WMA, MPEG Layer 1, MPEG Layer 2 audio files, or
audible.com format 1.

If you have a song in iTunes that isn’t supported by iPod shuffle, you can convert it
to a format iPod shuffle supports. For more information, open iTunes and choose
Help > iTunes Help.

If you want to double-check the system requirements
To use iPod shuffle, you must have:

One of the following computer configurations:

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A Macintosh with a USB 2.0 port

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A Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port or a USB 2.0 card installed

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One of the following operating systems: Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later, Windows Vista,

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or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later
Internet access (a broadband connection is recommended)

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iTunes 10 or later (you can download iTunes from

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www.itunes.com/download)

If your Windows PC doesn’t have a high-power USB 2.0 port, you can purchase and
install a USB 2.0 card.

High-power USB 2.0 port

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Chapter 6    

Tips and Troubleshooting