Q: my iPod shuffle 4th gen won't charge or show up in iTunes

This is the exact same thing that happened to me.. I had hardly used it and it is doing the exact same thing. The red light comes on for 5 seconds when I first plug it in, but then shuts off and does not connect to anything. I think I have a dud too :S

Yes! This is my identical situation! I got it for Christmas and did not use it for months, then I finally set it up, used it for two weeks and it doesn't work anymore. I could not get the receipt so I had no idea of when the warrenty was up. It was a complete dud!

is a common problem iPods because not used for a period longer battery completely discharge sometimes can not be loaded because the battery control check battery voltage 3.7v

It depends on the vendor, but Apple often just uses the serial number to determine if a device is under warranty or not.

iPod: How to find the serial number

Then, try entering that serial number here

https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do

Also, make sure you have the docking cable plug (at the iPod end) completely inserted into the headphones jack, as shown in this document

iPod shuffle (4th generation): Not seen in iTunes

It should "snap" into place.

Ipod shuffles are no good. This is my fifth one .the first ones lasted a long time. Last year i got a 4th generation . it lasted until about one month ago. then red light came on when charging only. I was told it had gotten wet. Ok maybe from sweat. So I purchased a new one alittle over a month ago. yesterday it stopped working while running and now has the same problem. It did not get wet.. i may have had some sweat on it , but ....what a piece of sh!1 . I where it on a shoe lace around my neck . it does not even contact my body. I believe the quality has dropped in the last two years or so.... I will not buy another one .

I just received this ipod as a gift. It appears unused and this red light only come on for a couple seconds when attached, same problem. 4th generation. The usb cord is not the problem is what I seem to be hearing?? I dont have purchase date and when I check the warranty it wont show. says I need to sign in (which I do) and have the sale date (which I dont). Either way when I go to click and enter my apple id, it reverts back to the same screen, saying it cannot give me info on this product.

Well, I have something different but pretty much the same in the end...

My shuffle 4th gen, when plugged in to any USB port or when I move the off/play/shuffle slider, first blinks a green light, a long blink for about 5 seconds, then it blinks the red light for about the same time.

And that's that.

It doesn't play music, doesn't make the sounds for min and max volume, doesn't show up in system report, itunes or disk utility. Same on a windows machine. The USB cable is brand new from another Shuffle I bought for my gf.

It's out of warranty period and never took a bath. Oh well...

I think you've ruled out some things, based on your description.  If your shuffle and gf's shuffle are both 4th gen, and the USB docking cable works with gf's shuffle, the cable is not faulty.  If you also tried your shuffle on the same computer where your gf's shuffle works fine, then the fault is not software on the computer.  If you are trying both shuffles on the same USB port, then the USB port seems to be working fine and supplying enough power.

My best guess is that your shuffle's battery is not able to charge.  This can happen if an iPod's lithium battery is left in a completely discharged (dead) state for an extended period.  Or it can happen if the battery has become worn out through use.  I don't know if either of those conditions apply to your situation.  However...

or when I move the off/play/shuffle slider...

Are you doing that with the shuffle disconnected from power?  If so, and it continues to give you a green light initially, after repeated attempts even after leaving the shuffle disconnected for a while, that means the shuffle's battery has power and is holding its charge. 

Do you happen to have a USB power adapter (that plugs into a wall outlet)?  If you do, what does the shuffle's light do when you connect it to the USB power adapter.

Hi, thanks for replying!

Going step by step...

Just tried connecting the iPod to a LG charger. This is a video of what happens:

https://plus.google.com/100595753186078817079/posts/9s5V8tmS9pe

Which is the same as if I just try to turn on the iPod or if I connect it to a computer.

At the moment I only have that one cable, mine was severely mangled a while back, so we share it. And as you put it, the cable is not faulty.

My shuffle doesn't work on any of our 3 computers not matter which USB port I connect it to. We have 2 windows machines and 1 mac mini by the way. My girfriend's shuffle works on all computers and all USB ports.

When my cable was damaged, the shuffle went a couple of days without charge (maybe wrongfully, I used it until the battery was empty) it was indeed during that period that it must have gone bad, either the battery or the electronics.

the shuffle went a couple of days without charge

I don't think that particular issue would occur if the battery is empty for just a few days, unless maybe it was also close to its maximum number of charge cycles.  Lithium batteries eventually wear out.  What happens if you disconnect it from power, wait a hour or so, and move the power switch from OFF to one of the ON positions?  Do you still get that green followed by red light?  Or is it completely dead at that point?

If you still get the shuffle's light, the battery may be OK, but something else is wrong with the shuffle.  If it's dead when disconnected, the most likely cause is a battery that does not charge.  It seems like you have ruled out all other possible causes; the problem is probably hardware-related on the shuffle.

Well, I just got home half an hour ago. The shuffle has been disconnected from any power supply for about 7 hours, and the "light show" is still the same, greeeeeeeeen reeeeeeeeed noooooooothing (lol.. sorry).

Thanks for your help anyway!

OK, guys, here's how I solved the 5-second-light-no-charge issue.

You will need some patience though.

Plug your 4th Gen Shuffle into a high-power USB port (preferable the stock wall charger). Wait until the red light goes on and than off. Unplug. Repeat continuously until the light doesn't go off, which means the Shuffle starts charging. It took me about 15 minutes, however it may take longer depending on how low the battery charge is.

Here's a little technical background behind this process. When the device is not being used for a while, especially if it is not charged, the battery voltage falls below a certain threshold becoming insufficient to start the microprocessor any more. However, the processor is necessary to start the charging process, and the device gets into the deadlock. Basically, when you plug it in, it's being charged for only 5 seconds while the red light is on. When you constantly plug it in and out you manually charge the battery in 5-second increments until it's voltage is high enough  to start the processor.

I advise to unplug the USB from the charger, not the charger from the socket.

Thank you very much!! I had exactly the same problem and you helped me to solve this. You're great!!

Thank you so much! This really helped. I did this in the computer for 20mins or so and I almost gave up. Then I got up and charged it in the wall socket, as soon as the red light blinks off, I unplug from USB and plug it again.  After 15 episodes of this it finally charged! Thanks so much!

For what it's worth, I had this problem after I left my month old Shuffle connected to a USB expansion hub overnight (after shutting off power to the power bar that provided power to all things connected to it).  I wonder if my Shuffle back-fed power to devices connected to the hub in the absence of normal AC power.  I may have inadvertently left my Shuffle in the on position, I don't have a clue if that would allow the Shuffle to back feed power, draining the battery.  What I do know is that after following the last few posts advice re: repeatedly connecting and disconnecting the Shuffle, after 10 to 15 minutes the red came on steady, indicating charging and hopefully normal operation once fully charged; waiting for the green light.  I opted for using a wall usb charger/adapter (with an extension cord, plugging/unplugging the adapter, so I could sit at my computer while sipping a beer).  Cheers, and thanks.