Roastaman

Q: What latest OS/iTunes will work with iPod 5/5.5?

I looking at buying older iPod 5/5.5 and I'd like to know what latest OS/iTunes will work with it.  I have 2 choices, OS 10.6/iTunes 7(?) and OS10.10/iTunes 9.  Will the older iPod 5th Gen. work with either/both?

Mac Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10), Safari 8

Posted on Mar 31, 2016 3:38 PM

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Q: What latest OS/iTunes will work with iPod 5/5.5?

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  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel Mar 31, 2016 3:40 PM in response to Roastaman
    Level 10 (311,758 points)
    Mar 31, 2016 3:40 PM in response to Roastaman

    It'll work with all OS and iTunes versions that are at least as new as the ones in its original system requirements.

     

    (141121)

  • by Kenichi Watanabe,

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Mar 31, 2016 3:57 PM in response to Roastaman
    Level 8 (38,248 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 31, 2016 3:57 PM in response to Roastaman

    Those iPods are from 2005-2007, so it's pretty old at this point.  Your needs should be met.  This web site has useful info.

     

    iPod 5th gen - http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/ipod/specs/ipod_5thgen.html

        - "Macintosh computer with a USB port (USB 2.0 recommended) [and] MacOS X 10.3.9 or later."

     

    iPod 5.5 gen - http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/ipod/specs/ipod-5th-generation-enhanced-sp ecs.html

        - "Macintosh computer with a USB 2.0 port, MacOS X 10.3.9 or later, and iTunes 7 or later."

     

    Since the later model works with "iTunes 7 or later," the earlier model also meets that need.  And "10.3.9 or later" covers your OS X needs, for both models.

  • by Roastaman,

    Roastaman Roastaman Apr 1, 2016 9:21 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe
    Level 1 (17 points)
    iPod
    Apr 1, 2016 9:21 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

    Yes, I had checked out the info. you mentioned and saw what was posted.   But I wanted  to be more assured of a pos. result. So I did a search here and found people had some issues using newer OS and iTunes versions.  I figured it was worth asking before I made the purchase.  Yes, they are older ver. of hardware but are known to have  the best DAC chips for audio playback., hence my interest.

  • by Kenichi Watanabe,

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Apr 1, 2016 9:42 AM in response to Roastaman
    Level 8 (38,248 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 1, 2016 9:42 AM in response to Roastaman

    Even older iPod's have excellent sound too.  My personal favorite (of the iPods I own) is the 3rd gen iPod, for sound characteristics and quality.  But that one connects and charges using FireWire, so it's harder to "manage" these days...  4th gen iPod sounds great too.  And they both still works fine with the latest OS X and iTunes.  The newer 5th gen iPod should not have any problems with the any supported version of software. 

     

    There are always "people" who have problems with anything, especially when there are millions of users out there.  If just one-tenth of 1% (0.001) of a million uses had a problem, that's 1000.  For these old iPods, it's usually because the iPods are becoming old and faulty (often with its delicate hard drive), not because there's a compatibility problem with the software.  So seeing a few dozen (or even a few hundred) posts here about a particular problem does not mean you'll have that problem.

     

    I've replaced the hard drives in my 3rd gen iPod, 4th gen iPod, and iPod mini with (flash-based) compact flash and SD cards, on an adapter.  They work better now than when they were new.