2nd gen shuffle blinks orange 3x then doesnt charge, isnt detected

I had this exact same problem with a brand new 2nd Generation Shuffle.
I would connect it to any of the USB ports on my PS and it would blink orange three times and then do nothing.

I took it to the Apple Store and it worked fine. I connected it to a friends laptop and it was detected fine. I checked my ports in the Device Manager. They were denoted as 'Enhanced' which means they were USB 2.0. Those same USB ports on my PC all worked with my wife's IPod Nano.

After trawling the web looking for answers I came up with nothing.

It seems that all the USB ports on my PC are low power. I discovered this today when I bought a USB hub which has its own power supply. This provides me with USB ports that can supply more power. My IPod Shuffle connected first time to this powered USB hub.

It only cost £14.99 at PC World so was a reasonably cheap solution.

I hope this helps you.

I thought maybe it just needed charging ... charged it overnite and still getting blinking orange 3x when I try to play in in my car ... and won't play with my earphones and am now trying to charge it at work on my PC .. but it just continues to blink on the back ... how long does it take to charge ... and does anyone know the "life" of the shuffle

I just encountered this problem today. I moved it to a new usb port and it was recognized and is charging. It looks like one of my three usb ports has gone bad. Mouse and keyboard do not work in this port either. Maybe your port is dead?

I had the exact problem occur with a 2nd gen shuffle less than 24 hours old. I had just bought my kids each one of these. After loading them both with songs, one of them would no longer be recognized by either of my PC's. When plugged in to the docking station, the light on the ipod would blink orange 3x, and then, nothing. The PC would not play the normal something-was-just-plugged-into-the-USB-port sound. The other shuffle connected fine, using the same USB port and docking station. Strange enough, the ipod that refused to be recognized would still play the music that had already been loaded before the problem started. However, since it was not being recognized by the PC or iTunes, I figured it was not going to take a charge, and would just be a matter of 12-14 hours before the thing was dead for good. I took it back to Best Buy and exchanged it for a new one. This time I purchased the 2-year replacement contract (something I rarely do). Probably a good bet, as a couple of hours later, the sound of the newly-replaced shuffle cuts in and out when the headphone wire is touched. I wonder how many of these cute little guys my kids will go through in the next two years...

Hi, I also have this problem, and have tried all the '5 Rs'. Sometimes doing all the first 4 steps helps and it will recognise the iPod, and other times I can go through them all and nothing happens. On one occaision I did get my iPod recognised by iTunes, I managed to even do the final R (restore), but since then I have not been able to reconnect at all.

Any suggestions welcomed! I do not want to be stuck with the same playlist forever...

The same thing happens with my Ipod, i have even tried a new wall charger to charge my Ipod and it blinks all the same, i have tried it on 2 computers, and nothing works, and i have tried my brother's Ipod on the same chargers and his does work, so i think it is just a problem with the ipod... i have had mine for about 6 months, i don't want to have to pay $30 for a replacement...

I have the same problem also. I am hoping that some one has a suggestion. Taking it in to the store and spending money to get something that is relatively new fixed is silly. I can go to walmart and buy a new cheap one that will last this long. PLEASE HELP!

~Shuffle 2nd Generation~

Take it to an Apple Store for analysis and replacement.

I have had this exact same problem... is that the only solution to this? to return it?

Why would you have to spend money on it at the Apple Store? It is in warranty.

SAME THING HAPPENED TO MY IPOD, THE PROBLEM WAS WITH THE DOCKING STATION. THE PLUG THING WAS BROKEN OFF, I WENT TO THE APPLE STORE AND THEY REPLACED IT.