Ipod Video (5th Gen) No Sound / Heavy Static - Read This! - Quick Fix Found

Just got my brand new iPod today. I was hoping to get the 80 gig as a replacement but they did in fact send the 30 gig. Oh well...its brand new and im quite happy about it! Just another example of Apple's fine customer service. I was close to 3 months out of warranty and NOT even the original buyer. Just have to know how to talk to them. So for those of you having any problems with Apple... just be polite and assertive and let them know how it is. I'm 2 for 2 now and have no complaints whatsoever.

I am having the same issue. My wife's 5th gen 30gb iPod will not play any sound. I have tried multiple sets of headphones with no luck, and our iTrip connection no longer works either. I have tried the 5 Rs to no avail. The strange thing is you can still hear the external click wheel sounds, and the ipod connects to my computer just fine.

I have a 3rd gen iPod that I have been thinking about upgrading, but after this experience with my wife's 5th gen and seeing all the others having the same problems in this thread and on other websites: http://forums.macnn.com/103/ipod-iphone-and-apple-tv/351485/no-sound-ipod/, I am not so sure I want to upgrade anymore.

Has anyone gotten a response from an Apple representative on this subject? It seems with this many people having this common problems it would appear to be a hardware problem. I just don't want to pay $150 to fix a faulty hardware issue if its just going to reoccur later. If anyone has any other suggestions on how this might be fixed, I would greatly appreciate it!

Is anyone reading what I am writing? I DID get a response from Apple and I DID get a replacement. I'm confused as to why you'd ask what you asked after reading my post directly above yours?

It's tricky but its not rocket science. I've done it twice now... with my iPhone and now with this iPod. If you need any advice or help... feel free to email me.
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My 30g just died same issue. No sound. It to is around 16 months old. However instead of complaining I just purchased a new one 80g for the price of my 30g no problem. I did want to make a comment to PhillyPhan. In many of your responses you refer to your car and its warranties. I have worked as a technician for Honda for 18 years, and yes although we represent a small number of consumers, I can assure you that if 15 Honda owners experienced that exact same unusual failure there would be an investigation. But a catastrophic failure in an automobile may result in injury or death. This however is portable jukebox and a failure is unlikely to cause injuries or death. For those of you that think we should write letters to Apple to complain. Who do you think is hosting this forum? I am sure that there is a moderator that reads all post before they are posted. You are being heard. My advice, purchase the AppleCare warranty.

same issue happened to me. the only difference is that i've had mine for 2 years without issue. sound dropped off completely just 3 days ago. as far as apple care goes, when i bought mine i bought it not from apple but from one of the virgin record stores and did not think to purchase the applecare warranty. this is definitely a design flaw and i wonder if apple's current ipod versions were in part due to the flaws encountered by all of us. i'm debating repairing mine or just waiting because i'm buying an iphone fairly soon.

Add me to the list also. The fee is actually $149 + tax, plus I have to pay to ship it there and back. Seems kinda steep, especially when this seems to be a relatively common problem (will I have this same problem in another little while?)

The iPod Classic 80GB is starting to look like a good alternative.

Actually, I've never had a new car completely quit working at less than two years old. My van for instance has not needed anything but oil changes at 33,000 miles.

So, yeah, I expect the iPod to hold up as well. Pretty dingbat response, actually.

There's no chip to reseat. No loose solders or other obvious defects. Likely a problem with the board.

Responding to PhillyPham:

I just called Apple Tech Support and found them very unsympathetic. They want to charge the $149 as soon as a repair case is started (before they even receive the unit).

What kind of customer service do I expect? In my experience, Sony sets the standard. I had a PSP break (albeit under warrany):

* No charge for service until the unit was received and inspected, even for out-of-warranty units.

* I received my replacement device three days after sending in my old one (in other words they sent a replacement no questions asked, without looking at the one I sent it).

* I was advised to call them if I had continuing problems +even if the unit was out of warranty+, as they wanted to ensure my satisfaction.

Anybody at Apple Customer Service reading this?

Same problem, bought new head phones, heavy static and now no sound. I can press on right, but the sounds lasts for only a few seconds?

My ipod video is 18 months old.

danbmx, i did read what you wrote, which is what got me calling customer support repeatedly. all i can say is you got luck on your side or something cause they won't help me on it. i've even had support people tell me they understand my frustration but can't help me beyond the rules they have to operate with. i dropped mine off at the apple store for recycling so i at least ain't just throwing it in a landfill. they can keep my 10% off a new one.

maybe it had something to do with the fact it was only 2 months out of warranty. But regardless... 2 months out or 10 months out.... still not covered technically. Did you ask to talk to customer relations? cause when you call you are usually put on the line with tech support first. they can't and wont do anything for you outside of the "regulations." customer relations is where the magic happens. I'd say keep trying... but you already got rid of it. I may be lucky... but either way, if it can happen once it can happen again. Just have to keep trying to get that lucky hook up. Either way... between my ipod and iphone and them replacing both... Apple is A-OK in my book!

Um, I just joined this site to try and figure out what is wrong with my Ipod. I did pinch the bottom right side of my ipod and it worked! BUT.. as soon as I relieve the pressure off of it, it quits working. I got my Ipod December of '06, so its warrenty is obviously up, I don't want to shell out another $300.00 for a new one. So can anyone PLEASE help me with this problem so many of us obviously have. Please and Thank you.

I had a similar experience to DanBMX. I bought a radio remote after my "genius bar" appointment because they said the headphone jack had failed, and $50 was cheaper than the $180 to have it repaired.

Once I got home I realized that it wasn't the headphone jack but the same problem everyone else here was having. I then got a survey in my email for my radio remote purchase. I left a pretty negative review about the store because the employees were rude and uninformed. I also wrote about how I would never buy Apple again because this was an obvious design problem with the ipod 5g and they should support it regardless of warranty.

I then tried to replace the controller board myself and totally ruined the ipod. About 10 days after I filled out the survey the Apple store manager called me and offered to replace my ipod. I may have forgotten to tell him that I took it apart and ruined it, but they didn't tell me they had a manufacturing problem so I would call it even.

The one they gave me looks like a refurbished unit. There was a price of $149 on the bag it came in. I'm guessing each store gets a couple of those for just these situations.

So it is possible to complain your way into getting a replacement, but you have to say it the right way to the right person. Here's a few pointers that worked for me:
1) Don't just yell and act angry. Use the "I'm really disappointed in you..." approach.
2) The survey route seems to be a good way to go since it looks like the store managers review all the surveys, or at least the bad ones.
3) If you call some helpline number try asking for a manager, once you are in the correct department (customer relations I suppose). Most of the time people who answer the phone right away don't have the power to give away stuff.

I have a permanent fix,

I have opened my ipod, located the audio codec chip, and applied a barbaric way of fixing it.

I folded a piece of tape a dozen times into a hard surface, removed the padding under Hard Drive, and also above Hard Drive (ONLY IN AREA WHERE CHIP EXISTS!!!)

This is to permanently apply pressure to the chip to create a solid connection.

If any of you want to sell your ipods for more than 10% toward a new one, I'll gladly take all 14 million of them. I am beyond confident that this works,


Please Try this fix, It works. Its free. I'm listening static-free right now, after buying 3 headphone jacks, I couldn't believe the problem was a loose chip.

THIS WORKS,


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