Touch wheel sensitivity to high

I've been having the same problems with my 3G blue 8G... I've also been wondering if I can send it back to apple for this reason, or if there is some way to fix it

THEY NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!! THIS IS CRAZY THAT WE ARE ALL HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM! DON'T THE PEOPLE OF APPLE READ THESE THINGS!!

I have a black 3G nano and have the same problem.
The solution I found was to shut the Nano off by holding the play/pause button. Wait a few seconds, then turn it on again. The wheel acts normal for quite a while. I find the over sensitivity will eventually start again. It's annoying to be sure.
Solution: Rinse. Lather. Repeat.

The first gen 2 GB Nano I have seems to be just right for touch wheel sensivity. The more rectangular shape fits in my hand better too for one-handed control. The sensitivity is quicker than I like on my 3rd gen black 8GB Nano, and the wheel seems a bit too small. Due to this and other annoying issues I've gone back to just using my first gen Nano. Very disappointed with latest Nano; fancier screen doesn't make up for loss of basic ergonomics.

I've never had an iPod before and purchased my first recently. I have no comparison base but right from the start I have a lot of difficulty with the wheel sensitivity. I just can't get the volume right and rating songs is driving me nuts because it never stops correctly. I was hoping to see a setting where this is adjustable. The software behind this is the same that controls the sensitivity of your mouse. So if I can do this on a Mac/PC why can't I do it on an iPod?

My assumption is that this is a global setting (just as the sensitivity of your mouse will affect all programs) and would also affect the scroll speed of cover flow. Since cover flow is Apple's 'cool' and exclusive feature they chose the sensitivity which would work best for cover flow in disregard of the menu scrolling.

Am I correct in assuming that this is a trade-off between cover flow / menu speed?

And finally, what would YOU prefer:
a) Not so responsive cover flow (remember the thousands of complaints on this issue?) but perfect menu scrolling speed?
b) Fast responsive cover flow but drive-you-nuts menu configuration speeds?

To assist in answering the above it would be useful to assess how often you use cover flow compared to how often you use the volume/rating/menus. I seldom use cover flow as having a +10.000 song library makes it all impractical for browsing purposes. To me it's more of a show-off while effectively controlling my iPod is what I really need.

Yes, I posted here two months ago about the over sensitive scroll wheel on my black 3rd generation iPod nano. The situation has not changed and it is getting a little frustrating (it's to the point where I almost cringe whenever I think about having to try and use the scroll wheel). However, I've noticed that not all nanos have this problem as some units that I've tried at the Apple Store seem to be much better controlled when using the scroll wheel. The nano's color may not be the only issue, as I've tried some black nanos at the store which don't seem to have nearly as much of a problem as mine does.

I don't know it this can be fixed in firmware but it seems obvious that some nanos are worse than others. Perhaps Apple needs to provide a sensitivity setting in the options that could help to correct for this issue.

Mine has the same problem. Sometimes.

It's like when it comes up, it does some kind of calibration. And if I'm touching the wheel while it calibrates, it gets all hosed.

The symptom is that whenever I try to change the volume or do anything else with the wheel, there is a delta that gets applied to any wheel activity both when I put my finger on the wheel to start the change and then the inverse delta when I remove my finger to complete the change. Also, moving my finger across some regions of the wheel have less effect than others.

It seems like I can put the device back into standby (holding pause for 1s). Then stay in standby for a minute or so, then wake up. Sometimes this fixes the problem.

Well, this is all a guess. It seems to be on the right track. I hope it helps you.

mega

I'm so glad I found this forum. I did a google search because my black 3G nano is acting sporadically too!

And I wanted to share that this isn't the case for ALL BLACK 3G nanos.

This is my 2nd black 3G nano, the first one I received as a gift for christmas.

For my first 3G nano, I did not have any problems whatsoever with the wheel and thought it was the greatest thing ever (my first ipod).

However, I found 3 stuck/dead pixels on the screen. I decided to return it at the apple store and exchanged it for a new black one. Well this new one's screen is fine. But immediately I noticed that the wheel sometimes has a mind of its own. Like i'll go to lower the volume and then jump to the next track. Well somehow, even though i completely let go of the wheel, when i click on the Next button, the volume jumps instead. Bugs the heck out of me.

At first I didnt' want to bring it back since I was just there and they'll think I'm just being nitpicky. But now that I see this is a problem for others it makes me think again about bringing it in. Except, how will they deal with it there at the store? I dont expect them to give me a bunch of different black nanos so I can start testing out the wheels on each of them.

Message was edited by: DK_11

I sent in my feedback too. Instead of recapping the whole thing, I'll just paste what I told the Apple guys:
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I have an iPod Nano 3g, which is my first iPod ever (while I've been following MP3 players for years, I used file-based MP3 players in the past). I find the iPod to be extremely useful and intuitive, totally revolutionizing my music experience. There is just one glaring bug that has to be squashed though:

The touch wheel is just TOO DARN SENSITIVE. I understand that the touch wheel works in "block" segments of the wheel that it detects being activated, and the software merely translates the positions to motion - so it would be easy to write in some kind of "speed" or "sensitivity" option to the firmware. But there's no option in the settings menu for how fast the selections jump around.

When trying to select a menu item, I have to tediously and carefully move my finger because I can't just "whisk and click" like I can most things - like getting around a computer, it's second nature, usually limited by how fast the computer can process my inputs (i.e. browsing a folder structure - us{enter}fa{enter}doc{enter}too{enter} to select a deep nested folder, takes 2 seconds to catch up). But with the iPod, it's a pain, because any quick movement whisks the selector away on an unpredictable joy ride across the screen.

It also has huge problems with the Select button. When using the Select button, typically my thumb rests across a part of the wheel. Due to the sensitivity, as more of my thumb comes in contact with the wheel as I push the Select button down, it thinks I'm turning the "wheel" and often moves the selection (or in the game of Tetris, moves the block) just as I'm activating the option (or dropping the brick - most common, and frustrating, when using "play" to full-drop a brick). That makes navigating through video playback options, as any movement of the wheel switches the option back to "Volume", which I have to press Select MORE times to get back to where I was before.

I've updated every version of the iPod software hoping that option would turn up, which with 1.1, it still hasn't. Instead, it increased my shutdown time (time holding down the Play button to turn off the Nano), takes longer to "eject" (the "OK to unplug" progress bar is a new thing), and has generally made life more miserable. Can you guys make some positive improvements now... please? 🙂

I have got this same problem on my new iPod Nano 3G of 4GB silver color.
I hate the freakin' oversensitive setting of the new generation of Nanos.
What can I do? This seems like all Nano series are affected by this problem =/ it ***** :S

Same problem here... bought three nanos for family... two 4 gigs and one 8 gig. They are all silver... I'm sure the color has nothing to do with it... but they all do the same thing as you all describe above.

That's alot of money spent to have the kids not use them because they get frustrated trying to get to a song/artist/playlist.

Well, I already spoked with the Apple Call Center (Spain) and they told me this is just "the way it is", the over-sensitive we all experience has nothing to do with the color, the model, or anything like that: the 3rd G Nano's click wheel are more sensitive than others, according to the woman I spoke with to "improve the Cover Flow experience" =/
Well, I "fixed" (or at least decrease the problem) by purchasing and appliying a plastic protector over the wheel.
I recommend to do that or at least use a case that cover the click wheel to decrease it sensitive.
See ya.