iPod classic volume - why is zero not zero?

I too have the same problem where zero is not zero. I wish people would stop saying if you want zero then turn it off. That is neither good or even smart advice, in fact it's ignorant and timewasting when someone is looking for help. The "advice" about what it was being plugged into, namely a microphone socket and it having a different sound input was a load of rubbish and had no relevance to the problem. Anyone reading the original problem knows EXACTLY what the person is talking about but you all want to give your alternative clever advice. Just read and answer if you know how to help, if you don't then don't.
I got my iPod Classic 2 weeks ago and when I put the the sound to zero I could hear nothing (THROUGH MY HEADPHONES) but now when it's at zero I can still hear sound (THROUGH MY HEADPHONES). The volume limit function and the volume normalize function in the iPod settings have nothing to do with the problem and the problem is not limited to certain songs or movies.
Contrary to "advice" given, if I don't want to hear sound from my iPod I shouldn't need to turn it off or pause it. I don't have to do this with any other sound producing piece of equipment I have or have ever owned.
As ignorace has played a part in advice given I will educate you as to why some might want to turn the sound down lower than it's minimum or completely off if needed.
Reason to turn it off completely: Particular part of song or movie you don't want to hear, i.e. loud or annoying part, we have that right don't we?
Reason to turn volume lower than the minimum: In my case I like to listen to classical music in bed, I might drift off and am suddenly woken by a dramatic burst of music. The current minimum is too loud to listen to music when trying to relax or go to sleep, do I not have the right to turn it as low as I want?
I have been hearing that this is the norm for an iPod classic so I'm puzzled as to why my own unit has only just started doing it. It came with the current software release so it hasn't been updated, unless iTunes was responsible for changing the hardware settings without informing me or giving me a choice.
Wahtever the reason for having a minimum volume setting, it isn't good enough and we should be able to what we want with out volume INCLUDING higher than the EU capped limit. If I wan't to damage my ears, that's up to me, not a bunch of toffee nosed MP's who are concerned for our welfare yet steal a bundle from us every wages day.
OK rant over.....Advice?...Anyone?

After writing all the text below here, it suddenly occurred to me that if you have the *Sound Check* turned on, try turning it off. It's unlikely to be the problem, but before trying any of my suggestions below, try it and see what happens - it takes no effort.

In the absence of any more experienced posters answering this, I can only suggest that you try a reset of your iPod and if that doesn't work, try a restore. A Restore will set the iPod back to its factory settings, and so restore a corrupted volume control to its original level.

Having said that, if you have used *Get Info/Options* and adjusted the volume of individual tracks then this could be the problem, which will not be addressed by a reset or restore.

For instruction on how to reset an iPod, go to http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1320
For instruction on how to restore an iPod, go to http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1339

Be aware that a Restore will erase the contents of your iPod. If you use Sync to manage your iPod, then a simple re-Sync after Restore will put everything back on your iPod. However, if you +Manually manage+ you will lose anything that is not on your computer or backed up. In addition of course, you will have to add everything back onto the iPod yourself instead of letting Sync do it.

tuscaroree wrote:
Using my 160GB iPod with new speakers, and I'm having trouble turning the volume down - even when the iPod volume appears to be on the minimum possible, the sound level is still too high!

How are you connecting the iPod to the speakers, is it via the headphone socket or the dock connector? The volume control on the iPod does not control the volume through the dock connector.

The simple answer to that zero is the same as off - so turn it off! At least, that's more or less the way Apple look at it. This question (why isn't zero zero) has come up before. The "final" answer is that it is not considered a fault because if you want *no volume* , turn it off.

However, if you're telling us that even with the volume control at minimum, that the sound out of the speakers is too high, then we must consider further.

Are you connecting the iPod to an input designed for a microphones? If so, the sound will be too loud as microphones need a different sort of input to iPods.

How loud is the volume when you use headphones? Is this too loud as well?

The better way of stating this might be to say that I am trying to listen to my ipod using headphones and simply can't because the volume is TOO LOUD. Even if you turn the volume all the way down to zero is is unbearable. This makes it impossible for me to listen to my ipod while traveling when headphones are the only option. I agree, if I didn't want any sound I would just turn the stupid thing off.

Lawrence Porter wrote:
I wish people would stop saying if you want zero then turn it off.

If you had zero volume it would be very easy to forget that the iPod is playing and consequently run the battery down, thereby reducing your listening time. So having some sound when the volume control is *at minimum volume* is actually quite a good idea.

That is neither good or even smart advice, in fact it's ignorant and timewasting when someone is looking for help.

That's your opinion. I, like everyone else here, give _my own_ time and advice for free, and to help. And it's precisely that - advice, an opinion about a course of action, not an instruction. You don't have to take it, but at least respect the person who has offered it.

The "advice" about what it was being plugged into, namely a microphone socket and it having a different sound input was a load of rubbish and had no relevance to the problem.

Not so! I was exploring any other possibilities that might help the tuscaroree .

OK rant over.....Advice?...Anyone?

Yes, never take anyone's advice!

Hi!
I have the same problem. I don't want to set the volume to zero, however to <10%. Before the last firmware update, setting the volume to < ~30% worked.
After the update, setting the volume to < ~30% doesn't change the volume.

For me this volume is too loud while lying in bed and try to relax.
I also tried hard-resetting, restoring and downgrading to a former firmware. Nothing helped...

Chris

Have you turned on the Sound Check so it can normalize the songs?
Do the speakers you're using have a volume to set at mid range?
Have you checked your equalizer settings?
What was the source of your music?
Does this happen with all your tracks?
Peace 🙂

Hi!
I tried it with Sound Check on and off.
I used the original apple Earphones and one from Sony.
Equalizer is off.
Source of the music is iTunes-Store and Audio CD.
It happens with all tracks...
In iTunes, I have nothing changed about the Volume.

Chris

I just wanted to add that I'm another iPod classic user with the same problem. Since it's still under warrantee, I'm going to go to the Apple Store and see if the other iPod classics have the same problem. I'll post my findings here.

This issue ****** me off so much. Apple could probably easily make a patch to fix this problem and they don't care and just say we should press pause. Crazy. Like alot of posters above, I like to listen to my iPod before I go to sleep and it is too loud, even with the volume turned to "zero".

I tried everything suggested and nothing works. It is pathetic that I have to basically hang the headphones halfway out of my ears to listen in bed.

Anyone out there with a real suggestion or a fix, please post. Is there any way to complain to Apple about this? ****, with all the cash I have thrown down (my 2nd iPod, 1 for my wife, itunes, etc.), can't they get a junior programmer to fix this crap?!?!

Please help...

I just talked to an Apple iPod repair specialist, and they said that my problem, not being able to lower the volume to zero, was a hardware problem and they will replace the device because of it, as it's still under warenty. We'll see if the replacement exhibits different qualities! Will post back.

ps, my friends' 5th Gen Classic 30GB: volume WILL go off completely when you turn the clickwheel counterclockwise, but the minimum actual output is not all that much different than my 7th Gen 120GB classic. Maybe we're asking too much for a really soft, near-whisper volume output? Hope not.

I am having the same issues with my 6th gen classic. Two weeks ago the sound would go off/inaudible at level 0. The problem started when it locked up. I re-started, but now no matter what I do to the settings level 0 is too loud! Did the repair solve your problem?

I totally agree with part of your statement-Apple doesn't care.

I've had 4 or 5 iPods in three years-all of them have failed with the headphone jack, wheel, or freezing.

Apple just doesn't care, like most companies-when my warranty runs out on my iPod, I'm getting a better mp3.