Green and Orange flashing lights.. how many others effected?

No new symptoms or fix ideas to post that haven't
already appeared in this thread...

Instead, another sad tale of woe.

Just last night I was commenting to my wife that the
iPod Shuffle is an amazing little device. It'd been
in a desk drawer for at least 3 months when I decided
to use it while cleaning around the house yesterday.
The battery was still charged--at least enough juice
to run for 6-7 hours straight!

The battery indicator on the back had gone yellow, so
this morning I figured I'd reward my trusty little
device with a fresh "drink" of juice at the dock. I
wish I hadn't. My Shuffle never mounted to the
desktop and iTunes didn't "see" it either. The only
thing I got was the warning message not to disconnect
a device improperly. I thought this was strange
because I hadn't disconnected anything.

I figured a computer restart might fix everything. No
disconnect warning after the restart, but when I
removed the iPod since it still didn't mount or show
up in iTunes, I got my first glimpse of the "flashing
lights of death."

I've tried all the fixes proposed by Apple and some
of those included in this thread (I read every entry;
boy was my butt sore when I got up!) all to no avail.
When I try to update the iPod I get the "waiting for
the iPod to become ready" message and nothing more.

Obviously, there's something wrong that can't be
undone or fixed by the consumer. I'm going to try my
luck at an Apple store tomorrow even though my 1 year
warranty was up in April. I know I didn't do anything
to damage the iPod other than plugging it into the
iPod dock.

I've been a loyal Mac geek for well over a decade
now, and this is the first big problem I've had with
a Mac product/computer. There are 3 Mac computers and
7 iPods in my 4 person family. I bought the original
iPod the day it was released in '01 and I've
continued upgrading to the U2 Video iPod I bought in
June. I'm not going to write off Apple & the iPod,
but my opinion of Apple will certainly be influenced
by how my request for a fixed/refurbished/new iPod
Shuffle goes when I visit an Apple Store with my
blinking little friend.

I hope Apple is paying attention to this thread. It
appears to me that many PC users have been completely
put off with how the iPod Shuffle has performed and
with how Apple is handling this issue so far. If
Apple wants to maintain and even increase its
marketshare, they need to take care of the "entry
level" products as much, if not more than the high
end devices.

Thanks for reading.

512
iPod Shuffle Mac OS X (10.4.7) Intel iMac,
MacBook, G3 iBook, Original iPod, 15 gig iPod, U2
iPod, 2 & 4 gig Nanos, U2 Video
iPod

UPDATE:

Dateline: Sunday, July 30, 11:30 AM. The Apple store in Brea, CA has a chance to step up and do something positive (and I believe ethical) to correct my malfunctioning iPod Shuffle.

That whooshing sound you just heard was a resounding customer service strike out.

The "genius" listened to my story of just how the iPod went south. He plugged my iPod into his computer and he said it showed up. I'm not sure if he meant on the desktop, or just in the System Profiler. I couldn't see the screen to verify what he saw. I got my hopes up. Maybe he'd be able to perform the 5th R--restoring my iPod with Apple's latest iPod Updater. That would have made me perfectly happy. I wasn't looking for a replacement. I was looking for a way to get my iPod working correctly again. Next, he plugged it into another laptop and said nothing happened. He then pronounced my iPod "dead."

I asked if I was SOL and he said he'd see. When he came back to the genius bar (probably to go into the back room for a good snicker), he said there was no rebate for trading in an old iPod Shuffle, there was no way to fix it, and that it'd be cheaper to buy a new one anyway.

Mr. Genius smiled and said he was sorry, but there's nothing that can be done for me. When I mentioned that there are a lot of rather upset people posting their iPod Shuffle issues (that are clearly no fault of the consumer) on Apple's discussion boards, he rather smugly said that the number of people having problems was less than a percent. So, in effect, I, as a consumer don't matter.

I used to consider myself a lifetime Mac geek. Now I'm beginning to have doubts. I feel betrayed as a customer not so much because the only computer and MP3 devices I've ever owned have been Apple products, but rather it's Apple's complete disregard to take any responsibility for resolving this issue.

Apple got my money over a year ago for a device that clearly has flaws and now it's my problem. I plugged the iPod into my Intel iMac to charge it (like you're supposed to) and that somehow "broke" my iPod. Maybe iPod Shuffles should come with a warning--CAUTION: Using this device in the correct, prescribed manner may cause a complete, irreversible malfunction.

I have been an avid evangelist for Apple ever since I bought a Mac Classic in 1993 and for the iPod since I bought the original 5 gig model in 2001. Now my advice will be: Buyer beware--Apple has grown so big and so full of itself that consumer service doesn't matter.

I can honestly say that this is the worst customer service I've ever received in my life. I used to think MicroSoft was the "dark side." Now I know why Steve Jobs and all the Apple Store employees wear black shirts!



512 iPod Shuffle Mac OS X (10.4.7) Intel iMac, MacBook, G3 iBook, Original iPod, 15 gig iPod, U2 iPod, 2 & 4 gig Nanos, U2 Video iPod

Just a thought, I can't try this myself at the moment as my iPod is at home but these may be worth a try.

1. Has anyone tried booting into OS9 to see if the ipod mounts?

2. Has anyone tried using a third party disk mounter from versiontracker.com to see if it can force the ipod disk to mount?

3. I don't know if its bogus or not, but there is a post on the internet saying that holding the Play button in conjunction with the + volume button for up to 10 seconds stops the green and orange lights flashing and then inserting into the USB mounts the ipod? Like I said I cannot confirm this. but if your like me, then at this stage anything is worth a try!

I tried getting my Shuffle to mount in iTunes or the desktop in OS 9.

No luck for me. 😟

Still waiting for Apple to come through...

If you boot in safe mode THE SHUFFLE WILL SHOW UP IN MY COMPUTER but i cant format it (format it to restore it afterwards).

I am out of warrenty and am not willing to pay to get it fix for a messup probabiliy by apple, any addresses, phone number etc?

This is a real disgrace, i was thinking of buying a nano guess im gonna think twice now.

Shuffle Windows XP

Same problem. I returned mine to Apple and got a new one that worked for a little more than a month and now won't work with Windows.

Were you still under warrenty?

How did you return it?

I have a 512 shuffle that I have had since December. I got the alternating lights a couple of weeks ago, it did not mount, play, charge or anything. I returned it to the store I purchased it at. They sent it to Apple to repair. This past Friday, I received a new Shuffle from Apple instead of a repair. Today I tried to charge it after playing it, and now the flashing lights are on this new Shuffle. I went back to the Mac Store, and now they have sent this one back. Both times when I have mentioned reading about this problem, the store personnel completely denied there was a problem and tried to say that on forums, one only hears from those dissatisfied. I tried to trade up to a Nano and just pay the extra, but they will not do that either, so I feel like I will be faced with the possibility of a weekly visit for a new Shuffle until the warranty expires in December. Just in case, I have uninstalled the last software update, as I have read that it may be an issue.

iMac Mac OS X (10.4.7)

iMac Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Here's another one affected by the dubious orange and green lights.

I have a shuffle and work off Windows XP.
It plugs in to the USB fine and iTunes opens up.
I go to drag files onto "My iPod" and this warning comes up that says the iPod cannot be updated. The disk could not be read from or written to.
I've done all the five "R's" with no luck.

It's worked fine up until this point.
I've had the same problem as many others here on this thread. It worked one day and then the next, I go to clear songs and add new ones and here we go with these orange and green lights when I took it out to listen.

It seems the consensus is to send it back or call for help.
Problem is that I cannot find a tech number to call to have someone walk me through trying to fix the problem.
Can anyone point me in the right direction with this one?






Dell Windows XP

Check the warranty documents that came along with it or your Applecare documents if you've bought an Applecare plan, the support number is on there.

Good luck!

Just as a follow up. Since I live in rural Vermont, and am no where near an Apple store, I decided to send my Shuffle to my dad in California, along with the original receipt showing it was purchased Oct. 2 2005. Postage was $2, less then 1/10 of what Apple is charging. He made an appointment with the "Genius" at the South Coast Plaza Apple Store. The genius confirmed that it was indeed dead, but said the only recourse is to go through Apple Care. He also offered to sell my dad a refurbished one for $49.95. So, even though it was still under warranty, Apple would not take care of it through their own store.

just adding myself into the shuffle gogogo club.

all I have to say after reading all these posts is... I am so bummed.

i had mine for a little over a year without a hitch then BAMMO disco lights.

i must admit i really loved that little thing. doesn't sound like replacing it is the answer either.

brutal...

damm apple what you have to go and do that for???

imac Mac OS X (10.3.9)

We have purchased 4 iPod shuffles, but this is the first one that has the blinking lights of death. I have tried everything I can think of. On a PC, I can see it in the "My computer" settings, but when I click on it, it says the media on the device may have changed. iTunes does not even see it. On my macbook pro, it doesn't recognize it either.

This only seemed to happen after the last iPod update. This looks like bad flash memory to me...another reason that the shuffle is doomed to die.....

Apple are you there?

MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Hi there,

I recently had this same trouble with my 1G shuffle and the fix was easy - eventually. I had just upgraded my computer, transferring all the files over, etc. and itunes was there, but the first time I tried to recharge my ipod (from external usb hub) it was plugged when I had to restart the computer - I had quite a scare for a minute when no BIOS; but figured out that the computer was trying to boot from the ipod. I disconnected the ipod, rebooted, and then recharged my ipod. It charged as usual but no music - the dreaded green and orange light syndrome.

After trying this and that unsucessfully and after reading many of the posts here I was ready to give up and send in my shuffle for repair - however, I decided to try something obvious - to manually add music again from itunes. I hadn't done this because it seemed as if all was in place for the
the type of updates I was used to before.

Whether the problem arose from the file transfer (from my computer upgrade) or the computer attempting to reboot from the ipod, I'm not sure. But what I ended up having to do was to disable the automatic update and manually fill the ipod. All is now well. I'm sure that there are some people out there who need only to do this to fix the horrible green and orange light monster.

1G shuffle Windows XP Pro

jules

Windows XP Pro

sorry I forgot to mention I did the 5 R's also without success as some other posters here. But...I also forgot to mention that only when I first plugged in the ipod did itunes recognize it. Almost instantly, the "julesthefirst's ipod" line disappeared. I had to go in and tell the computer to recognize my ipod...not hard.
I apologize for my lack of technical terms - I decided to write this on the fly before I forgot. Hope it helps someone.

jules

Windows XP Pro

These instructions worked for me -- the instructions on the Apple site -- such as updating the updater and updating the iPod, etc., etc. DID NOT!

Thanks for posting them... I hope others work their way out of this mess.

It is really bizarre that Apple does not provide this help directly and that the answer is buried in these forums like a needle in a haystack!

Thanks for figuring it out and posting it so clearly!

iPod Shuffle Windows XP Dell Laptop hosting iPod