stuck on connect to iTunes screen

Question

stuck on connect to iTunes screen

My son's iPod touch is stuck on a screen that shows a USB connector with an arrow pointing to iTunes. Trouble is, we are away from home for a year and the computer he originally used to sync with. He has a user here but when I connect the iPod touch with his iTunes it asks me to enter his code on the iPod. But I can't access any other screen on the iPod. It's frozen on that screen.

What can I do to reset it?

MacPro quad 3.2, 8 gig RAM, Mac OS X (10.5.8), iTune 9.2

Posted on Nov 13, 2009 6:06 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

iNexxFear

Level 2

410 points

Nov 14, 2009 6:51 AM in response to Loch Phillipps

I forget here, but can you actually use the power button to slide and shut down the iPod? I'm thinking that the answer is NO, because the screen won't refresh.

I had this issue with my iPhone prior to 3.1.2 firmware update, and it had to do with the WiFi being on when I tried to SYNC.

However DO NOTE that the only time that the iPods usually try to have you resync to iTunes is when the device has had some sort of internal quirk that requies a iTunes connecition to fix. And furhter more if you don't know the iPod's PIN number to use, iTunes nor the iPod will fix itself...

Additonally your only other option if you can't enter the PIN would try to see if the device you are trying to connect it to will let you do a restore... But you WILL loose everything installed!

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Answer 2

luvlabs

Level 4

3,620 points

Nov 14, 2009 7:16 AM in response to Loch Phillipps

You need to put the iPod into a recovery mode before you can get it fixed.
1. Hold down the Sleep/Wake button until you get the red slider. Turn off the iPod.
2. Unplug the iPod from the computer and start iTunes
3. Press and hold the Home button and plug the iPod back into the computer.
4. Keep holding the Home button down until iTunes says "An iPod has been detected..."
5. Follow the on screen instructions and restore the iPod.

Just an opinion, but this is why I don't like the security lock process. It just makes fixing problems more difficult.

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Answer 3

Nov 14, 2009 10:46 AM in response to luvlabs

Thanks so much guys. Saved us a trip to the AppleStore.

It wasn't ideal because I had to erase his iPod and start again, but fine enough to do that for a 6 year old. Hope this never happens to me. The clear message here is to make sure kids are using iTunes in a computer as the source for their downloads and everything on the pod. Otherwise, you can't restore without losing stuff, of course.

And iNexx, you can use the slider to shut the pod down, which then allows you to do steps 2-5 that luvlabs kindly laid out.

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Answer 4

chowsy02

Level 1

0 points

Feb 7, 2010 9:42 PM in response to luvlabs

I tried this...having the exact same problem! itunes is opening automatically and I hear a beep that tells me my computer acknowledges a device BUT itunes is not detecting my device and I don't see it when I look in "my computer". As soon as my computer beeps my ipod goes right back to the "connect to itunes" screen!

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