click wheel not working on my nano 4th gen

Question: Have any of you been using your nano with a docking station or a stereo that has a docking port? I have a theory that certain docking ports cause damage to the pin structures inside the nano. Try this: (1) Insert your white charging cable that came with the ipod. (doesn't need to be plugged into anything on the other end.) (2) Hold the ipod with the screen facing you. (3) the he part that is plugged into the ipod...slightly tilt the bottom of it away from you so that the pins inside move toward you. (4) Is your click wheel responsive again?

_Question: Have any of you been using your nano with a docking station or a stereo that has a docking port? I have a theory that certain docking ports cause damage to the pin structures inside the nano. Try this: (1) Insert your white charging cable that came with the ipod. (doesn't need to be plugged into anything on the other end.) (2) Hold the ipod with the screen facing you. (3) the he part that is plugged into the ipod...slightly tilt the bottom of it away from you so that the pins inside move toward you. (4) Is your click wheel responsive again?_

*I agree, I used to leave my nano 4th gen on my logitech dock overnight and during the day sometimes. The wheel didn't work at all until I discovered a blog saying that, I left the ipod off the dock and the wheel worked again*

I have tried everything mentioned and STILL my click wheel does not work at all.I hold down menu and the centre button to reset and nothing happens.I plug in my charger cable to wiggle the pins,nothing happens.I reset my ipod through iTunes and it then asks me to select my language but I cant because the click wheel does not work.No matter what I do the click wheel refuses to respond in any way.I put on hold and take it off again so the backlight comes on and I try to reset my ipod,but guess what NOTHING HAPPENS.my iPod Nano 4th generation is completely useless.I cant even change the volume.The only way I can listen to son gs is by shaking it to activate the shuffle function but cant hear as the volume is too low.I'm so sick of this

i am having the same problem with my 4th gen nano as well. i have tried everything on the net, and it wont work. my 1st gen nano is working perfectly, and it is 5 years old, and my 4th gen is stuffed and i have had it just over a year.

Codachrome...ThankYou !

I've just picked up a bargain on ebay.
16Gb Nano with broken scroll wheel. Reset and then realised I could not put in initial language setting to get the thing started.
Your tip of "wiggling" a connector cable worked a treat.
It would have been destined for the bin without your post.

Many thanks

Guys, I just wanted to give you all another confirmation that the above advice (bending the pins.. or whatever it's called) worked for me as well. I'd tried everything else, but nothing else was effective. I have an iHome and another dock for my car, and I suspected that one of the two had caused the problem because it'd become worse after using either one. I was about to buy another one out of sheer frustration, so I'm glad I followed this advice instead.

In short: TRY THIS! I've heard of a lot of people having this problem.

Note: I had to bend it a bit back and forth in order to get it to the right place. It's apparently easy to bend it too far one way or the other.

I, too, use a Bose SoundDock to listen to my iPod nano 4th gen. My click wheel stopped working spontaneously. I followed Apple's 'Reset' and 'Restore' instructions repeatedly to no avail.

As a last ditch effort, I combed the internet for suggestions. The situation above seemed remarkably familiar. So, after 20 minutes of wiggling the white USB cable as the poster above mentioned, SUCCESS! The click wheel is responding normally and everything seems great. Thanks for the tip - my iPod was in grave danger of being replaced (and I'm kinda partial to the little fella :)).

YAY!!!!!! Thank you so much....I've been trawling the internet for weeks to find a way of repairing mine & my boyfriends Ipods....we've got a Sony Docking Station and they both froze within a couple of days of each other.... Only trouble is it only works whilst applying pressur - if anyone knows a way to permanently get the wheel working please post!!!

It is definitely something to do with the connector. My daughter has a nice red 4th gen, and it developed a fault where the scroll wheel would only work if the connector cable was instered into the nano (not necessarily to a PC or power brick at the other end). If you took it out, the nano appeared to work, but the scroll wheel did nothing.

It is now migrating towards working only intermittently, even with the connector inserted, and needing it to be 'waggled' to make it work.

If anyone has any ideas what to do to resolve this problem, I'd be very grateful. Is there anyone I can send it to to get it fixed. Is it possible to open a nano up? Any good ideas, because she is going rapidly into terminal decline without her cool red nano.

I hate to say it, but I think this video shws the likely problem - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh3kPGzawNk&feature=related

I think about 4:50 minutes in, it shows disconnecting the ribbon cable from the click wheel that connects to the 'logi-board'. This is positioned right in fron of the connector we have been discussing.

I bet this connection has come loose, and our fiddling with the power connector at the bottom is helping it make connection - even if only temporarily.

I just wonder if any of us have the nerve to go for a full strip down, and report back on progress?

I found a pretty simple way to keep the wheel and buttons working without the charging cable. I opened up the bottom of my nano with a pair of tweezers and took out the casing around the dock connector port with a screwdriver. There will be a small amount of space between the back casing of the nano and the port. I used scissors to cut a small piece off of a paper clip and wedged it in between that space... and the wheel worked! The paper clip piece puts pressure up on the port so it provides the same effect as the charging cable trick, and it was small enough for me to be able to screw the casing back onto the bottom of the nano. I can still connect it to my computer, so it's working as good as new.

I hope this helps anyone who still has this this problem! I was about to give up until I found this thread. If the piece of paper clip isn't thick enough to push the port up inside the nano, try wrapping it in tape until it is. I was going to do this myself but the paper clip alone was enough to do the trick.

My daughter's clcik wheel was completely dead with all attempts failing, so she was waiting to see what the 6th gen would be like.

I'm not sure what others think, but my daughter makes heavy use of the video feature on her nano, so the 6th gen seems to be quite a major step backwards. So she is considering buying a 5th gen (my middle daughter has one of those and he likes it - shame the fm radio only works with the headphones and not in her docking speakers - suggestions gratefully received). I guess she'll need to buy fast as the 5th gen stock will be used up quickly.

As it was effecitively dead, I have used the Youtube guides to dismantle her 4th gen. It seems to me as though the ribbon cable for the click wheel goes across the power/docking station connector. It looks to me as though it gets rubbed/flexed/kinked on the left hand side when this connector is used, and I think that might have caused the fault. I've ordered a replacement for the click wheel workings (costing £6.99 - http://www.parts4ipods.com/epages/es115703.sf/enGB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es115703shop/Products/78788) and I'll try to fit it. I'm estimating chance of success at about 5%, but we'll see how it goes. It is never really going to be the same again, I'm sure.

I agree with your theory completely but one question. Do I have to keep persisting with tilting of the white cable? Becaude it only works when the white cable is in the right spot. When I take it out, it doesn't work again.

Hi Codachrome - yes, I believe I have the same problem with my wife's 4th gen nano. Clickwheel stopped working after unplugging it from the Bose speaker station. Tried your advice, and noticed that the Menu button actually had a small effect, but unfortunately nothing else is working. What a shame - the machine doesn't even have a scratch. No probs with my 1st gen nano.