click wheel not working on my nano 4th gen

Codachrome wrote:
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?

Codachrome I did the wiggle thing but it don't work so i hooked it up to my IHome and wiggled it and then i could use, but when i took it it didn't work..... Any suggestions???????

Message was edited by: dannyfromsnohomish

Hey Apple. Great job on the 1st gen Nano recall that occured on maybe 11 total units. Your stock is flying up because you took care of customers years after most of us had put an old nano in the drawer and gave us the faith that you take care of customers first. My daughter used her 1st gen nano in a dock, but the 6th gen Nano was a worthy replacement, even though others have complained they want the click wheel again.

I have had iphones and imacs taken care of under AppleCare and some have been taken care of just after the warranty expired because of goodwill. My son jumped in the pool with his iphone 4 and even then you replaced it-with liquid damage-because of goodwill. And yes, I was told it was on a case by case basis, and was a 1 time deal, and only because his was still under warranty. Thank you again for that.

This Nano 4th gen problem is pervasive, recurring and increasing at an alarming rate; and with thousands of people having their $150 and up ipod sitting there worthless (at least the 1st gen Nano still worked with its very remote chance of overheating) this problem at the dock renders it worthless becuase the click wheel won't work. Yes, I realize a warranty is a warranty, but car companies repair cars with recalls years after warranties expire because an issue is pervasive, it is at too high a percentage and this is that kind of issue. This is a design or manufacturing issue. My 4th gen is in great condition since it is on a dock most of the time, and is a brick.

Apple, please Issue a recall to repair or replace this brick with another repaired 4th gen, or 5th gen Nano. This newer model should not be replaced with a 6th gen unless somebody requests that, because many people want the larger screen and click wheel. If the 5th gen with a camera begins having the same problem, then you may need to issue ipod touch's to remedy.

And keep up this kind of customer service. This is what make good customers return. The people you have in the store and on the phone are the best. It keeps us coming back, but glitches like this should be taken care of so you don't lose customers that you have done such a good job cultivating for years.

Listentoit: My sentiments exactly. A friend of mine just got pursued by apple to replace his ipod shuffle. For what reason, I have no idea. Maybe he blogged about it. My nano looks brand new becuase it sits in a dock and now is useless. I did nothing outside of normal and appropriate use and it is now crap unless you happen to be a tinkerer who is confident in taking things apart and jimmy rigging the thing. This is totally unacceptable. Someone should start a class action lawsuit. I can't even get Apple to listen to my all-too-common problem witnout paying for support. That is just wrong. I'm really disappointed at the random way they seem to treat some cosutomers and not others as well. I own over $10K in curtrent Mac products and they can't see fit to give me a single courtesy replacement?

Correction- they replaced his 1st gen nano and it's because some of them have overheating batteries. Nice Apple, that's great. But that is a much older device. You care about them being deffective but not ours? Clearly it is because you think you have a case for saying it is the consumer's fault. That we we somehow bent it ourselves. Can't exactly blame an overheating battery on us, though, can you?

The paper clip worked great and only took about 5 minutes.

This is a good guide to taking apart the 4th Gen ipod .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh3kPGzawNk

For this fix, you only need to remove the bottom bezel. Then the two screws holding the little metal casing around the dock.

Then remove the casing and insert a 1.5 cm piece of paper clip in the gap behind the connector. Put it back together and you're good to go.

Will update if this stops working. Good luck

This is a fix from the gods, I got a 4th gen nano by mistake of eBay with click wheel fault, I needed a 4th gen classic which I paid a lot more for but had this in my glove box rattling around, thought I'd put it back on eBay but come across this thread , and managed to fix the iPod 4th gen nano, now I can see what it does I'm gonna keep it ,

I have 4 iPods now an iPhone 4s and iPad 2 , and thIs forum deserves a big pat on the back, thank you guys n gals keep up the good work

I've fixed my 4th nano. I tried to do "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, " with a small screwdriver. I'm using namecard(paper) clip 2 pieces. Thanks!

Happened to me today, noticed the wheel was becoming less responsive recently

tonight, after leaving nano on charger while at work, tried to play it while closing up and it was unresponsive

tried plugging it back in to see if maybe battery had died... screen lit up, showed last thing played but not responsive to play or return to list.... etc....

I kept playing with it and eventually, thinking if it has died, a little more force might be worth a try, I tried holding the directions of the wheel down and pushing harder on the wheel than is probably advisable... a lot of force on the center...... the weird thing is, it worked....

without the fix above (copying it for future use) it gradually began responding and now plays, stops, goes to lists, etc as it should...

glad I don't have to purchase a new one, tax time... but, the 16g is really attractive ;-)

sometime soon maybe

I had not understood the connection between problems with the nano and the charger, I had problems with the nano after using a cheap charger cable, it kept shutting off, the wheel did not work right, acted odd for a while and then resolved, the threw the cheap cable out and had not had a proble since... until tonight... energizer charger, has always worked fine....

The process described by Matt108 worked for me also, although a paper clip was still too small for my needs (young kids using the nano on a speaker dock really pushed things out of alignment). Instead, I cut a 1.5 centimeter brad (small nail slightly thicker than a large paper clip) and placed it down between the back-facing and the port. The bottom-casing was a little difficult to re-fit but now everything works like it should, including the click-wheel. Good enough for continued kid use. Gracias!