iPod shuffle and Mac Catalina

Does anyone know whether the issue of not being able to properly manage the contents of an iPod shuffle with the Finder has been resolved in 10.15.2?

After upgrading to 10.15.0 shortly after it came out, I encountered this issue. I use my two iPod shuffles for hours every day and felt it was a complete showstopper. I ended up reinstalling Mojave as a result. I will not upgrade to Catalina until there is an adequate fix or workaround with third party software.

I'm syncing with an old Mac running Mojave. Apart from the fact that it works, the layout is much easier to use than the new Podcast app that looks like it was designed for 5 years to use with their thumbs.

Stuart, see my response from last week. I was having the same problem with my shuffle and ended up in the thread looking for support before I turned to YouTube. I’m using the latest iOS. I swim with the shuffle in the winter and worried it wasn’t ever going to work again but the terminal command fixed the issue for me.

I watched the youtube video, but did not see how restarting the Finder actually fixed the problem. When I tried using the Finder with my gen 2 iPod shuffle, it found the device OK, but failed to find anything to load on it, despite having many thousands of music, podcast and audiobook tracks on my Mac.

In 10.15.2 are you able to manually alter the position of tracks on the shuffle, selectively delete them through the Finder and add more to those left on the device? Do played tracks sync to the various iTunes replacement apps as having been played?

I don't want to have to reformat the shuffle every time I wish to remove any podcasts from it, so having to do that is still a showstopper for me.

I have this question also. How could they do that? I use a waterproof shuffle to listen to audiobooks while I swim laps. Is it possible they just "upgraded" their interface and removed all ability to download non musical content onto the iPod shuffle. WTF guys?

I can get podcasts to work with my iPod on my Mac - Catalina 10.15.1, however, it is a pain.

Prior process on iTunes:

1) Plug in ipod so it can update

2) Eject iPod and go.

New process in Catalina:

1) Plug in iPod.

2) Open finder window

3) Select ipod

4) Resize finder window because it is too small to see the podcast items

5) Select podcasts (don't sync yet)

6) Open Podcast app

7) Refresh podcasts so new ones are loaded

8) Return to finder window

9) Select podcast I want to sync

10) Unclick "Sync Podcasts . . ." to make sure all the old ones ares cleared off, it doesn't always remove old ones

11) Click Remove button

12) Click Apply

13) Click Sync

14) Click "Sync Podcasts . . ."

15) Check to ensure that the correct podcasts are showing up in the finder window(if not, that is a whole other process)

16) Fix any issues with the podcast list

17) Click Apply

18) Click eject

Now at this point the real fun begins because if you were in the middle of a podcast, that location is long gone, it goes back to the beginning Also, if making multiple updates (i.e. several podcasts from several days) there is no guarantee that it will play the oldest first. Which means you can either let it play what ever it wants and fix the problems as mentioned above, or hunt around for it. Note that if you just even start a podcast it gets marked as played and you will have to manually reload it each update.

Bottom line: The way Catalina handles iPods is absolutely horrible (not to mention the number of times my Mac has crashed or rebooted itself).

@DK Down South-- Not sure this will work on all iPods, but I've at least found a way to get back more or less where I was in the midst of a Podcast (as you mention in the last paragraph).

By placing a finger in the top half of the iPod screen, it brings up a three option icons: continuous play, back up 20 seconds, 1/2 X. Just below this is a slider bar that indicates at what part of the podcast you are, even with time indicators.

And you can use this slider to fast forward or back up, press play and listen, and then proceed, as you try to figure out how far you had gotten in the podcast previously . Granted, it's not a perfect solution, but you can use this to get more or less where you were, before you did steps 1-18.

(Of course the real question is why did Apple decide to make such major changes to podcasts, and will they someday abandon the iPod?)

Then, start your morning run only to find name of your podcast has changed from, say, "Marketplace" to "Podcast 5" and another podcast is now "Podcast 2." Which is which?

So, now

19) open Podcast app.

20) Delete impacted podcasts.

21) Search for (now) deleted podcasts.

22) Subscribe to podcasts again, and download recent episodes.

23) Plug in iPod.

24) Open Finder window.

25)....

This is a first world problem, but the new apps are not built for the (discontinued) Shuffle. Sigh.

Geez! I installed Catalina 10.15.2 a couple of days ago. Today I tried to sync my iPod Shuffle after coming home from the gym. What a mess!!

Without my Shuffle—or some similarly compact exercise-compatible player—I have absolutely no interest in the iTunes Store or Apple Music. Sorry Apple, I’ll have to get my music and player elsewhere.

Some success with an iPod Shuffle: I paused a Podcast in the middle of the episode, stopped the iPod and came back later to that same spot. It did not reset to the beginning. I even synced the Shuffle and was able to return to that same spot. Good news.

Anyone else having this same experience?

I'm using Catalina 10.15.2

100 percent agree, i'm having the exact same issue and the exact same frustration with Apple around this OS "upgrade." If Apple cannot support its own users, playing its own content on its own devices... what do you support?

I was able to access my shuffle and add new podcasts through Finder on my desktop. I had to download the individual podcast episodes through the Podcast app, but then when I clicked on my shuffle in Finder, it opened up with a similar interface as iTunes used to have. It's still super janky and I'm not sure how long it will last, or how well, but at least it's there for now!

@fern227, it does seem to be possible to sync the Shuffle using Catalina (see earlier posts), but the process is a little wonky (and difficult). I feel your husband's frustrations, though.

I've had better results using Finder in OS 10.15.2, the most recently version.

Went to the Delphin website to see what they have to offer. Several different models, including one that claims to be a "waterproof iPod shuffle." Wonder if they should now include a disclaimer that Apple no longer supports the Shuffle.

https://www.underwateraudio.com/products/waterproof-ipod-shuffle

I also am giving up on my beloved iPod - why Apple won't debug Catalina OS so that it connects just baffles me.

Meantime, I followed the good advice in this thread and just ordered the Delphin product online. Thanks for the re-direct, it's a shame and hopefully we all have a better experience with Android than we've had with Apple in this arena.