The last time I synched my iPod to my laptop, there was a mandatory iPod software 'upgrade'. Now, some of my songs synched to my iPod no longer play. The songs synch properly and I can see them on my iPod -- they just won't play. When I try to play them, the iPod skips to the next song in the playlist. Question is 'why?' and 'how to fix?'
I have the 5th gen iPod nano.
Windows, Windows 10
Try removing the download for one of the problem tracks from your library. Sync the device to remove it from there too. Then download a fresh copy, check it plays correctly without an authorization warning. Sync to the device and see if the fresh copy now plays. Repeat with remaining tracks if it helps.
tt2
I can't help with why. This should help you fix. Restore the device, reload the content. If there is content on the device that isn't in your library see Recover media from an iPod - Apple Community.
tt2
Unfortunately Apple don't provide a mechanism to downgrade firmware. Best I can suggest at this point is that you contact Apple Support and let them know about this issue.. A potential workaround might be to convert these songs to a different format. Somewhat depends on how many are affected, and whether or not that would adversely affect their quality.
tt2
See Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support. It is an option when viewing the connected device in iTunes.
tt2
Because the iTunes music player does not have tempo controls or a 'cut and fade' feature, I often do such editing in a wav editor and save as a new file which i can then play in iTunes. Those are the files which are problematic, although not all of them -- like I said, only some of the more recent ones. To get a fresh copy, I'd have to re-download the music file from iTunes, then re-edit it in my wave software app, a burdensome chore.
I'd note that last year, Apple put out a new iTunes version that no longer played certain file types. There were a lot of complaints on these forums about that amid denials by Apple that a problem existed, but they did eventually fix the software in a subsequent version. That's one of the reasons I think their updated iPod software has a bug in it -- and doubt they would admit it -- but I haven't seen others with this problem, have you?
Do the same songs play correctly in iTunes? If were a classic I'd suggest Corrupt iPod Classic - Apple Community, but I don't think those diagnostics are available on the nano.
tt2
I checked the formats. All my songs are listed as 'MPEG', 'Purchased AAC', 'WAV', or 'AAC' audio files. All of the MPEG, Purchased and WAV files play ok. Some of the AAC files play ok, but the ones that don't play are all AAC. I also noticed the ones that don't play are ones I've recently purchased and downloaded over the past couple of weeks. That's the same time frame as the iPod software update. I had also updated my iTunes on my laptop to the latest version during that same time period.
I've seen some complaints lately about imported .mp3 files not being admitted to the library. It seems these were related to YouTube conversions, so it is possible iTunes/Music are getting more picky about internal file structure. Not sure what the update to the nano was about. I thought that was pretty much abandoned like the classic so somewhat surprised you mentioned a firmware update.
tt2
They also apply to older iPods allowing you to restore with iTunes, or Finder on Macs running Catalina or later.
tt2
The songs play correctly on iTunes on my laptop.
It is also not a problem with the iPod -- I have another iPod nano and the same problem occurs with it.
It's a software problem. As I said, it started when the iPod software was automatically updated. Is there a way to restore a previous version of the iPod software?
Well, thanks tt2, for the conversation and insight. I'm not sure what I'll do, probably just wait and see if new software updates come around. I like taking my iPod to the gym as it's smaller and lighter than my phone, so there, it doesn't matter if a few songs don't play. But I've also used my iPod as a backup to playing iTunes on my laptop when I play music at a dance party - so I guess I can no longer use the iPod for that purpose.
I couldn't find a 'restore' option on my iPod.
Those instructions apply to iPod Touch. The nano has no online connection capability.
OK, yes, I see what you're referring to. So I did the restore, then re-synched my music. Same thing is happening (see my original post)
Songs not playing on iPod
