Can't sync iPod classic (5th gen) with Catalina

Question

Level 1

8 points

Can't sync iPod classic (5th gen) with Catalina

I'm trying to get my Mac running Catalina to sync music with my iPod classic. When I plug my iPod in, my Mac recognizes it as an external HD, and instead of the sync UI I see this:

I'm on Catalina 10.15.7.
My iPod is formatted as Mac OS External (Journaled).
I've already tried restoring my iPod to factory settings as suggested here. I did this with an MBP running Snow Leopard as that is the only pre-Catalina Mac I have lying around.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Dec 26, 2021 11:20 PM

Reply

Answer 1

turingtest2

Level 10

278,149 points

Dec 27, 2021 2:43 PM in response to Ririn

Perhaps it would be worth putting the classic into disk mode, then rebooting it once more.

tt2

Reply

Answer 2

turingtest2

Level 10

278,149 points

Dec 27, 2021 6:15 AM in response to Ririn

How odd. Is the device stuck in disk mode?

tt2

Reply

Answer 3

Ririn Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 27, 2021 2:38 PM in response to turingtest2

It seems like Catalina thinks the iPod is stuck in disk mode. I've been able to sync music with it fine before I upgraded this laptop to Catalina, and I can still sync music to it with the laptop running Snow Leopard.

Reply