Why are my songs skipping like a record player - within the same song?

The speed multiplier on the player window is set to something higher than 1X. It is a small icon in the upper right hand area of the screen and displays 1X, 2X, or some multiplier value. Just touch it until it returns to 1X and your problem is solved.

My first generation iPod Touch started doing the very same thing recently, for a couple of months now. It's truly irritating.

Not only it skips, but makes electronic blips and annoying noises and glitches. After running tons of different test and playing with every setting available, I think i have discovered what's going on:

- This started happening after one of the *latest iPod touch software updates*
- Since then, some music files (*both MP3 and AAC*) skip, blip, and sound corrupted.
- I figured out that *anything higher than 128 kbps bitrate would make the new iPod Touch software choke*. If it's higher than 128 kbps (variable or constant rate), it will make your iPod skip and garble when playing it.
- This happens with both audio files imported from CDs and files purchased from iTunes!!! if it's over 128 kbps, it will start distorting and skipping.

Yes, for some reason *the latest software updates have left older iPod Touch models unable to correctly play audio files encoded at rates higher than the (obsolete) 128 kbps*.

I find this irritating and painful, since *the ONE THING the iPod is supposed to do well* +(aside from apps, games, and web browsing)+ *is to PLAY AUDIO AND MUSIC FILES*.

I wonder if there's a forum where I could post my detailed findings, so Apple engineers can take note of this MAJOR BUG.

You are welcome.
It definitely took a while to figure it out, and spent weeks testing and researching what could be the problem. It was truly driving me nuts! Suddenly after the last firmware update, most of the songs in my iPod Touch would skip, glitch and garble, for no apparent reason. On occasion, the iPod would even add several second of silence in the middle of random songs, for no apparent reason!!!

Among the things in my research to find out the culprit, I did the following:

Reinstalled the device software

Reformatted the device, then updated the software

Copied over my music library from scratch, several times (it was painful)

Reformatted albums in different bitrates, from 96kbps, all the way to 320kbps, both in constant and variable rates, and tested them one by one.

In the end, the one thing that was consistent was very clear: any songs encoded over 128kbps would skip and sound corrupted. Time after time. The only way I could enjoy my music collection in my iPod Touch was to downconvert my files to the now obsolete 128kbps. Only when I converted my music to 128kbps, the annoying skips and glitches stopped. For an audiophile like myself, this was absolutely painful, as I could tell the obvious loss in quality and nuance in my music files.

I'm disappointed Apple missed this bug. It affects the CORE functionality of the device, above anything else.

Yeah, I think I will write them a letter too. I wonder if there's a way to contact their engineering dept., so I could share my research.

Message was edited by: Juliator

This sounds exactly like the problem I am having importing songs to Itunes. I have never had a problem before until I decided to upgrade my collection from 128 to the 256.

Then when played back songs will skip to different parts of the same song, or will even skip to the next song for 3-15 seconds in the middle of a song and then return to the original.

The songs will download the same way to my Ipod, so it appears the errors I have are while importing at 256.

Hi auparrothead:

You described the problem correctly: the music skips within the same song, or randomly skips to different parts of the next one, and then back to the previous one. The whole thing is a mess now. Then there's the weird digital glitches... it's awful.

Unfortunately, the only way around this bug is to *down-convert your music back to the lower standard 128 kbps*. Not only this will provide you a less quality audio experience... converting your music collection down to 128kbps again is very time-consuming. A waste of time, frankly.

I don't know what happened with the last software update for the iPod Touch +(in my case to *version 3.1.3*)+, or how they missed this bug. All I know is that my iPod Touch was able to play higher-rate MP3 music +(even 320kbps in variable mode)+ like a champ. Now it chokes on anything above 128kbps. It's not 1999, Apple folks. Even iTunes sells music encoded as 240kbps!

Another note to Apple: yes, the music I buy from iTunes now +(encoded in higher rate 240 kbps)+ skips, glitches, sounds garbled and plays like crap in my iPod Touch. I spent a lot of money on this machine; I just wished it played music like it's supposed to. It's what the iPod was built to do. Please fix the software.