iPod touch 6th generation won't activate or restore

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Level 1

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iPod touch 6th generation won't activate or restore

I recently bought an iPod touch 6th generation new in box. Everything is intact and in bright 'shiny new' condition.

When I tried to activate it, the iTunes program produced a pop-up stating that I have to update or restore the iPod.

Neither choice works. I have several earlier versions of the iPod and an up-to-date version of iTunes installed. The iPod itself has "support.apple.com/ipod/restore" at the top of the screen, so I went there in my PC, using the Edge program.

I found instructions to restart the iPod and tried, but it did not work.

Eventually, I found that iPods of the 5th generation or earlier are no longer supported, but iPods 7th generation or later are still supported. Nothing about 6th gen.

Is there a way to get this 6th Gen iPod activated, or is it only a paperweight?

iPod, iOS 12

Posted on Jul 20, 2026 2:27 PM

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Answer 1

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-Captain-

Level 4

1,273 points

Jul 20, 2026 3:39 PM in response to Watchemoket

Hello Watchemoket,

I have a working iPod 6th gen. I believe it is considered Vintage, so it is still being signed by Apple fo software installation. The latest iOS version it can run is iOS 12. If you are able I suggest trying to restore it with Finder on a Mac instead of using Windows.

This article might help if you haven’t seen it already: If you can't update or restore your iPhone or iPod touch - Apple Support

Sincerely,

Leah ***

[Edited by Moderator]

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