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Ipod touch 3rd generation won't update.

My ipod touch 3rd generation won't update to IOS 5

iPod touch, Windows 7

Posted on Nov 22, 2011 9:47 AM

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Posted on Nov 22, 2011 9:51 AM

If you have iTunes 10.5 then you probably really have a 2G iPod thoe can only go to iOS 4.2.1. If yours is an 8 or 16 GB one it is a 2G,. Apple only made 32 and 64 GB 3G iPods. A 32 GB one can be either. To identify yours:

Apple - Support - Check Your Service and Support Coverage

Identifying iPod models

11 replies

Feb 19, 2012 10:54 PM in response to the fiend

At the time of purchase we were told several ways to tell that our iPod was a 3G. One of them was the size of the "8GB" on the back of the unit (it is a smaller font). The other way was by going to "general settings" and looking at the model number which is MC086LL. Doing a search of that model number comes up as a "3G", not 2G.


And when I do an Internet search, literally hundreds (if not thousands) of people were convinced that they were buying a 3G when purchasing this model number. It also cost more money than the current 2G, at the time, and it had a newer software update than the 2G. And many of the stores, such as Walmart and Best Buys, listed it as an "iPod 3G" on the actual receipt.


Now some people are suggesting that all the stores listing it as a 3G, and all the people noticing that the back of the case of this model "was truly different than a 2G", were "wrong" in assuming that they were, "really really", getting a 3G. [Now let me see: The price was higher than for a 2G, the outer case was different than a 2G, the model number listed in the settings was different than a 2G, and the receipts from all over the country said "3G", so yes, why would ANYONE not "assume" they were getting a 2G. Really?]


At the very least, Apple should offer us a trade in value for confusing so many department stores and customers into thinking that this was a 3G. If it was just 1 or 2 customers that claimed to be scammed, that would be one thing. But, this misinformation concerning a 2G being marketed as a 3G, is from all over the United States.


I could have purchased a real 2G much cheaper than this "fake 3G", many months earlier. So, now a lot of apps will not download on my iPod because it requires an ios of 4.3, and this product won't accept software that recent, it only goes as high as 4.2.1 ... :-(

Mar 7, 2012 3:05 PM in response to ipodmaniac9651

You need to establish for certain that it really is a 3rd generation iPod Touch. You only need to read the first post in this thread to realise that lots of people believe they have a 3rd gen Touch when they actually have a 2nd genTouch.


Look on the back of your iPod for the model number etched into the casing. It's very small, you may need a magnifying glass (I do!).

  • Model No. A1288 - it's 2nd generation. Highest iOS 4.2.1
  • Model No. A1318 - it's 3rd generation.

Don't believe me? Look on this page; http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1353#iPod_touch_late2009 from Apple and you will see that it states very clearly that: "The iPod touch (3rd generation) can be distinguished from iPod touch (2nd generation) by looking at the back of the device. In the text below the engraving, look for the model number. iPod touch (2nd generation) is model A1288, and iPod touch (3rd generation) is model A1318."


I suggest you ignore what Tyler3 has said, because nothing in his or her post will help you. Oh yes;

  • plenty of people were convinced.... that the Titanic wouldn't sink. If I recall, it did. (I wasn't there at the time!)
  • Doing a search of that model number (MC068LL) comes up as a "3G" not a 2G.... Maybe, but search where.

I don't suppose that search was made on an Apple web site. Everyone can say it's a 3rd gen Touch for as long as they like. Saying it doesn't make it so!


At no time have Apple ever claimed, stated or suggested that the 3rd generation iPod Touch was available in 8GB size. It wasn't. Look back up the page ( http://support.apple.com/kb/HT135) that I linked to earlier and check the capacity available for the 3rd gen Touch. (Yes, there was a 4th gen in 8GB size, but still not in 3rd gen!)


So ipodmanic9651, I may be sounding a bit harsh, but until you confirm that you really, really have a 3rd gen Touch, I'm working on the basis that if your iPod is at iOS 4.2.1 and iTunes says that's the latest version for your iPod and that your iPod is up to date, then you've got a 2nd gen Touch.


If you had read the rest of the posts in this thread you would already know this and it should have been obvious to you that you that you need much more convincing evidence than "my iPod is a 3rd gen..."

Mar 7, 2012 6:47 PM in response to the fiend

The difference between me and you "fiend" is that I "acknowledge" the correct information you are giving now "after the fact". But, you do not acknowledge "all" the facts that I gave. Just the ones that are "convenient" for you to address.


On my "fake" iPod 3, there "really is a smaller font" on the back, than on the original iPod 2. I researched the iPod 3 "before" purchasing it, and this was a feature that none of the iPod 2's had.


Also, the facts that the stores were putting iPod 3 on the receipts, is also "convenient" for you to ignore. The fact that you won't budge an "inch" from your position shows that your mind is made up, and you just don't want to be "confused with the facts". I acknowledge your facts, which are a day late and a dollar short, with so MANY people getting confused on this issue, at the time of purchase.


You also don't want to touch the subject as to why all the "cloak and dagger" and "hoops" that a customer has to go through just to figure out what model they were buying at the store? Why not just spend a penny on some ink and label the thing "2nd Gen" or "3rd Gen" etc.


According to you, it is the public's fault that they believed the store, and they believed their receipt, because they didn't KNOW the "special numeric code" to look for on the back of the iPod, even though there were several other differences between the fake iPod 3, and the old iPod 2.


Whether or not Apple profited from this ambiguity in marketing this updated iPod, with updated software, and updated appearance, is not the point. But, rather, what is important is that many people were given "suggestions" in the store they were at, that it was a "3G" that they were buying. And I refuse to accept that the stores, like BestBuy were simply "sinister" and promoted this misrepresentation "on purpose". I would rather believe that Apple did not make clear to the stores, either, what they were reselling, but that the unit truly was a "partial upgrade" from the original 2G iPod.


Your avoidance of this fact shows that you are just trying to prove a point that there IS a way the distinguish the difference, but that this information was not "popular" or "easily" available, at the time these iPods were mass marketed.


Rather than suggest that everyone who got "hoaxed" into buying these fake 3Gs, were simply stupid or ignorant, you should also have at least some "bit" of humanity about you to care, that this was such a "mass scale" issue. And wonder to yourself "how or why this misunderstanding happened".


In fairness to Apple, there seems to be some imporvement in "clarification" of what generation customers are buying after the 3G fiasco. So, apparently Apple did take some notes on this past marketing mistake.

Ipod touch 3rd generation won't update.

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