Turn off auto pause?

Sometimes things that are made for convenience, really are just a nuisance. Power windows in a car is another example - if the button doesn't work for whatever reason, you can't unroll your window. Well it is the same with the auto pause feature on the Apple iPod. Now don't get me wrong; I have a 4th gen iPod classic 80GB and it is 13 years old and still going strong - I use it nearly every day. Extremely well made device, that is no question. Even the battery life - it still goes for hours! But I am experiencing the exact same problem. It pauses sometimes 5 times during a song if I am walking with it in my pocket and it drives me absolutely nuts. Without this ridiculous auto pause feature, this iPod would be in absolutely perfect shape, like the day I bought it. It really bothers me to dispose of something that works so incredibly well over something so **** trivial. There must be some little firmware update Apple could have released to axe this feature - I know I'm about 10 years too late to request this, but it is clearly a software feature that could just be disabled. It really is a shame that something is rendered useless over such a simple fix. 😟

NOTE: Using Apple headphones is not an acceptable answer. It would be absolutely ludicrous if you could only use Apple headphones as they are not the best on the market. I have a pair of Beyerdynamics, which retail at $600 a pair; to tell me I cannot use these with apple products is a complete farce.

adamski82 wrote:

When you take the earphones out, it pauses.

Yes, it's supposed to do that.

Since you appear to have more-or-less ignored what I've asked you and simply gone off on your own tangent, I have to work on the only other bit of information you have given;

adamski82 wrote:

But mine is doing it with the earphones still in and the hold button on lock.

That sounds like a hardware problem, which no firmware update will fix. Does the sound stop coming out of the headphones even when the iPod continues playing? If so, then perhaps the jack socket or the headphones are playing up. Have you tried another set of headphones and have you tried the headphones in another device? What happens if you do either or both of these things?

Am I to assume that:

• it pauses in the middle of a song?
• the pause icon displays in the top right of the screen?

milan82 wrote:

... I am experiencing the exact same problem. It pauses sometimes 5 times during a song if I am walking with it in my pocket and it drives me absolutely nuts. Without this ridiculous auto pause feature, this iPod would be in absolutely perfect shape,

Okay, let's get this straight.

• If the headphones are unplugged, the iPod Classic stops playing. Very sensible.
• If the iPod stops part way through a song, that suggests a hardware fault, not a software feature.

The most likely causes of the iPod stopping playing part way through a song are:

1. if the same song or songs keep stopping, it may be faulty songs, in which case remove them from the iPod and then put them back to see if that sorts it out
2. Faulty headphone socket or headphones lead. This is the more likely cause

I think the headphone socket or headphones lead are the most likely suspects, because if the iPod is in your pocket and the headphone plug is being pushed about as you walk, that can cause either the connection from the back of the socket to the electronics inside to break or become loose or, the wiring in the headphone plug gets damaged and the wires in the cable break or become loose.

As a two-part test:

1. first part of the test; while the iPod is playing a song hold the headphone plug firmly (so it cannot move in the socket) and gently move the headphone cable around near to its entry into the plug. Does the iPod stop? If so, that suggests the cable may be damaged.
2. second part; try to hold the cable firmly so it doesn't move in relation to the plug and gently move the plug around in the socket. Does the iPod stop? If it does, then either there is dirt or pocket fluff in the headphone socket (so you could try Király's suggestion of five years ago and wipe the fluff out) or the connection from the socket to the electronics is broken or loose.

In both cases be gentle because the last thing you want to do is break something that wasn't broken.

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, you are not saying anything that I don't already know. I have just explained that the iPod is 13 years old.. you can just imagine how many times a headphone jack has been inserted and removed; thousands. Of course it will have wear; this is not rocket science. If it didn't have the auto pause feature, I would still be able to use the iPod flawlessly, even with a worn headphone socket. I have never heard static or distortion before it pauses; there is no indication both audibly or physically that it is loose in the socket, yet it still pauses. It is extremely sensitive and more of a hassle than anything else.

I have played the iPod for a solid hour without the headphones plugged in and without the problem of stopping. There is no question whatsoever that it is this auto pause feature which is rendering my incredibly resilient iPod useless. It is extremely disappointing.

As for the auto pause feature being "very sensible" in your words, I highly disagree. Give me a circumstance where it would be useful? If I am listening with my headphones, clearly, when I hear no sound, my headphone jack has unplugged. The same can be said if I am listening through a stereo system using AUX IN; when there is no sound, either it's dead, paused or unplugged.

I appreciate your attempt at rectifying the problem, but without a quick firmware upgrade that disables the auto pause feature, I'm afraid this problem is unfixable. It really is a shame. The last thing the planet needs is another iPod in a landfill, especially for something so minute and trivial.

A firmware update isn't coming. The design of some 3rd party 3.5mm jack plugs may vary in diameter just where the switch is, or the switch mechanism may not be what it once was. You could test with a short 3.5mm jack extension to see it you can get reliable use with a different plug going into the device.

tt2

milan82 wrote:

As for the auto pause feature being "very sensible" in your words, I highly disagree. Give me a circumstance where it would be useful?

By definition, when the headphones are unplugged, you are not listening to the music anymore, therefore, to save battery time being used up unnecessarily, the iPod goes into pause mode, then sleep. That's how Apple get their extended playing times for a battery powered device. In these discussions we see many posts from users unhappy at what they perceive as limited play time between battery charges, even after Apple go to the lengths they do to ensure long playing times.

milan82 wrote:

... without a quick firmware upgrade that disables the auto pause feature, I'm afraid this problem is unfixable. It really is a shame. The last thing the planet needs is another iPod in a landfill, especially for something so minute and trivial.

I agree with tt2, no chance of any updates to the firmware/software now. If you return an old iPod to Apple they - as far as we know - will do their best to recycle as much as they can from it, thus reducing unnecessary landfill.

I use the iPod Classic a lot, but I'm not aware of this feature. How and when exactly does the iPod stop, under what circumstances? Which menu are you in when you start the iPod playing? (For example; Main Menu/Albums/<album name> or Main menu/Songs/<song name>.

Also, when it is playing, what number sequence is shown in the Now Playing screen, for example 1 of <total number of songs on your iPod>, or 5 of 7, or something else? If it's 5 of 7, is it stopping after the 7th song?

One of the causes of songs pausing or skipping is corrupted ID3 tag headers, if you are using MP3 format, one solution is to download MP3 validator, and run it through the songs that skipped.

Good Luck!

There isn't a way to disable the auto pause mechanism.

An iPod auto pausing when the headphones are still plugged indicates a loose, dirty, or worn connection between the jack and the headphone plug, which causes false triggering of the auto pause mechanism. Some users have been able to fix it by cleaning the contacts with rubbin alcohol (cotton swab in the jack). Others, like me, have had to replace their headphones (works great now). Still others have had to take their iPods in to have the jack replaced. Try those things in that order and see if the problem disappears.