my iPod shuffle 4th gen won't charge or show up in iTunes

Make sure your USB cable is plugged ALL THE WAY IN THE IPOD, there should be no gap. It feels like you are forcing it but you have to do it. Same goes when charging, or using headphones or buds.

Hope this helps.

I have just had a similar issue and my shuffle refused to charge. What I found upon closer inspection was that there was corrosion on the shuffle end of the cable. When I looked at the the contacts inside the shuffle, I realised that no matter which way I rotated the cable, at least one connector was not making contact.

The solution was to get some fine-grain sandpaper and sand away the corrosion. When I then plugged it into a socket, it worked and the red light came on continuously.

As a test, shut down (power OFF) your Mac. Disconnect all USB devices, including any hub device. Do this to Reset the shuffle

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1655

Start up Mac with all USB devices disconnected, except for standard keyboard and mouse (if used). Run iTunes. Connect shuffle to a direct USB port on Mac. See if there is any improvement.

If it's better, add your other USB devices back (one at a time) to see if the problem recurs.

If you connect it to the Mac with iTunes NOT running, and run Disk Utility, does it appear in the sidebar as a "disk"? Also, you can run System Profiler or System Information (depending Mac OS X version). It is in Applications/Utilities/, but you can also run it from the About This Mac window. Does the shuffle appear as a device under USB?

The red light when you move the power switch to ON means very low charge in battery. That probably means the battery is not getting charged when connected. In terms of hardware, that could mean a bad USB port on Mac, a bad USB cable, or a bad connection on the shuffle. In any case, power is not getting to the battery. It might be a bad battery, but if that was the only problem, I think the shuffle would still appear in iTunes when connected. That's why asked if it appeared in Disk Utility or System Profiler/Information; if it does, the connection is working (even though iTunes does not see it for some reason).

You can make sure the USB port is working by using something else that is similar (like a USB flash drive) on the same port. If you happen to have another USB cable, you also try to rule out a bad cable.

I'm having the same problem. Will try all of the above.

Does a similar device, like a USB flash drive or iPhone/iPod or a "pocket" 2.5-inch USB hard drive that is powered off the USB port, work on that same USB port? What model Mac is it?

You are using the USB cable that came with the shuffle (or the Apple replacement part)?

If you have Disk Utility already running when you connect the shuffle, does it appear in the sidebar momentarily during the 5 or so seconds when you first connect the shuffle (wthen the indicator light is red)?

You said

when the off/on switch is halfway it gives me a solid red light on the iPod battery status light for about five seconds

What happens if you move the swtich all the way to the "shuffle" setting?

There seems to be a hardware problem. The USB port on the Mac is obviously working. Since you only have one USB cable to try, you can't rule out a faulty cable. However, that seems less likely because it does "do something" when plugged in; the red light comes on for a few seconds. The problem may be on the logic board, or something else in the shuffle.

If you have an Apple Store nearby, you can make a reservation at the Genius Bar and take it there. They can confirm the problem is in the shuffle, and not the cable. If that shuffle happens to be less than one year old, it is under warranty, so you can see about getting it replaced (if needed). Otherwise, if under warranty, you can also contact Apple's cusomter support using the Contact Us link at the bottom right corner of this window.

anyone found a way to solve this? i have the same issue with my ipod shuffle 4th gen

Make sure USB is plugged ALL THE WAY FLUSH INTO THE SHUFFLE, NO GAPS.

ok, thanks, i will try it. and any idea on how i can make the itunes to recognize the device? because my cousin connected his iphone and now the only thing showing is his device, so my ipod won't appear

the device is connected now, but the red light is on. i have no idea what that means