iPod Nano 7th Generation Constantly Pauses

This theory made the most sense to me, so I bought one of these:

It did not solve my problem. Even with this TRRS adapter cable, if you press on the plug it'll still pause the nano.

Not sure what to do now. Have already tried everything in this thread and was going to take it back to Apple, but those of you who say your replacements do the same thing... have me wondering if this is just something Apple isn't going to do anything about.

I too have problems with my iPod 7th generation unit constantly pausing. I reset the auto-shuffle setting which seemed to help. However, I think the problem really is in the connector for the OEM earbuds. I used some Bose earbuds and a pair of headphones and they just didn't make an adequate connection after some use. I went back to the OEM earbuds and they now don't work, i.e., the music pauses all the time. I currently have a pair of earbuds I found in the house and for the moment, they work. From this blog, this problem seems endemic to the 7th generation iPod...pretty frustrating. At my gym, people have been hearing my cursing outbursts when the unit pauses, seemingly coming from nowhere...

I figured it was likely an issue with the headphone port as well. After trying the TRRS adapter solution mentioned in earlier posts without luck, I dug up the OEM headphones with/mic that came with my iPhone 5, but they too cause it to pause if you press the jack inward. I'm going to return mine since it's under warranty. It's extremely annoying to have it pause while I'm riding my motorcycle and unable to unpause it without stopping.

I think this is a design flaw that should cause the product to be recalled.

UPDATE: After buying a Nano 7 case thinking the side controls were too sensitive, then trying a TRRS adaptor cable, and various other headphones including OEM headphones, then completely restoring to factory defaults and turning off/on all the various settings... nothing worked.

Then, on a whim... I simply blew some compressed air into the headphone jack opening. A couple pieces of lint flew out, and hoila... problem solved. 🙂

glad you found a solution 🙂. I'm sorry you bought the TRRS adaptor (because of my recommendation), but yeah you just had a different problem altogether 😉.

Well, I bought it from a place I could easily return it to. I basically, went in, bought, tried in the car, and went right back in to return. No biggy and your supposition sounded to be the most likely culprit.

I should have tried my OEM TRRS iPhone 5 headphones first. Had I done so, I could have saved myself a trip.

I've been considering switching from my Zune to an iPod, so I borrowed a friends 7th Gen Nano. I've been experiencing the same 'pause' issue. I've experienced it with a cable in my car, headphones, and Bluetooth headphones, eliminating the plug issue. I've noticed that sometimes when it pauses, if I look at the progress, it shows different stages between the beginning and end of the song. Then, when I tap the slider, it will jump to a different song, at that point in the song. Sometimes, when I skip forward to the next song, it will jump ahead several songs. I'm still new to the iPod, so I don't know if that's normal, but I'm pretty sure it's not.

I think natevl and doctor_i are on the right track with this post.

As a hobbyist who works with electronics, I have a theory that kind of lines up with what everyone is saying here, since I have the same problem.

On a side note, apple decided to be their elitist selves and they changed the layout of TRRS.

Pretty much every other manufacturer uses TRRS as Left, Right, Mic/Control, GND

Apple uses TRRS as Left, Right, GND, Mic/Control

Back on track

The control feature of apple headphones makes a direct connection between the GND and the Mic/control to perform "xyz" feature.

iPhones and other apple products seemed to have a way of telling if regular headphones are plugged in (ground and mic ports being shorted out, or at equal electrical potential), this one does not.

When the volume hits a certain threshold, the ipod mistakes the higher return to ground as a button press. This could be easily fixed by a firmware update that checks to see if the gnd and mic connections are shorted. In the meantime, you can't use a third party cord at 100% volume, because as soon as any sound goes above the threshold of 100% mic, it's read as a button push.

or : as doctor_i suggested:

What apple could do at a firmware level:

1. Decrease sensitivity to removal of the connection

2. Add a toggle in settings to turn this feature off

3. Increase the amount of time after sensing removal before the device auto-pauses, to determine if that was an erroneaous detection.

4. Detect whether or not mic and gnd are shorted and disable control through headphones if they are, since this is the primary source of the problem

Hey apple, fix this problem please!

Mine also randomly paused and/or froze. Probing the ear phone jack and power connector with a toothpick pulled out pocket lint. After a hard resart I replayed the same track that I was on before cleaning -- problem gone -- plays perfectly.

One of my friends had that problem too. So I tried restarting the ipod with the home and the power button until showed the apple logo. Then it worked soooo.... just try that

Headphone jack of Nano 7th notoriously fragile, mine lasted about 1 year, enough to be out of warranty. Repair cost in an Apple Store is 60% of a new iPod. Search eBay for (non branded) spare and repair kit, for a tenth of that price.

I have the same problem. I got the nano 7th gen two years ago and it was working great. then after the update the power/sleep button stopped working, the thing talks by itself, the volume goes up alone, tracks change, it turns on by itself and it sometimes sounds like a scratched cd. I restored the thing and nothing. mine is no longer in warranty so I'm going to have to buy a new one...

Hi all,

Informative thread.

It's been a while so I am not sure if Apple has done anything to resolve this?

I've had one of these Nano's kicking about for ages and not been using it because of this issue.

Decided to have another look today and came across this thread.

I think the explanation above regarding the layout for the connectors and the headphone jack is likely the issue.

It's weird how many of these 7th gen ones have this issue. I thought mine needed a new headphone jack socket but they can't all possibly be broken sockets.

I have tried cleaning out the socket with isopropyl and also compressed air. It didn't really help unfortunately.

The issue is definitely that the iPod's think the headphone jack is unplugged so it pauses the music (which would make it stop playing music and save battery. I notice my iPod touch does the same thing, but it actually does it when its supposed to, unlike the Nano!)

I just want to say, it seems to have helped by putting a bit of tin foil (or other conductive material) into the socket and then pushing it to the back with the headphone jack on your headphones. It's a pretty old school trick I remember from when I was young people used to do it to fix dodgy connections.

I was thinking perhaps the back of the jack needs to touch the end and it wasn't meeting up properly (because when I push and pull on the connector the audio seems to come in / out.)

You'll have to mess around getting the right amount of foil in, as putting too much in means your headphone won't 'click' into place and will fall out easy, resulting in the same issue. Worth a try. Mines working with the right amount of tin foil OK ... for now.

My ipod does the same thing. I've had it replaced four times. I've tried with 2 separate cars, 2 brand new auxiliary cables, and I've tried to replace the all the songs that stop working, all to no avail. Taking it back to the Apple store this time, all the "genius" did was tell me that I was crazy, that there wasn't ANYTHING wrong with the ipod and that he couldn't do anything for me. I listen to the darn thing in my car. It stops working EVERY time. I can't get through a single song. But I'm the crazy one.

I'm incredibly disappointed in Apple. We used Apple products because of their service and their innovative technology. Now, they're putting their hands up and essentially telling me and others like me, "oh well, we already took your money, who cares if your product is garbage?"

Very, very disappointing.

I've had mine for almost a year and did not encounter any problem until I used the same headphones while I exercise (with my old Classic) - it was just dirty. Wow - did I reply too soon? The song is already passed the 2nd verse with no pausing!!!