My iPod shuffle stops playing after a few songs, then it won't start again.

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Level 1

2 points

My iPod shuffle stops playing after a few songs, then it won't start again.

My iPod shuffle will stop playing after a few songs which is very frustrating while out walking. I end up having to shut it off for about a minute or two and then turn it back on. Sometimes it will start playing again, but it will start playing the same songs over again. I can't go forward or go back. When I try to skip a song, all I get is dead air. I took it back to an Apple store and they replaced it free of charge; which I thought was great... that is until the new iPod started doing the exact same thing. I've downloaded songs from the iTunes store as well as songs off of my personal CD's. I've tried deleting all the songs and re-installing them... nothing seems to solve this problem. I know it only costs $50; but if Apple can't get a $50 item to work; why in the world would I want to invest more money in an Apple product? It's a good thing this was a gift.... I'm just not happy with this product and there doesn't seem to be a good explanation for this.

iPod shuffle (4th generation)

Posted on May 12, 2013 7:38 AM

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Answer 1

Aug 6, 2017 6:26 AM in response to Tiny Rose

RESOLVED.

I had the same issue for my apple shuffle. A simple trick that solved whole issue.

1. connect the shuffle in computer.

2. right click the ipod > propoerties > tools tab > error checking - check now> ( only tick this 'Scan for and attempt recover of bad sectors' ).

2. right click the ipod > properties > tools tab > defragment now > (select ipod) > Defragment disk.

Wait till to complete. All done. Thank me now !! 🙂

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Answer 2

Lubqa

Level 1

4 points

Aug 9, 2017 6:01 PM in response to Tiny Rose

Hello, so I have 4 gen iPod Shuffle and it also stops playback after few seconds...I've tried restoring iPod, added just three songs to test (they played okay previously)....re-synced....scanned device for possible errors....nothing worked.

This started to happen to me after I lastly unplugged Shuffle from the Mac and cannot get it back to work properly.....using the same headphones....added just three songs which played okay previously just to test and it still stops playback after a few secs....
What else I should do??

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Answer 3

Aug 11, 2017 9:43 PM in response to Tiny Rose

HAVE you done this !! !?

I had the same issue for my apple shuffle. A simple trick that solved whole issue.

1. connect the shuffle in computer.

2. right click the ipod > propoerties > tools tab > error checking - check now> ( only tick this 'Scan for and attempt recover of bad sectors' ).

2. right click the ipod > properties > tools tab > defragment now > (select ipod) > Defragment disk.

Wait till to complete. All done. Thank me now !! :

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Answer 4

May 12, 2013 11:34 AM in response to Tiny Rose

Does the headphones you are using have remote control buttons on the cord? If so, are they an older type, like from the 3rd gen shuffle or from an older iPhone?

Does this problem occur if you try using a different set of headphones (any type) without remote control buttons?

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Answer 5

Tiny Rose Author

Level 1

2 points

May 12, 2013 5:33 PM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

No, there aren't any control buttons on the headphone's cord... these headphones came with the iPod (4th generation). Wish it was that easy to solve. Thanks!

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Answer 6

May 12, 2013 5:40 PM in response to Tiny Rose

Still, if you have another set of headphone (any type), try using them to see of the problem goes away, especially if the headphones you are using now are the same as headphones used with the first shuffle that was replaced. There could be some sort of short circuit along the cord, that sporadically manifests as the cord is flexed. The key to trouble-shooting is to rule out one possible cause at a time, until there is one remaining possibility. Might as well rule out the headphones.

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Answer 7

Tiny Rose Author

Level 1

2 points

May 12, 2013 6:17 PM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

I was hopeful... I used a pair that you can purchase on an airplane and turned on the iPod. It started in the middle of an Adele song and it stopped working when the song was over... didn't even get an entire song. I agree with your train of thought... rule out possible causes one at a time. Thanks again!

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Answer 8

May 12, 2013 10:00 PM in response to Tiny Rose

You did not mention doing a Restore on the shuffle. Did you try that? That would rule out two possibilities, if the problem recurs. A software problem on the iPod and a data corruption issue on the iPod. A software problem can make the iPod not operate properly, and a data corruption issue can cause songs files to not be stored properly. Both may effect playback.

The Restore button is on the shuffle's Summary screen in iTunes. Doing a Restore erases the shuffle's storage (to remove data corruption if it exists) and re-installs its software. The shuffle gets a fresh start.

After the Restore, I would load a small number of songs back on the shuffle, to see if the problem recurs.

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Answer 9

Tiny Rose Author

Level 1

2 points

May 13, 2013 4:54 PM in response to Tiny Rose

I am willing to try anything at this point. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the summary screen you mentioned. My iPod is connected to my computer and all I see is the list of songs. Apparently I'm not on the screen you are suggesting.

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Answer 10

May 13, 2013 4:58 PM in response to Tiny Rose

The latest iTunes may hide the sidebar. If you don't see the sidebar along the left side of the window, from the menu bar, under View, select Show Sidebar.

Your shuffle should be listed under DEVICES in the sidebar. Select it there. Over to the right is the shuffle's Summary screen.

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Answer 11

Tiny Rose Author

Level 1

2 points

May 13, 2013 5:24 PM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

I don't know how I did it, but I found it. And yes, the latest iTunes hides the sidebar because I remember it being along the left hand side prior to my 'updating' iTunes. Also, these's a new icon for the summary screen... located near the top and towards the right side of the screen... and like I said, I stumbled on it. So I Restored my iPod like you suggested and then it took me about 10 minutes to figure out how to download some songs. Also, the songs I selected to put back on my iPod are all 'singles' that I purchased from the iTunes store. My feeling is that there's a glitch between my entire downloaded albums (personal CDs) and the singles that I purchased.

Thanks for your help so far. I'll continue to add songs slowly, from my library, to see if I can figure out what the issue is. As long as I can listen to music while out walking is what I care about.

Thanks again!! 🙂

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Answer 12

Jan 22, 2014 1:26 PM in response to Tiny Rose

Tiny Rose,

Did this solution work?

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Answer 13

Sep 3, 2014 7:50 PM in response to Tiny Rose

I Just ran into the same issue:

My iPod shuffle 4th gen would just stop playing, and I had to turn it off, wait 10 secs and the turn it back on.

Then it would get stuck at the same place.

I Even exchanged the iPod for a new one since I had just bought it.

re-synced my playlist and same issue!

did a restore as described above - same issue.

Solution in my case:

one of the songs in my playlist seems was "corrupt". Even trying to play the song in iTunes on the PC did not work, kept getting the message "This computer is not authorized ....", even though the computer is authorized.

So somehow that song being on the shuffle crashes it.

After I removed that song from the playlist and synced again, the problem was resolved!

So try to play all the songs that you want to sync to your shuffle on your computer, maybe you have one song that was not downloaded properly or is otherwise corrupt.

- Deleted the song from the local library

- re-downloaded the song from iTunes store

- now it was playing fine on the PC in iTunes

- re-added it to the playlist, re-synced iPod shuffle

all is working fine now, shuffle no longer freezes.

hope that helps someone else....

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