I have the iPod Shuffle 2nd generation, and when I plug it into my laptop and desktop, iTunes and Finder does not detect. What can I do?

Hey there!

It sounds like your iPod Shuffle is not recognized in either your Finder, or in iTunes. I would use the troubleshooting from the followng article named:

iTunes: iPod not recognized in iTunes and Mac desktop

http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1410

Start with these steps, and there are additional steps if needed in the rest of the article:

First, try the steps in the iPod Troubleshooting Assistant (choose your iPod model from the list). If you still see the issue after using the troubleshooting assistant, follow the steps in this article.

You may need to try these steps instead:

• If you're using Windows, follow these steps.
• If you have an iPod touch, follow these steps.

See if your iPod shows an exclamation point folder or sad iPod icon

If your iPod shows a folder with an exclamation point or a sad iPod icon on its screen, follow these steps.

Check your iPod cable

1. Use the cable that came with your iPod. Some third-party cables may not work with iPod.
2. Make sure that nothing is in or blocking your computer's FireWire or USB port.
3. Make sure that the cable is completely plugged in.
   Note: If you're using an iPod shuffle (4th generation), make sure that the small end of the USB cable isinserted securely in the iPod shuffle's headset jack.
4. Try another known-good FireWire or Apple 30-pin to USB Cable.

If switching cables fixes the issue, then you should replace the original cable. You can order a replacement iPod cable at the iPod Service website.

Disconnect all other USB and FireWire devices

Your Mac can power USB and FireWire devices that don't have their own power sources, but if you have too many devices connected to your computer, your Mac may not recognize your iPod. To see if this is the case:

1. Disconnect all devices from your computer's USB and FireWire ports.
2. Connect your iPod to your computer's USB or FireWire port using the cable that came with the iPod.

If your Mac recognizes your iPod, you might consider buying a powered USB or FireWire hub to connect your nonpowered devices. You can buy a hub from the Apple Store.

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.

All the best,

Sterling

I had a similar issue. I use a Mac with iTunes for my Apple devices, but neither the Mac nor iTunes would detect my 2nd generation Shuffle (I got it used). My solution was to:

1. Connect the Shuffle to a PC running Windows 7 64-bit (any version of windows should be okay),
2. Find the device in Windows Explorer
3. Reformat it as Fat32
4. Plug it into the Mac
5. iTunes immediately recognizes it and walks through the setup steps

Prior to this I had spent 3+ hours searching through the web for troubleshooting / resolution steps but none of them worked. When I attempted to use the iPod Reset Utility the Reset capability was disabled, with the message of "waiting for ipod to become ready".

If it is relevant, when the Shuffle was not being detected it was flashing an orange light repeatedly when connected to the Mac. The weird thing is even though it was not being detected by Finder, iTunes, Disk Utility, or iPod Reset Utility, it was able to charge it.

Bottomline: I was afraid to reformat the Shuffle, but it worked like magic.