My ipod touch 4th gen won't charge while on, but charges while dead.

While its dead I plug in my ipod and it will show the charging screen for about 5-8 seconds then powers up. When it powers up it does not recognize that it is charging. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the charger as it works on other ipods. Theres nothing abnormal about the ipods charging dock either. I have tried forcing restarts (holding the home and power button at the same time). Ive tried resetting the ipods settings. The only thing I can think of is a full factory reset but I would like to avoid the trouble if I can.Has anyone found a fix for this yet? If anyone also has answers as to why this is happening I would like to know as well.

NOTE. I don't have money to take it in to apple or any other place so that is not an option

iPod touch, iOS 6.1.6, 4th generation

Posted on May 16, 2014 3:30 PM

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7 replies

May 16, 2014 7:44 PM in response to PaCkINhEaT920

Hey PaCklNhEaT920, Your theory about the battery , not so much with Li-ion batteries, the type used in iPods, memory is not as much of an issue as with the old Ni-Cad batteries. But you should cycle the Li-ion batteries at least once every 30 days. It is possible to have 2 faulty cables, especially the lighting cables, (iPod 5), they are not as robust as the older 30 pin style. Did you inspect the charging port for any foreign debris? Lint jammed in the port can cause a bad connection. Use a magnifying glass and strong light to look in the port you should see the gold pins on one side and two silver bumps one on each end. The bottom and sides of the port should be one color, a dark brown or black. If it appears gray, it may be lint or other gunk in the port. Try to carefully remove it by blowing it out, or using a soft artist brush last resort try a wooden bound toothpick, be careful NOT to touch the gold pins in the middle, bent or break one and will have to replace the port and/or iPod. Also sometimes allowing the battery to completely drain will reset and sometimes resetting the iPod or Restoring to New can help. Just make sure your save, make backups of everything on your iPod to your computer before you attempt to Restore or it will be lost to you. Hope this help. Good luck, Cheers.

May 16, 2014 3:45 PM in response to lllaass

Sorry for any mispellings, Keyboard i have is broke. Everythings free and clear on the dock connecter. I bought a case for my ipod that keeps all foreign materials out of the charger port. So nothing can get in I.e pocket lint. I've tried various different wall outlets, and I've plugged it in to my comp which is all usb 2.0. If the genius bar costs money I cannot make an appointment, money is extremely tight right now. Any other ideas?

May 16, 2014 3:36 PM in response to PaCkINhEaT920

Not Charge

- See:

iPod touch: Hardware troubleshooting

iPhone and iPod touch: Charging the battery

- Try another cable. The cable for 5G iPod (lightning connector) seems to be more prone to failure than the older cable.

- If a 5G iPod

Iphone 5 lightning port charging problem - SOLUTION!

- Try another charging source

- Inspect the dock connector on the iPod for bent or missing contacts, foreign material, corroded contacts, broken, missing or cracked plastic.

- Make an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store.

Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar

May 16, 2014 4:21 PM in response to lllaass

I dont know if this will mean anything or help shed some light, but before the problem started occuring I kept hitting the power button when it was dead but still showing the needs to charge screen in an effort to completely drain the battery. I did so because charging when its totally dead to the point of it not showing anything is supposed to extend the battery life.

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My ipod touch 4th gen won't charge while on, but charges while dead.

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