I deleted a song I didn't want on my i-pod and all my songs disappeared. Help!

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I deleted a song I didn't want on my i-pod and all my songs disappeared. Help!

I decided to delete a song I didn't want, so I deleted first on my iTunes playlist, and then on my i-Pod. Then my i-pod showed No Content. I looked at my device on iTunes and while all the songs still display, when I click on a song, an exclamation mark displays. How did they all get deleted and can I get the songs back? I've deleted songs countless times before and this never happened! And doesn't backing up your -i-Pod save songs as well? I did one on 3/26, but when I tried to restore, the songs still weren't there. So what's the point of backing up? i-Pod model is MC008LL, version 5.5.1. I had over 500 songs on this device. Help!

iPod touch (3rd generation), iOS 5.1.1

Posted on Mar 31, 2015 6:51 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Apr 1, 2015 2:11 AM in response to scifidi

The iPod backup that iTunes makes does not include any synced media like apps and music.

The ! indicates that the actual music file can't be found.

Get playable songs into your iTunes library and then:

- Unsync/delete all music and resync

To delete all music go to Settings>General>Usage>Storage>Manage Storage>Music>Tap edit in upper right and then tap the minus sign by All Music

- Reset all settings

Go to Settings > General > Reset and tap Reset All Settings.

All your preferences and settings are reset. Information (such as contacts and calendars) and media (such as songs and videos) aren’t affected.

- Restore from backup. See:

iOS: Back up and restore your iOS device with iCloud or iTunes

- Restore to factory settings/new iOS device.

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Answer 2

scifidi Author

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Apr 1, 2015 8:12 AM in response to lllaass

I think I'm in trouble. My i-Tunes playlist is also displaying ⚠ marks. I guess this means everything is gone? There's nothing playable. I still don't know how this happened. I deleted one song. I've done this a thousand times and never encountered this problem. I started using i-Cloud backup to save space on my MacBook Air, but I guess backing up to my computer or on an external hard drive is the only solution? There should be some kind of extra security steps to prevent this kind of thing from happening. I had over 500 songs saved, and from what I've been seeing, I'm not the only person who's had this issue of songs vanishing.

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Answer 3

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Apr 1, 2015 8:26 AM in response to scifidi

You can redownload most iTunes purchases by:

Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store

Also see:

iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads

Other users have reported problems with media being deleted from the iPod but no from iTunes on the computer

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Answer 4

Apr 1, 2015 9:19 AM in response to scifidi

Same thing just happened to me! I had 9 audiobooks on my iPod, they all showed up when I hooked the iPod up to iTunes, I deleted 3 chapters, and now ALL of the audiobooks (and a lot of music as well) have exclamation points next to the names in iTunes, and have totally disappeared from my iPod. ***.

I get it that I can redownload the stuff from iTunes. I want to know (1) how my stuff just went 'POOF' and (2) how to avoid this happening in the future!!!???

Thank you.

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Answer 5

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Apr 1, 2015 9:24 AM in response to ceciliafrompennsauken

You said

I get it that I can redownload the stuff from iTunes

However, note that this

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201272

says

Audiobooks, ringtones, and tones

If you made a backup of these items on your Mac or PC, you can sync the items to your iOS device. You can't download these items again from iTunes in the Cloud.

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Answer 6

Apr 1, 2015 9:28 AM in response to lllaass

I know I can't do it from the cloud, I will have to wait until I get home and re-load iPod from home computer (I don't have sharing turned on at work)

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Answer 7

scifidi Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 1, 2015 9:36 AM in response to ceciliafrompennsauken

My mistake was to stop backing up my i-Pod to my computer and using i-Cloud. Why is this offered as a backup option if it doesn't back it up? How else is "important information" defined?

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