⟐ Answered Ağustos 11, 2026 at 2:31 GMT-7

⟐ Answered Ağustos 11, 2026 at 2:22 GMT-7

Billy Blanchard

Thousand Oaks, Ca.

⟐ Answered Ağustos 11, 2026 at 2:13 GMT-7

My 3rd gen. iPod 10 GB with the 4 buttons above with touch wheel won't start up at all. I've tried to hit the play button then the center wheel button alternately but it just won't turn on. (The Hold switch is not on.)

Can anyone help? I miss my music!

⟐ Commented Ağustos 11, 2026 at 2:03 GMT-7

With so many USB car chargers available that make it easy to carry USB-charge-able devices, carrying a 3rd-gen iPod that solely charges via Firewire is truly a pain in the neck.

I have 2 car charge ports in our vehicle, one is usually occupied by the GPS, the other one rotates between when my wife wants to charge her iPhone with the 2-port USB charger, and when I want to charge the iPod 3rd-gen with the Firewire charger. Even though the iPod 3rd-gen charges solely through Firewire, it would be much more convenient if both devices could both share the USB charger with 2 ports.

I found a hack on the Instructables site that someone posted to modify a USB charger to charge a 3rd-gen iPad Nano, (http://www.instructables.com/id/Modify-a...), though I suspect it would work the same way for a regular 3rd-gen iPod. This however, doesn't completely solve my question, it only keeps a dedicated charger for the iPod and doesn't make it flexible enough to use a "regular" USB car charger that might have 2 ports.

Everyone I've spoken to doesn't have any suggestions since it requires a Firewire charge, so they suggest ditching a perfectly good working 40GB iPod for something newer. I refuse to give up a functioning device I paid close to $400 many years ago. What can I do to make this device work with a USB charger ?

⟐ Answer edited Ağustos 11, 2026 at 6:14 GMT-7

So I recently bought a 3rd Gen 8GB iPod Nano from my local E-waste store, and was described to have a bad battery. When I first tried to charge it, it would just boot-loop. But just recently, it finally managed to get into the main iPodOS, but would shut off as soon as it would be disconnected from the charger or laptop/desktop. Is this a case of a bad battery, a bad battery connection, or a corrupt storage drive? I am already going to try to restore the iPod to see if that made a difference, but if that doesn't work, would it be the two other problems, or something more?

Many thanks,

T

⟐ Answer accepted Ağustos 08, 2026 at 7:27 GMT-7

⟐ Answer edited Ağustos 07, 2026 at 2:17 GMT-7

it charges but do not play on

⟐ Commented Ağustos 01, 2026 at 7:34 GMT-7

⟐ Answered Temmuz 31, 2026 at 8:45 GMT-7

Here’s what’s happening:

• If it’s unplugged, it does absolutely nothing and won’t power on.
• If it’s connected to a wall charger, it immediately starts boot looping (Apple logo for about 5 seconds, black screen for about 3 seconds, then repeats indefinitely).
• The moment I unplug it, it shuts off immediately.
• I replaced the battery with a brand new iFixit battery, but the behavior didn’t change.
• The iPod can enter Recovery Mode and DFU Mode, and my computer recognizes it.
• However, when I try to Update or Restore it using Apple Devices, iTunes, or 3uTools, the instant I click Update/Restore, the iPod exits Recovery Mode, goes black, and then shows the low battery screen. It never gets to the Apple logo with the progress bar.

Has anyone experienced this before or know what hardware issue could cause these symptoms? I’m hoping to repair the iPod without losing the data if possible, so I’d like to avoid restoring it unless absolutely necessary.

⟐ Commented Temmuz 29, 2026 at 21:10 GMT-7

⟐ Commented Temmuz 28, 2026 at 21:32 GMT-7

When unplugged the battery holds charge quite well, and when plugged in it will immediately show a full battery icon with a lightning bolt inside of it. When in the diagnostics tool, the battery reads as 3.779V and the charging value as 100mA. It has undergone a factory wipe, and is detected by my PC with no issues.

I'm at my wits end here, any advice?

So my dad found has other old Zune and it’s works and I just restarted it and it went to a grey screen after the Zune logo I don’t here any hard drive falling sounds is it a software glitch? And I promised my brother to not open it up and whoa I forgot one major thing I forgot to say before I rebooted the Zune the battery was low and i also played a song goes black it goes back on after I plug it in and it says song unavailable and the battery is low and

⟐ Commented Temmuz 22, 2026 at 7:04 GMT-7

⟐ Commented Temmuz 17, 2026 at 13:53 GMT-7

I opened it and checked the belt and it’s pretty tight. The person I bought it from said he changed the belts fairly recently, but I don’t know if it is the exact belt for this Walkman. I also cleaned off the capstans, pinch rollers, and playback head with 91% isopropyl alcohol and q-tips. I gave the whole device a wipe down with alcohol and q-tips. I am using the Energizer rechargeable lithium AA batteries in it, but tried it with fresh, normal AA batteries and experience the same thing.

I looked at the pinch rollers and they seem ok, but may need replacing. They are fairly matte and slightly tacky, but do look a little dry. The capstans don’t spin freely/by hand, as I saw that may be an issue if they do.

I also saw something about adjusting the azimuth screw to the left of the tape head, but I’m not sure.

⟐ Commented Temmuz 16, 2026 at 0:36 GMT-7

⟐ Commented Temmuz 11, 2026 at 19:28 GMT-7

⟐ Answer edited Temmuz 11, 2026 at 5:29 GMT-7