I purchased a 40gb (non-photo with click wheel) ipod a little over a year ago. About 10 months into ownership, it froze and the "sad ipod" icon appeared. After much discussion the apple service people and reviewing the support suggestions on the web site, it had to be sent in for repairs. I received what looked like a brand new 40gb. The same thing happened 2 months later and I just sent it back for service (luckily, I have the extended warranty). I keep asking Apple if this particular ipod has a manufacturing flaw. Their obvious response is "NO". Does anyone have any insight?
I don't have much of an insight into it, but what I can say is that you should just ask for your money back. You paid good money for that and it should be expected to serve it's purpose. On a last note, ipod's don't seem to be built to last...ie batterys are known to last around a year before failing....lots of bugs in all the products.....scratches easily etc. If you want something more reliable, you should look at archos/iriver or the like.
my 40gb ipod freezes a little more often than i'd like it to, but it usually returns to normal with a simple reboot..
Yea, It's not fair on the consumer really....how long have you had your iPod? How often does it happen?
You're certainly not alone. I have the same model. It died after just over a year. The battery would no longer hold its charge. Worked fine off the mains and PC. I must have charged it less than ten times...and I think that is the problem. You need to keep this thing charging regularly. I had extended AppleCare so I just got a new one. This one is permanently hooked to my PC now. Let's see what happens. It's really not right though - I have plenty of other devices that are left alone for long periods of time. Doesn't seem to be a problem with their batteries at all. It really lets the iPod down. I won't get another when it (inevitably) dies again.
I had the same problem, first experienced today. After reading loads of "you're doomed" posts on the net, I decided I would take matters into my own hands. My iPod is second hand and has no warranty, and I've already recently replaced the battery a few months ago for a meagre £9.00 so I might as well play about with it. So my solution was to grab a steak knife, shove it down the iPod's facing-right side and lift the cover off. Immediately I hear the HD spin up succesfully. Maybe the HD cable or battery cable was constricted but I didn't even do anything! So try this first before launching your iPod across the office or dropping it - which really CAN help "knock" the hard drive back into order! Try at your own risk! Woo.
Hehe, Is that like when you bang the telly top to get it working again? LOL, thanks for sharing, though I feel your's may be a one off situation!
Oh I dunno, you should give it a go! Use a soft plastic tool to dismantly your iPod - its not that difficult. You just have to get down the side quite deeply. Well, it's better than sending it off for repair, in my opinion!
But then again, opening your ipod voids you warranty, so be careful if you do have warranty and you end up in this situation
Interesting but I don't think that would have helped me. My iPod worked perfectly off the mains or when connected via firewire. As soon as I picked it off the dock - all went blank and it could not be woken. Putting back on the mains/PC made it wake again. So, I still had all my music...except not in portable mode.
