My iPod won't shut off. Holding down the Play button does nothing. It just won't turn off. A quick Google reveals that this isn't exactly a new thing, and comes up with several articles that explain how to fix it: reboot the thing.
How do you reboot an iPod? Well, Apple has the answer. Toggle the Hold switch to Hold and then back off again, and then hold down Menu and Select (the center button) for six to ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears. The Apple logo displays while the iPod is booting.
That fixed it. Yay.
You can tell if your iPod won't turn off (beyond the obvious "why the frak won't holding Play shut it off?!") when it remains at the menu after being docked with iTunes - assuming Disk Mode isn't active.
Update: Making sure to remove the headphones before rebooting it. There may be a really loud "snapping" sound as it reboots. Ow.
Update 2009-11-12: Should it ever come up, you can reboot the iPhone/iPod Touch by pressing and holding the Home and Lock buttons for 5-10 seconds. I haven't had these refuse to shut off (mainly because they never shut off, instead they suspend) but I have managed to crash my iPhone.
Rebooting
Does rebooting effect the music on the IPod? will i lose the music i have if i reboot my IPod?
In reply to Rebooting by Anonymous (not verified)
Your music will be fine
Your music will be fine. You might lose play counts and things like that, but your music will be fine.
And I apologize for being horrible at publishing comments.
No my I-Pod!!!
Thanks started to panic to was like great there goes 250 bucks. This really helped out but took me two trys to get it to turn off. Thanks man!!!
In reply to No my I-Pod!!! by Anonymous (not verified)
ipod Turns off but will not stay off - automatically bk on
I have tried all of the tips listed so far: rebooting / resetting (using menu etc), using sleep option, holding down menu and then turning off....and so far none of them worked. My ipod will turn off but literally for only a couple of seconds and then automatically turns back on. All of the above options have same effect - literally it stays off for a few seconds. Even if I switch to hold - it turns back on whenever it feels like it. Sometimes it stays off for a few minutes and sometimes it turns straight back on. Does anyone have any other tips in addition to the others I have read on the site?
Thank you
Thanks!! I googled and your answer was the first on the list--and it worked like a charm. Thought I was going to have to bag this ipod. whew.
Another Way to Turn Off iPod
Hey,
I had the same problem. I realized that if you plug-in your iPod to your computer, and then remove it, it will turn off by holding down the play button.
A bit annoying, but it's better than buying a new iPod,
Kevin
Whoohoo
It works, as everyone else has said lol
CHEERS!!!
Thank you!
You saved my ipod! Like everyone else said, you are the first Google result for "ipod won't turn off" -- thank you so much!! I can't live without my ipod, 60 gig video, 3 1/2 years old now.
iPod Won't Turn Off
Thanks! Worked like a charm!
It turns OFF!
Out of all the "bugs" my iPod has had over the years, this is the 1st quick fix that works and doesn't dump my files.
Muchos gracias!
This worked like a charm, which is great! I was trying to get my iPod in working order for a long flight to California and back from the snowy Midwest! Now I can listen to my media files and shut the iPod off when I'm done to conserve battery life. God bless you!
David
My iPod Wont' Turn Off
Thank you for having these instructions. There are some things that are great about the iPod, but the bloody thing won't turn off all the time. Thanks!
Thank you Sooo much=)
i love my ipod sooo much and this is the first time it ever froze...i was soo scared that i would have to toss it but thanks to this i didnt thank you sooo much=) and omg why r u guys down the bottom on here arguin that is retarted this is supposed to be help for the users of ipods grow up a little gosh if u cant leave a nice comment then dont comment at all!!
please and thank you=)
Thanks tons for the help!
Thank you so much for this information! I had left my ipod connected to my PC and when I came back, the screen was all white and the ipod wouldn't turn off. I was so terrified that it had died! I tried using Apple's help site for info, but it didn't have anything that I could find. Thanks again so much for having this info available!
Thanx
Man I was so scared because I use my ipod for everything and I would have hated to by a new one.. so thanx to whoever thought of this...
IT IS STILL NOT WORKING!!!!!
I tried wat said bt its still nt wrkin its frozen........n' if my parents know abt this they're gonna give me a big lecture n they probly wont even bother buying me a new one....so plz cn u c if there is an other way 2 reboot it :(
In reply to IT IS STILL NOT WORKING!!!!! by Anonymous (not verified)
Uh...
First off, I'm not exactly an iPod expert. I just happened to write this blog post because it took me ages to find the answer on the Apple website, and from comments here, it would seem other people had the same problem.
When you try and reboot an iPod, be sure your fingers are just on the two buttons mentioned and that you've got it unlocked. It can be easy to accidentally slide over and press another button. You need to make sure you're continuously pressing the buttons. The easiest way to do this is to place the iPod on a flat surface and press them with two fingers.
If you can't get that to work, allowing the battery to discharge enough will force the iPod to reboot the next time you hook it up to your computer.
In reply to IT IS STILL NOT WORKING!!!!! by Anonymous (not verified)
Problem Identified
I can tell you exactly what your problem is.
It appears that half of the letters from your post have fallen out. These have probably got jammed inside your iPod, causing a short circuit. This has caused the power relay to get stuck on and preventing it from turning off.
Try getting all of those letters back into your post, and then it should work fine.
In reply to IT IS STILL NOT WORKING!!!!! by Anonymous (not verified)
Ipod shut down
im not really sure if im too late to say this but when i noticed u were still having trouble turning ur ipod off u just need to double tap off button then hold on 2nd time then do same to the sqaure(menu) button then keep it like that until the apple appears
THANX!
Oh, thank you soooo much! I was about to have a fit. When I'm bored I especially "need" my iPod to function!!
Merry Christmas
Thanks!
Thanks! that worked perfectly!
My Ipod finally turned off!
Thank you soooo much! Finally it will turn off!! :)
IT WORKED
OMG.... THNKZ SO MUCH I USE TO JUST LEAVE IT ON UNTILL IT DIED BUT NOT ANYMORE THNKZ..
THANKS!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! IT WORKS! MY IPOD TURNED OFF FINALLY!!!! YAYAYAYAY!
um.. help?!
okay, ive done the whole rebooting thing which worked fine. but it basically just restarted and it still has the same problem, the battery ends up running down an eight before i can switch the damn thing off, even after rebooting it :( help please??
Thank you!
Thank you *sooooo* much! I tried searching the problem a while back and couldn't find a solution. Your instructions worked perfectly...no wonder you're #1 in the google search now!
iPod
Thank you sooooooo much for the directions on how to reboot an iPod. The stupid thing would NOT shut off and I was about to just throw it out the window and let it bleed to death...thanks!
Doesn't work!
Dude, that hardly works. My friends, my brother and I all have this problem with our iPods. Rebooting it doesn't work for any of us, unless we've rebooted it like 6 times, but by that time pressing and holding the play button would have already turned if off.
Ahhhh it finally turned off!
Thank you so muchh!! I was freaking out because i thought that my ipod would stop working on me!:)
Yeah, it does work
Just walked through this process and it worked like a charm. Not sure what you and your uncles best friends cousins teachers friends do....but it worked for me.
Ipod wont switch off.... Even when its off!!!
Mine has been reset, but for some reason when it looks off, and has no sound coming from it, its still draining battery life!!
Can anyone tell me if they have had the same problem..
In reply to Ipod wont switch off.... Even when its off!!! by Anonymous (not verified)
help me, pleaseee, since this worked for you....?????
uhhmm, what button is the hold button???
cause i just got my new ITOUCH, that can takes pics, record vids. yesterday night. cause my old one, got cracked. and it won't turn off, or MY SIDE SOUND buttins won't work.. i tried, reseting it,everything, but it still won't work D':
My Ipod want turn off and resetting and rebooting want work
My Ipod (Ipod classic, 30mGB) want trun off even after resetting and reformatting. Everytime I trun it off the screen will go blank and then in a sadowed picture in the screen is a green battery with a plug in the middle. The ipod works fine when in use but when I go to turn it off it does this and will stay like that untill it runs out of power and then I have to recharge it all over again. CAN ANYONE HELP
My IPod still want work
My Ipod (Ipod classic, 30mGB) want trun off even after resetting and reformatting. Everytime I trun it off the screen will go blank and then in a sadowed picture in the screen is a green battery with a plug in the middle. The ipod works fine when in use but when I go to turn it off it does this and will stay like that untill it runs out of power and then I have to recharge it all over again. CAN ANYONE HELP
Help!
My IPod won't shut off, but the hold button won't work. I can get it to unlock?! Any ideas?
Music again
Cheers mate... absolute legend! I was calling the ipod absolutely everything under the sun, with your advice it was brand new again in a matter of seconds.
Ipod cannot turn off
What do you do when all the good advice does not work, i.e. turn hold buttom on and off, and press menu and center buttom at the same time? The ipod does reboot, but the problem does not go away?
In reply to Ipod cannot turn off by Steen (not verified)
Bug Apple?
I dunno, try calling Apple?
I suppose you could also try restoring the iPod from within iTunes if rebooting doesn't help.
Thanks!
Wow! Thanks. Simple fix to what's been a nagging problem.
Your answer
That fixed it, yay! Thank you. I wonder why I had to search Google for help, and why the official iPod Help couldn't post such an easy answer and fix for my problem!
Another trick
This worked for me when holding the select and menu buttons did not work.
Toggle the Hold switch on and off. (Slide it to Hold, then turn it off again.)
Press and hold the Play/Pause and Menu buttons until the Apple/iPod logo appears, about 6 to 10 seconds. You may need to repeat this step.
And another method...
If all else fails, try different combinations. What worked for me was holding SELECT and MENU button in...
In reply to And another method... by Anonymous (not verified)
THANK YOU!
I never would have thought to try different combos of buttons so thank you so very much. The OP was so thoughtful to post the "fix" and you were great to add to it, for those of us that the first fix did NOT help. The Ipod I have is a "return" to me from my daughter who wanted, just HAD to have, the first 60 gig video Ipod in White... only to change her mind a year later and wanted it in black. LOL and I LOVE this Ipod so much, with my lil white IDog... OH techie things are so much fun. And Goodness I NEED music in my life always.
Cheers
you're a life saver! thank you! i really did not want to send my ipod in for a service. simple fix... :)
ipod won't turn off
Thanks a lot people, brilliant, was worried for a while there!
A big thank you for the information
To Xenoveritas,
You wont believe how thankful i am for you post on the ipod not turning off. YOu are a real life saver. I just bought a new ipod 160gb and had downloaded up to about 5000$ of songs only to see that the ipod would not turn off or get recoginised by the system...
Thankfully this help out and all the data to my suprise was not lost..
Again you turned out to be a life saver...
Thanks
kevin
Can't be on the menu
If you can't get your iPod to turn off even after rebooting, try playing a couple songs first, then try turning it off.
I didn't know you couldn't turn it off when the menu is active... play a song, hold play, boom, shuts off.
In reply to Can't be on the menu by Anonymous (not verified)
Can't be on the menu
I have an older ipod that this has happened with a few times over the years. Never knew how I got it to shut down; just finally did. I just did what you recommended and it shut down. I know this is an old thread but Thanks.
In reply to Can't be on the menu by Anonymous (not verified)
Thanks for this!
Mine wouldn't shut off after reset, but playing the song and then holding down play/pause did the trick. I appreciate the help!
Thanks!
Thank you so much! I bought a nano "as-is" knowing it sometimes doesn't turn off, which turned out to be never turns off, which drains the battery overnight. Now it's usable :D