If your iPod is frozen, there are a few easy methods you can use to restart your iPod. Restarting or restoring will not fix any serious iPod hardware problems, but it will fix any bugs or glitches that slow down the iPod.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: How to reset your iPod
7th Generation iPod Touch and Nano
Step 1. Press and hold the power button
If iPod Touch is working properly, the power slider appears on the screen after a few seconds. Swipe it to turn off iPod Touch. Press and hold the power button to turn on the device.
Step 2. Reboot the frozen iPod Touch
If iPod Touch freezes, force restart it; this will close all active applications.
Press and hold the Power button and Home button for 10 seconds. The Apple logo appears on the screen and the device restarts
iPod Nano 6th and 7th Generation
Step 1. Identify the 6th generation iPod Nano
The 6th generation iPod Nano is a square (not rectangular) solid screen.
Step 2. Reboot the 6th generation iPod Nano
If the 6th generation iPod Nano is frozen, press and hold the power button and volume down button for about 8 seconds. The Apple logo will appear on the screen if the device rebooted correctly. You may need to repeat these steps to restart your device.
Connect iPod Nano to a power source, or to your computer if you're having trouble rebooting the device. While iPod Nano is charging, try restarting the device
iPod with Click Wheel
Step 1. Slide the lock switch back and forth
This can quickly restore a frozen Click Wheel iPod.
Step 2. Reboot your iPod
If the lock switch does not work, force restart your iPod. To do this, press and hold the "Menu" and "Select" buttons. The Menu button is located at the top of the wheel, and the Select button is in the center of the wheel.
- Press and hold the buttons for at least 8 seconds. When the Apple logo appears on the screen, the iPod has restarted.
- You may need to repeat the forced reboot process.
- For your convenience, place your iPod on a flat surface and press the buttons with both hands.
Method 2 of 2: How to Restore iPod
Step 1. Connect your iPod to your computer
If you are unable to restart your iPod, restore it (to factory settings). Restoring your iPod will erase all data, but you can load an old backup.
Step 2. Launch iTunes
If the device does not appear in iTunes, go to recovery mode. To do this, disconnect your iPod from your computer and follow the steps in this article. If iTunes recognizes your iPod, go to the next step.
Step 3. Create a backup
Select your iPod and click "Back Up" under the "Backups" section. Settings, apps and images will be backed up; the copy will be copied to your computer. If your iPod isn't working, you may not be able to create a new backup.
Back up to your computer, not to iCloud, as iCloud backup doesn't include all of your data
Step 4. Restore iPod
Do this after creating the backup. Click "Restore iPod" to start the restore process. You will be prompted to confirm your actions.
The recovery process will take from a few minutes to an hour
Step 5. Download the backup to your device
When the restoration of the device is complete, the iPod will be like new; if you want, upload the created backup to it to restore the settings and applications. The "Welcome to a New iPod" (or similar) window will open. Click "Restore from backup", select the correct backup and click "Continue".
Advice
- Back up all your music files regularly. This way you can restore your iPod if something goes wrong.
- If you connect your iPod and you see “iPod damaged, restore it” (or similar phrase) on the screen, do not restore the device. Disconnect your iPod and try restarting it. Restoring will result in the loss of all data and you will not be able to back up your files.
- Make sure the iPod is frozen. Typically, if your iPod won't turn on, its battery is dead. Connect the device to a power source. iPod freezes if you run into problems while using the device or disconnecting and connecting it to your computer.
- None of the above methods (except iPod recovery) will destroy all information on iPod. If the iPod is damaged, you did something wrong, or the cause is a corrupted file that you copied to the iPod.