iPod Shuffle Broken straight out the box!

Tommy B · 14 Feb 2007 at 00:36

I bought an iPod shuffle from Currys today, and the first message I get in iTunes is "Tommy's iPod cannot be updated: The disk cannot be read from or written to."

Funny how the ******* thing is absolutely fine via My Computer; files copy and get deleted fine.

I can't afford to waste £50. I seriously hope Currys will take it back or replace it because I am seriously ****** off atm.

/Rant

(sorry I'm a bit upset)

Tommy B · 14 Feb 2007 at 00:37

Same message if I try and restore it via iTunes too.

Tommy B · 14 Feb 2007 at 00:44

That's precisely why I bought it! Running, jogging, gym etc

I think I've fixed it. I had to manually format it via My Computer and it seems to have worked.

Still, I don't expect a product to not work out the box. I bought it this afternoon but I've been out and only just got a chance to open the box and try it out.

Thanks anyway

Tommy B · 14 Feb 2007 at 00:52

****

Synced a few songs. It worked fine.

Plugged it back into iTunes, and the same message again.

Now i've got the god damn hassle of returning it to Currys.

Tommy B · 14 Feb 2007 at 00:55

A few observations:

1) When in the dock, the orange LED flashes every second. Is this normal?

2) All the folders/files in the iPod drive (via My Computer) are both hidden and read only. If I try and unselect the read-only, it reverts back each time. Is this normal?

Thanks to any help/suggestions!

EDIT: OK, it's working again now. This is ridiculous though!

EDIT: Nope, no it's not.

Tommy B · 14 Feb 2007 at 01:03

Well I'd love to say it's great, but it's crap.

Do I need to be prepared for hell from Currys or will they take it back no questions asked?

Tommy B · 14 Feb 2007 at 01:08

One last question. When you attach it to the PC, should the shuffle unit be ON or OFF?

Tommy B · 14 Feb 2007 at 01:19

I am absolutely furious.

Warranty info

Every iPod comes with complimentary, single-incident telephone support within 90 days of purchase — perfect for questions about using your iPod for the first time.

Your iPod, its rechargeable battery, and all included accessories are also covered against defects for a full year from the purchase date by a limited hardware warranty. If you do experience problems, even the process to get service is simple and easy. Just call our support line.

WHAT SUPPORT LINE?

It's not on your website, and if it is you've done a damn good job of hiding it.

Tommy B · 14 Feb 2007 at 01:32

Am I legally obliged to demand a refund if I take this back to Currys tomorrow as it is strictly a "faulty" good, or are they going to dig this misery even deeper and force me to take part in some crap returns or replacement procedure?

After rigorous testing I've concluded that it is broken. If I format it, it works fine. The second time I plug it in however it is back to square one, and iTunes doesn't work.

Tommy B · 14 Feb 2007 at 09:58

Took it back this morning. Nice bloke, really helpful.

They didn't have any more in stock. Whilst I've had a bad experience I'm tempted to go for it anyway because it was really neat for the few minutes it worked.

Tommy B · 14 Feb 2007 at 11:23

I'm going to Bluewater later so I'll probably pick one up. Correction, I'll probably end up buying 2 of them :rolleyes:

Tommy B · 14 Feb 2007 at 17:48

On the verge of ******* crying. Bought another one and EXACTLY the same problem.

Tommy B · 14 Feb 2007 at 18:37

OK. I've worked it out, but I've no idea wtf to do now and Apple's tech support is truly awful.

For some reason, iTunes disconnects the iPod seconds after I plug it in. It started doing this with my iPod video too, although because of the nature of how that syncs it is fine.

I need to prevent iTunes from disconnecting it prematurely, because the millisecond I plug it in it goes "iPod update is complete, ready to disconnect."

Tommy B · 15 Feb 2007 at 00:30

Hi,

That's pretty much exactly what I did. I figured out that I had to somehow stop iTunes from automatically disconnecting the shuffle, and the only way to do that was to enable disk use. Although you can't do that unless the iPod is plugged in, so I had to format it so iTunes would think it is brand new. Thanks though.

Worryingly however, that is two people who have had the same problem. You and I are probably quite computer literate and thus we managed to figure it out, but wtf is a normal consumer supposed to do. Apple don't acknowledge this problem on their website either.

Apple better release an update otherwise a lot of shuffles are going back on the shelves. I've just returned a perfectly OK shuffle this morning because of the cretins who programme iTunes.