My Ipod Died!!!

[reuber1]

I've been an Apple fan for quite a while. I loved my iPod that I bought last year after I got my tax return. I bought a 3G model, although I was slightly irritated that they released a brand spanking new model that has 5 GB more space for the same price less than two months later, but hey I got a free engraving on mine so no big whoop.

Well, today I get the Exclamation folder of death (with an exclamation mark not unlike the icon I used for this thread) on my iPod's boot and it will not start up at all! I can't turn the damn thing on, and since I'm just slightly over a year from when I bought it, my warranty expired. However, you can send it in to get repaired, though if the warranty has expired, for a "service fee", as they like to call it.

This "service fee" is $267.40...for about 30 bucks more I can buy the next generation model up that has more space anyway and it's battery probably isn't a complete piece of shit. Man, I am pissed at Apple, and I highly doubt I will ever purchase another iPod again, and in this case anything from Apple ever again. I am pissed. I am BEYOND pissed.

[Mynock]

Yeah, down with Apple! Down with over priced and over designed "hip" looking products.

[MD]

Are you sure it is the battery? have you tried to reset or reinstall the software on the ipod? As a last resort you can always wipe the drive and restore the factory settings.

If it is the battery check here:
http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8919&highlight=ipod

[reuber1]

Turns out this problem isn't uncommon, either. Take a visit to some of the iPodlounge.com posts on their forums and THIS EXACT PROBLEM is happening to many people:

1 (http://forums.ipodlounge.com/showthread.php?threadid=101690)
2 (http://forums.ipodlounge.com/showthread.php?threadid=101530)
3 (http://forums.ipodlounge.com/showthread.php?threadid=101941)
4 (http://forums.ipodlounge.com/showthread.php?threadid=101943)
5 (http://forums.ipodlounge.com/showthread.php?threadid=101015) The second poster on that one echoes my opinion.
6 (http://forums.ipodlounge.com/showthread.php?threadid=101335)
7 (http://forums.ipodlounge.com/showthread.php?threadid=98575)
8 (http://forums.ipodlounge.com/showthread.php?threadid=101060)
9 (http://forums.ipodlounge.com/showthread.php?threadid=100906)
10 (http://forums.ipodlounge.com/showthread.php?threadid=100887)
11 (http://forums.ipodlounge.com/showthread.php?threadid=99559)
12 (http://forums.ipodlounge.com/showthread.php?threadid=100340)

...and wouldn't you know it, there's nothing to do about it. I've tried all of the solutions from everysite I could find. It may not be the battery, but I started having problems with that last night and suddenly out of nowhere this happens. I can't reboot because everytime I try that it just gets into a loop of iPod Logo --> Folder w/ Exclamation Mark then it automatically resets. iTunes won't recognize the iPod when it's connected so I cannot restore it. It's not making a loud whirring sound or anything like that when I turned it on. Hell, I rebooted it about a half hour ago and it's still in it's endless loop and it takes damn near infinite luck to get out of it (and by "get out of it" I mean the iPod is shut off). I don't get it, either. I take pretty good care of this thing.

Seriously, this is complete bullshit. I paid a pretty penny for that thing, but it seems that it's built to last just long enough for the warranty to expire. If I am not approved for a new battery or iPod through that link you sent MD then Apple can go to hell.

[keith1]

They offer a plan for $99 and they will replace your ipod battery. http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/service/battery.html

[keith1]

Yeah, down with Apple! Down with over priced and over designed "hip" looking products.

Over priced, ok. Over designed, hardly. Most PC's are over designed, too much stuff going on. Not just my opinion either, pretty much a fact, look at them. Unless you think simple and clean is over designed then you simply don't know the definition of over designed.

[reuber1]

I like MD's link better...I'll be damned if I'm paying $106 to get the battery replaced (although it does beat the hell out of $267 for sure!). I'm pretty good as far as the claim for a battery replacement/iPod replacement except for the whole proof of purchase thing...see, I bought it off of Apple.com but anything older than 90 days in someone's order history is deleted...I have no idea where the invoice is (great). I'll be a purple-assed baboon if I can find any proof of purchase.

[D-Frag]

2 words.....

**** APPLE!

[Patrick Shannon]

I highly doubt that it's your battery (based on that icon), but $100 for a battery? Replaced mine myself for $25, and it's even far better than the Apple battery.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ipod/batteryreplacement/

[JaCkinbOx]

At least their commercials are neat. Making an unattractive, overpriced piece of hardware hip and popular is a sign of a great marketing strategy.

[MD]

I wonder if you would be able to reformat it on a mac? Have you been to the genius bar at the apple store - they fix stuff for free :)

[reuber1]

Closest Apple store for me has got to be at least an hour and a half away...I read somewhere to give it 24 hours if this happens and maybe that will fix it but I can't see how it will..."Hard drive, you have 24 hours to shape up or *umpire-like OUTTA HERE signal* you're outta here!!!" This pisses me off, though, because I like(d) Apple; it's like your best buddy stabbing you in the back with a rusty butterknife. If I can just find proof of payment then everything will be hunkydory...I honestly think something ****ed my hard drive but for the life of me I don't know what.

Don't get me started on their battery either..."10 hour battery life"...yeah, right...if by "10" they mean "less than 5". Here's how they should sell it --> "What you do is pay $300 for the unit, and then you get to rent the iPod for $100 every year and a half, per battery life!" I should have just taken the $300 I spent, doused it in gasoline, lit it aflame, and pissed the fire out and on the ashes. Nah, what am I thinking, $300 for someone in my financial situation is nothing...

God damn this.

[Patrick Shannon]

Yeah, I know what you mean Reuber...I wasn't hot about how long my battery lasted, but at least the anti-Apple hype about the iPod's non-replacable battery is bull...it can indeed be replaced by the user with a little patience. (I still think they should make the battery a little easier to get to though.)

What really stinks is that the iPod has no competition, all those other products that come and go just feel like cheap imitations (and some of their ideas of portability is the back of a pick-up truck). Besides, all hard drive MP3 players have some sort of risk of dying (but that's no excuse for you, of course).

Honestly, upon opening it up the iPod's hard drive can be replaced quite easily, but I'm not sure how plausable it is considering what I'm about to say next.

I'm not sure of the entire story, but I read the following on a message board before. I think the iPod has special files/directories/firmware/etc on it's hard drive that is not put there by the installer....thus replacing the iPod's drive right out won't work. By using Apple's own system disk utility (Erase), you could strip that all away and ruin your iPod. It has to be done through the iPod's own restore program (but that's a problem for you, as you said).

I could be wrong about that, but better to do a little research first.

[keith1]

I heard somewhere that they don't even replace the battery and that they just give you a new one. If this is true, it's like your getting the latest version of a $300 item for only $100 every 1.5 years. Sure you have to buy a new one every 1.5 years but it's only 100/18month= $5.50 a month. Would you really use the same ipod for more than 3 years anyway. That ipod will be in the stone age by then. Computer technology advances so fast. I sell my computer on ebay every 2 years and get the latest version. I guess it's all how you look at it. I'm just looking for the brightside here if there is one but then again I'm an optimist. They are over priced though and they should have replaceable batteries no doubt.

[tony620d]

dont forget the annoying ego-maniac 'bono' to endorse such a hip product. dont feel bad, my wifes rio nitrus crapped out as well.

[Patrick Shannon]

That's a very good point Keith, but I can indeed see myself using my iPod for more than three years. Now I had an original 5GB iPod when they first came out, and naturally I hit the space limit quickly. So I then bought a 3G 40GB drive about a year and a half/two years ago and am nowhere near filling it up.

Now I might have bought a new one because the 3G battery sucks ass, but upon replacing that I have no reason to replace my iPod anytime soon.

Of course, they always tease the idea of video on the iPod (the iPod Photo is a step in that direction) but I have a PSP for that.

[Jason Fraker]

I got an iPod mini for Christmas. I guess now I see what I have to look forward to. Should I just go ahead and Ebay it?
-jf

[keith1]

Know what I hate, maybe I just have bad timing though but as soon as I finally decided to purchase an ipod mini, it dropped in price $50 about 3 weeks later and you can't get money back unless it's less than 12 days. This also happened when I bought an iMac 3 years ago, 14 days later it was faster (G4 800mhz to G4 1Ghz) and $200 cheaper. Damn! I bought an ipod mini because I thought, do I really need to carry my entire collection everywhere? Isn't 1000 songs enough? I can also switch it up.

[reuber1]

If I buy another iPod this is what I'm doing...

1. I'll buy one from work, so I get my 10% discount (knocks it down to $270)
2. We have a 90 day return policy on all of our products, and in the case of an electronics item it can be returned as a defective one for your money back.
3. I use it for slightly less than three months.
4. I take it back in and say "it's not working anymore", regardless of whether it is or it isn't.
5. I get my money back.
6. The next day I'll buy another one with the refunded money.
7. Repeat until someone comes out with something more practical than the iPod.
NOTE: There is no reason no-one else can't do this (except for the 10% employee discount) unless the guest service department happens to be uber-anal retentive, which I highly doubt in this case; most of them see an electronics item they'll just take your word for it.

For $270 I can get as many iPods as I want. There's nothing that will flag me on how many returns because I'd be getting a different iPod using a brand new receipt and I wouldn't be EXCHANGING the old one, but simply returning it. Sure I may have to keep setting up the iPod each time I get a new one, but that's a very small price to pay...sure much smaller than buying a new battery every year and a half (BTW, at 9 bucks an hour, an extra $100 is A LOT of money when spending nearly $700 a month on bills and still living at home). If Apple's going to screw me, I'll screw them. Since I work at that place, I understand how the system works and how to get around it. The people at the service counter won't know any different, and it's my own department that I'm getting the item from (not that I really care, I don't make commission...that place owes me anyway for 5 years of hard physical work).

[MD]

Hey reuber - did you make your ipod purchase with a credit card? I was just listening to clark howard and he said that some credit card companies extend the terms of the original manufacturers warranty.

STOLEN FROM AMEX WEBSITE:
You may not need to buy additional warranties on major purchases because some credit card companies will extend the terms of the original manufacturer’s warranty. This service could save you the expense of purchasing extended warranty programs. Make sure you familiarize yourself with coverage restrictions before making your final decision.

Oh and Keith is right they don't replace the battery in yours - they give you a refurbished one. I got my dock replaced a couple years back because I ran a really heavy set of RCA cables to my stereo and I broke the output jack in back.

[woodwardo]

My old ipod broke too. It's a real bummer once you're used to having your entire music collection totally portable and at your fingertips. Only I got the apple on the screen and nothing else. And I got the same $267 quote to fix it. Ended up getting a mini and a shuffle. The shuffle is really cool, it's tiny!
Now I just need the photo and I'll be set.

[reuber1]

Hey reuber - did you make your ipod purchase with a credit card? I was just listening to clark howard and he said that some credit card companies extend the terms of the original manufacturers warranty.

STOLEN FROM AMEX WEBSITE:
You may not need to buy additional warranties on major purchases because some credit card companies will extend the terms of the original manufacturer’s warranty. This service could save you the expense of purchasing extended warranty programs. Make sure you familiarize yourself with coverage restrictions before making your final decision.

I guess that's nice to know. I'll have to look into that, but if I'm able to see if my bank can give me a statement from Jan of last year (I thought it was around Tax return time, alas it was a little earlier) I can identify this iPod purchase and then fill out that claim form that will get me a new iPod...this has got to be more than the battery.

[wienerdog]

I've been hearing more and more of problems with the iPods. Are they a lousy product with good marketing, or are the competitors even worse?

[BlackBox]

I've been using a rio carbon with no problems. the battery life is excellent.

[Neballer]

I absolutely love my iPod. I bought the very first 5GB that came out in '01. I've been using it just about every day since then - infact I'm listening to it right now. So I've got about 4 years use out of $300 - not bad I'd say. It is starting to act up on me though, the menu button doesn't really work any more, but I don't really use that button that much anyway.

[DonnaL]

Got my ipod just before xmas. 20gig. Then 2 weeks ago I dropped the dang thing in my kids kiddie pool! OH I was bumming. But I let it dry out (for a week) and it's back up and running. Not a hitch or hiccup. I guess I lucked out.
I do know that Apple was in some sort of lawsuit in regards to the battery situation. Alot of the older ipods battery life (of 12 hrs) were dying in 4 to 5. Apple is replacing those purchases with newer ones.

[Rocketpig]

I've been hearing more and more of problems with the iPods. Are they a lousy product with good marketing, or are the competitors even worse?

I still have the 5GB iPod I bought when it launched in 01 or whatever and it still works fine (though battery life is down to about 5 hours, not unexpected for a four year old mobile device).