iPod Touch 2nd Generation Troubleshooting

No matter what you do, you can't get your iPod Touch to turn on.

If your iPod's problem isn't so easily solved, read on.

If your iPod won't turn on, especially if it has not been used recently, you may simply have a drained battery. Plug your iPod Touch into your computer or AC adapter and see if anything happens. Ideally your iPod will recognize it has been connected to a power source and charge its battery. If it will no longer charge, the battery must be swapped with a replacement battery.

It is possible that it appears nothing is happening because the display is bad. If the battery is working properly but nothing is visible, it is possible the display is bad and must be replaced.

Ultimately, if the display and battery are not the culprit, check all the connections from the display to the logic board. If they are connected properly and there is still no life, the logic board most likely needs to be replaced.

Your iPod Touch is not recognizing the touch input on the front panel.

The touchscreen is not pressure-sensitive, so it relies on direct contact with your fingertips. If you are wearing gloves or finger cots, try removing them.

There's always the possibility of the inexplicable software glitch, so the first thing to try is to just reboot it. Hold the sleep/wake button and the home button until the screen goes blank and the Apple logo appears. This will resolve some touch screen issues.

Sometimes dirt or oil on the screen can make the touch input less accurate or less responsive. Use a clean, dry cloth (microfiber is best. Most eyeglass or TV cleaning kits come with one perfect for the job). If that does not work, but the touch screen still works enough to do so, shut down the iPod by holding the Sleep/Wake button until a red slider appears, slide it, and wait for the iPod to shut off. Then slightly dampen the cloth, wipe the screen clean, then dry the screen with another cloth or let it air dry. Turn on the iPod. If the touch screen still does not work, it could be a software issue.

Some users claim that when the battery charge is very low (where the battery indicator shows red), the touch screen will become less responsive in some apps, especially those relying on multitouch. If your battery is in the red zone, plug it in for a while, at least until the charge is past the red zone (20%).

If you've recently installed a screen protector, especially one not specifically designed for the iPod Touch, it could interfere with your iPod's ability to detect your touch. Simply remove the screen protector, then clean the screen as instructed above.

One last thing to try before opening up your iPod or sending it for repair is to restore the firmware. In rare cases, something could go wrong in the iPod OS to prevent the touch screen from working properly. This may be more likely if your device is jailbroken, but it could still be the problem regardless of whether your iPod OS has been modified. Connect your iPod to a computer with the latest version of iTunes, then select your iPod in iTunes and click "Restore". Follow the directions on the screen and do NOT unplug your iPod until it has finished. Once it has finished, iTunes may ask you to restore the backup. If your iPod was jailbroken, do not restore the backup. Otherwise, check the touchscreen, and if it works, go ahead and restore the backup. If the touchscreen fails again after restoring the backup, restore the iPod again, and ignore the backup.

It is possible that the touch screen is bad. If so, you must replace the front panel (which includes the touch screen and digitizer). For an easier install, check out our front panel assembly, which includes the frame and home button!

If replacing the front panel does not restore touch input, the logic board must be replaced.

When you press the home button, the iPod does not respond.

If pressing the home button yields no response, press the sleep/wake button on the top left of the iPod to determine whether the iPod is still in working order. If the sleep/wake button is unresponsive, see the troubleshooting guide for “iPod Touch won't turn on”. If the sleep/wake button works, replace the front panel and try the home button again.

If replacing the front panel does not restore button input, the logic board must be replaced.

Your iPod Touch turns on and appears to work, but when you plug in headphones or speakers, the audio doesn't play properly.

It's unlikely your headphones or speakers are bad, but it's worthwhile to eliminate these as the source of your problem at the beginning. Try your iPod Touch with another set of headphones or speakers just to make sure that the problem is with your iPod Touch.

Sometimes the problem can be solved simply by restarting the iPod Touch. Hold the sleep/wake button until the red slider appears, then slide it across the screen. Once it shuts down, hold the sleep/wake button again until the Apple logo appears.

Dirt in the audio jack may cause a bad connection, resulting in bad audio quality. Shut down the iPod Touch by holding the sleep/wake button, then sliding the red slider. Try inserting a slightly damp, small cotton swab into the audio jack and rotate it a few times, then remove the cotton swab. Turn on the iPod Touch and check the audio quality again.

In rare cases, the iPod OS could be corrupted (slightly more likely if the device is jailbroken). Connect the iPod Touch to iTunes, then click Restore. If your iPod Touch was jailbroken, do not restore the backup if iTunes offers.

The most likely cause of audio output problems on the iPod Touch is a bad audio-out jack. A new headphone jack can be soldered onto the motherboard. There is no repair guide for it yet but it is done in a manner that's very similar to the published procedure for the iPod Touch First Generation.

Your iPod displays the text "Use iTunes to restore" on startup

It isn't often that Apple gives specific directions about how to fix your problem! Restoring the iPod Touch will erase everything on it, so make sure everything on the iPod Touch is stored elsewhere prior to restoring. To restore, connect your iPod Touch to a computer with the latest version of iTunes installed. When your Touch appears under the devices menu, click the restore option under the summary tab. If you haven't backed up your data already, choose the back up option from the pop up window. Click the restore button to restore your iPod Touch to factory spec.

If your iPod Touch is hanging with an Apple logo, or exhibiting some other software problem that prevents iTunes from recognizing it, you can force it into recovery/restore mode and then use iTunes to restore the software.

If the device is powered off, plug one end of your USB cable into the iPod Touch and leave the other end disconnected. Press down on the Home button, and keep holding it down while you plug the USB cable into your computer. After 5-10 seconds, you should see a "Please Connect to iTunes" image on the iPod Touch, and iTunes should prompt you to restore the software; follow the prompts and the instructions given above.

If the device is powered on, hold down both the power and home buttons until the device reboots and displays the "Connect to iTunes" image (generally, 5-15 seconds).

If attempting to restore the Touch and diagnosing does not fix the problem, the issue is probably the logic board.

Your iPod Touch is not recognizing the touch input on the front panel.

The touchscreen is not pressure-sensitive, so it relies on direct contact with your fingertips. If you are wearing gloves or finger cots, try removing them.

There's always the possibility of the inexplicable software glitch, so the first thing to try is to just reboot it. Hold the sleep/wake button and the home button until the screen goes blank and the Apple logo appears. This will resolve some touch screen issues.

Sometimes dirt or oil on the screen can make the touch input less accurate or less responsive. Use a clean, dry cloth (microfiber is best. Most eyeglass or TV cleaning kits come with one perfect for the job). If that does not work, but the touch screen still works enough to do so, shut down the iPod by holding the Sleep/Wake button until a red slider appears, slide it, and wait for the iPod to shut off. Then slightly dampen the cloth, wipe the screen clean, then dry the screen with another cloth or let it air dry. Turn on the iPod. If the touch screen still does not work, it could be a software issue.

Some users claim that when the battery charge is very low (where the battery indicator shows red), the touch screen will become less responsive in some apps, especially those relying on multitouch. If your battery is in the red zone, plug it in for a while, at least until the charge is past the red zone (20%).

If you've recently installed a screen protector, especially one not specifically designed for the iPod Touch, it could interfere with your iPod's ability to detect your touch. Simply remove the screen protector, then clean the screen as instructed above.

One last thing to try before opening up your iPod or sending it for repair is to restore the firmware. In rare cases, something could go wrong in the iPod OS to prevent the touch screen from working properly. This may be more likely if your device is jailbroken, but it could still be the problem regardless of whether your iPod OS has been modified. Connect your iPod to a computer with the latest version of iTunes, then select your iPod in iTunes and click "Restore". Follow the directions on the screen and do NOT unplug your iPod until it has finished. Once it has finished, iTunes may ask you to restore the backup. If your iPod was jailbroken, do not restore the backup. Otherwise, check the touchscreen, and if it works, go ahead and restore the backup. If the touchscreen fails again after restoring the backup, restore the iPod again, and ignore the backup.

It is possible that the touch screen is bad. If so, you must replace the front panel (which includes the touch screen and digitizer). For an easier install, check out our front panel assembly, which includes the frame and home button!

If replacing the front panel does not restore touch input, the logic board must be replaced.

When you press the home button, the iPod does not respond.

If pressing the home button yields no response, press the sleep/wake button on the top left of the iPod to determine whether the iPod is still in working order. If the sleep/wake button is unresponsive, see the troubleshooting guide for “iPod Touch won't turn on”. If the sleep/wake button works, replace the front panel and try the home button again.

If replacing the front panel does not restore button input, the logic board must be replaced.

Your iPod Touch turns on and appears to work, but when you plug in headphones or speakers, the audio doesn't play properly.

It's unlikely your headphones or speakers are bad, but it's worthwhile to eliminate these as the source of your problem at the beginning. Try your iPod Touch with another set of headphones or speakers just to make sure that the problem is with your iPod Touch.

Sometimes the problem can be solved simply by restarting the iPod Touch. Hold the sleep/wake button until the red slider appears, then slide it across the screen. Once it shuts down, hold the sleep/wake button again until the Apple logo appears.

Dirt in the audio jack may cause a bad connection, resulting in bad audio quality. Shut down the iPod Touch by holding the sleep/wake button, then sliding the red slider. Try inserting a slightly damp, small cotton swab into the audio jack and rotate it a few times, then remove the cotton swab. Turn on the iPod Touch and check the audio quality again.

In rare cases, the iPod OS could be corrupted (slightly more likely if the device is jailbroken). Connect the iPod Touch to iTunes, then click Restore. If your iPod Touch was jailbroken, do not restore the backup if iTunes offers.

The most likely cause of audio output problems on the iPod Touch is a bad audio-out jack. A new headphone jack can be soldered onto the motherboard. There is no repair guide for it yet but it is done in a manner that's very similar to the published procedure for the iPod Touch First Generation.

Your iPod displays the text "Use iTunes to restore" on startup

It isn't often that Apple gives specific directions about how to fix your problem! Restoring the iPod Touch will erase everything on it, so make sure everything on the iPod Touch is stored elsewhere prior to restoring. To restore, connect your iPod Touch to a computer with the latest version of iTunes installed. When your Touch appears under the devices menu, click the restore option under the summary tab. If you haven't backed up your data already, choose the back up option from the pop up window. Click the restore button to restore your iPod Touch to factory spec.

If your iPod Touch is hanging with an Apple logo, or exhibiting some other software problem that prevents iTunes from recognizing it, you can force it into recovery/restore mode and then use iTunes to restore the software.

If the device is powered off, plug one end of your USB cable into the iPod Touch and leave the other end disconnected. Press down on the Home button, and keep holding it down while you plug the USB cable into your computer. After 5-10 seconds, you should see a "Please Connect to iTunes" image on the iPod Touch, and iTunes should prompt you to restore the software; follow the prompts and the instructions given above.

If the device is powered on, hold down both the power and home buttons until the device reboots and displays the "Connect to iTunes" image (generally, 5-15 seconds).

If attempting to restore the Touch and diagnosing does not fix the problem, the issue is probably the logic board.