Here is a post I put on playlist mag, but never got a resonse on. My main question is.. has anyone had any trouble with their iPods where you had to go through many to get one that works?
From playlistmag.com:
Hey all, I was wondering if anyone has had any situations similar to mine.
Please note I ran the FULL battery of tests on each incident including the software restore..and Apple always had me send it back.
I bought my 40GB 4th Gen iPod in Nov.2004 from the Apple online store.
It worked great until January, and then all of a sudden, the video screen went blank—and stayed blank. Music played - however no video.
I sent it back to apple, and they sent me a new iPod (refurb..but looked new). Took about 10 days round trip.
This second iPod worked fine until May, and then the hard drive went out. It made a knocking sound and wouldn’t boot up at all. Shipped it back… and 3 WEEKS later I received a new (refurb) one. This time I bough the Apple care… this was becoming much too common as far as repairs go.
So, now…again… my iPod isn’t working. The hard drive is making a whining noise.. and when I try to sync it, it goes to the first song, and stays there… it says updating song 1 of 1567.
I Called Apple Care this morning, and sure enough, they are sending me a box.
This is so frustrating. The iPod has woven itself into my life so tightly, and now it will be gone another couple of weeks.
I am going to have to buy a ‘spare’ so I will have one to use while the other is being replaced!!
I treat this iPod pristine… I don’t RUN with it, don’t drop it, nothing of the sort. In fact, when I went into the Apple store (300 miles away) the last time it crashed, the Genius said it looked like it came right out of the box, not even any fingerprints on it.. (I hold it on the sides).
I see people carrying them in backpacks, purses..etc and it seems they have no trouble. I may have to invest in a suit of armor for this thing….
Thank goodness I have apple care.. the $59 I paid for it is definitely going to pay for itself.
For an update, I called Apple customer relations, and they won’t replace me with a ‘new’ non-refurbished unit until I have had 5 go bad. I am so aggravated with this, it is not even funny. So when the next one comes.. I am tempted to break it just to get a NEW one. I am really not trusting Apple’s refurbished hard drives.
I wouldn’t actually break it… but boy with everything I have been through and the hours I have spent on the phone, I would think they would want to fix this problem for me. I am a LOYAL Apple user… I have many many products.. spent thousands of dollars… and all I want is a working item that will withstand minimal use. How hard is that APPLE??
Ironically, the Customer care girl said she had the same trouble.. but because of the process, she has to document a ‘reason’ for sending a new one. I asked.. “How about customer satisfaction!!?”
For an update, I called Apple customer relations, and they won’t replace me with a ‘new’ non-refurbished unit until I have had 5 go bad. I am so aggravated with this, it is not even funny. So when the next one comes.. I am tempted to break it just to get a NEW one. I am really not trusting Apple’s refurbished hard drives.
I wouldn’t actually break it… but boy with everything I have been through and the hours I have spent on the phone, I would think they would want to fix this problem for me. I am a LOYAL Apple user… I have many many products.. spent thousands of dollars… and all I want is a working item that will withstand minimal use. How hard is that APPLE??
Ironically, the Customer care girl said she had the same trouble.. but because of the process, she has to document a ‘reason’ for sending a new one. I asked.. “How about customer satisfaction!!?”
I’ve had six iPods, including an original 5gig, a mini, and two iPod photos (60gigs) with no troubles. From what I can tell, troubles seem to run in streaks, though. I had a PowerMac dual 1.4ghz. That box will run for years. How do I know? Because EVERY freakin’ thing on it was replaced a couple of times.
I’ve had six iPods, including an original 5gig, a mini, and two iPod photos (60gigs) with no troubles…
Will you adopt me? I’ve never had an iPod. I was orphaned at age 5 and required to use Windows 3.0 in the orphanage. When I was 12 I went to a foster home but the family only had a Dell DJ which no one used. Not even the dog.
I was thinking that was the case.. which I tried explaining. I am thinking they have a batch of 40GB that are bad .... and as luck would have it.. I keep getting them.
I have friends that have iPods that have no trouble. I thought it might be my config or something.. but I have had them break while using them with my Mac mini and my iBook, so I haven’t found anything common, except the Dock. I have never had one break while on the Dock.. usually when I am getting ready for a long trip… that’s the common denominator. When I desire it most.. is when it chooses to leave me…sniff sniff.
I was thinking… thinking they have a batch of 40GB that are bad .... and as luck would have it.. I keep getting them.
It happens. I bought a bunch of Dell desktops for a company many years ago. About a dozen total. They all had hard drives go bad within a month. All of them.
A couple of years ago I bought a new Sony Vaio with Windows XP Home. Hard drive died in a week. Took it back and got another hard drive. It died that day. Took it back again and asked them to show me a new Sony with Win XP running. They opened a new box and the hard drive died on start up. They opened still another box and it died, too. All Seagate hard drives.
Then we found a new Sony Vaio without a Seagate. I took that one home and it’s still running.
one1step1 - 26 July 2005 07:23 PM
I have friends that have iPods that have no trouble. I thought it might be my config or something.. but I have had them break while using them with my Mac mini and my iBook, so I haven’t found anything common, except the Dock. I have never had one break while on the Dock.. usually when I am getting ready for a long trip… that’s the common denominator. When I desire it most.. is when it chooses to leave me…sniff sniff.
That’s always the case. If you’d just sit there and watch it and never need to take it on the road, it’d last for years. Put it in your pocket and act like you’re leaving the house, and WHAM-O, ka thunk. Bad hard drive.
Apple must set what they think is a fair number of bad iPods before giving a new replacement. So, it must have happened to a bunch of people, and 5 is a magic number….
I hadn’t thought of it until my girlfriend mentioned it.
Must be fairly common.
Your horror stories with the Seagate hard drive and Sony Vios would be almost unbelieveable to me… if I hadn’t had so much trouble with this iPod! I guess whenever they make millions of ANYTHING there is always somone who isn’t served how the company would like. Technology.. what are ya gonna do…? Stuff breaks. I just wish I didn’t have to be the brunt of the problem.
Your horror stories with the Seagate hard drive and Sony Vios would be almost unbelieveable to me… if I hadn’t had so much trouble with this iPod! I guess whenever they make millions of ANYTHING there is always somone who isn’t served how the company would like. Technology.. what are ya gonna do…? Stuff breaks. I just wish I didn’t have to be the brunt of the problem.
All things considered, I’ve had decent luck with most things Mac. The number one killer, by far, is hard drives. By far. Never had a monitor die. A few mouse burials here and there. One keyboard. I had one PowerMac motherboard failure years ago.
You know, I’ve had several iPods, my current one being a 15 GB 3G iPod, which I love (the touch sensitive buttons rock!). Not one had any problems related to the hard drive. I run an I.T. dept. in a company that uses Mac laptops (both iBooks and Powerbooks) and I’ve only seen 1 bad hard drive in the last two years (although several batteries have been replaced). I think he just was caught by a bad lot of 40 GB iPods. With the volume that Apple ships, it happens. I’ve heard of batteries in iPods going prematurely bad, but never the hard drive (unless you drop it on concrete!). I have read that the hard drive failure rate for regular white iPods is very low considering the millions they have shipped.
Hi, I"m brand new to this message board. I found it when I plugged “Apple iPod 40 GB hard drove failure” into Google. My husband and I each have a 40 GB which we use with his Dell laptop. We bought our iPods in October and since then we have each had 4 replacements because of hard drive failure (each time with a refurbished, I imagine, since I was told they’re no longer manufacturing the 40 GB because of “price point” reasons. We’re lucky that we live in San Francisco and can walk down to the Apple store and sometimes get an immediate replacement. The longest we’ve had to wait is a week. Obviously something is frying our iPods, but no one can figure out what’s wrong. I brought the laptop, charger and all the cords down for the Geniuses at the Genius Bar to check out, but they didn’t do a thorough check. Last time I was there (last week) I was told that the cause must be environmental and I should make sure that I didn’t have too many things plugged into my surge protector. I bought a new surge protector and dedicated it to the computer and iPod and guess what—- This week it’s my iPod that fried, so I’ll be at the Apple Store when it opens tomorrow. Any thoughts on what might be doing this will be greatly appreciated.
Hi, I"m brand new to this message board. I found it when I plugged “Apple iPod 40 GB hard drove failure” into Google. My husband and I each have a 40 GB which we use with his Dell laptop. We bought our iPods in October and since then we have each had 4 replacements because of hard drive failure (each time with a refurbished, I imagine, since I was told they’re no longer manufacturing the 40 GB because of “price point” reasons. We’re lucky that we live in San Francisco and can walk down to the Apple store and sometimes get an immediate replacement. The longest we’ve had to wait is a week. Obviously something is frying our iPods, but no one can figure out what’s wrong. I brought the laptop, charger and all the cords down for the Geniuses at the Genius Bar to check out, but they didn’t do a thorough check. Last time I was there (last week) I was told that the cause must be environmental and I should make sure that I didn’t have too many things plugged into my surge protector. I bought a new surge protector and dedicated it to the computer and iPod and guess what—- This week it’s my iPod that fried, so I’ll be at the Apple Store when it opens tomorrow. Any thoughts on what might be doing this will be greatly appreciated.
I dont know, but you should call Apple customer relations and explain it. Tell them you want a NEW one.. and you want a 60GB COLOR!! I don’t trust their refurbs.. not anymore. I am thinking there must’ve been a bad batch of 40GB 4thGens and we have happened to get them.
The one common factor that I have noticed is that it usually goes bad when I am driving.. and I am using a Griffin PowerPod charger cord. How about you?
I usually charge mine overnight on the DOCK, but keep it on the powerpod charger during my long drive times.
Wow.. I am impressed. I put that into Google as well, and my initial post is #2 on GOOGLE… I guess Tara and Bambi have some pretty good linkage… so to speak.
Now, if I could only get results like that on my blog at think-mac.net !!!
Let me know what happens with your iPod. I have the Apple customer care direct number if you need it.
At the very least, you haven’t had to wait like I have. I called Apple care this time on July 20.. and it’s STILL not back.
Well, now I am really mad. Sixteen days since I called Apple care. When I initially called, they said the turn around time was 7-10 MAX.
I checked my iPod status online, and it still said ‘HOLD’. I called the Customer Relations lady and asked her what the status was.
She said it was on hold since I initiated a complaint to the BBB.
I asked her if she could send out the NEW iPod she promised me, and she said she never said that!!
I was quite taken aback that she would blatantly deny this. Like I just pulled it out of this air.
They way she put it was that ‘she could extend my customer relations call until Aug 8,
and to call her then.’ My feeling is that she was telling me this to assuage me
and was hoping that the iPod would be back by then and I would be satisfied…and she wouldn’t have to fulfill her end of the agreement or ever hear from me again.
She said that she just agreed to keep the complaint open another 30-60 days. (whats the point of this…??)
The liar said the iPod is in the process of being engraved in Asia.. and that then they send it
back to them, and then they ship it to me.
Like I can believe anything she says now.
Also, she said the reason it may still be on hold is that I ‘Escalated’ it with a complaint
and the customer relations department could no longer help, I will now need to call ‘Patrick’ in executive relations…
So, I am waiting from a call from him now. Perhaps he will care and be honest.
I am so upset I am thinking about buying an iRiver. I am not trying to screw apple.. but they are doing it to me. I don’t have free time to keep following up with this and taking up my valuable time to deal with these problems. If I billed my time to them, it would be more than the cost of the iPod!! Not to mention the anger and stress I have let this put on me.
If anyone needs direct numbers, Apple Customer Relations is (512-674-2500) You will be asked to enter an extension, but let it bypass that and then it will go to an Operator, and just ask for a Customer Relations associate.
Look out if you get any that start with the letter ‘J’.
Before your judge me for being harsh.. remember I have had my iPod gone for over 2months of repair already… not including this most recent time.
The one common factor that I have noticed is that it usually goes bad when I am driving.. and I am using a Griffin PowerPod charger cord. How about you?
I usually charge mine overnight on the DOCK, but keep it on the powerpod charger during my long drive times.
Gee, One1step1, I thought we had it bad until I read what you’ve been going through. My sincere condolences.
I’m wonderfing if there was a bad batch of 40 GB iPods and no one at Apple wants to ‘fess up to that. I asked several of the Geniuses and managers at the Apple Store in San Francisco about that possibility and they denied it, but I think they’d have to. What if that got out to the general public? Perhaps that’s the real reason they did away with the 40 gigs. (Not that I’m paranoid or anything….......)
Since I’m a City Gal and share a car with my husband, who uses it to get to work, I rarely use my iPod in the car, so I don’t use a Griffin PowePod charger cord. Usually I’m walking or on the bus with it. The last time the hard drive went out it was while it was charging on my Altec Lansing “In Motion” speaker set-up. A couple of other things one of the Geniuses said to me are 1) to make sure I don’t have my iPod near a magnet and 2) never to take the iPod off the dock before I get the “safe to remove hardware” (or whatever) message. I’ve had a couple of times when I had to do the latter because I was caught in a situation where no matter what I did I kept getting the message “Do not disconnect.”
After hearing your story about making a complaint and now being without an iPod, I think I won’t yell and scream for a 60 GB color version. I’ve had pretty good luck getting store managers to take care of me (because I think they sensed that I wasn’t above making a scene in the store.) Each time they’ve replaced the iPod quickly. However, this is taking way, way too much of my time. “Luckily” (hah) I was laid off from my job recently, so I’ve been able to spend hours at a time getting to and from the store, waiting for a genius and talking to one (or two or three).
Where do we go from here? I don’t know. We now have two working iPods but I’m not sure for how long.
Still no response from Apple Executive Customer relations.
I have left 5 messages on the guys voicemail.. and nothing back yet.
I guess I will just have to leave a couple a day until I get a response.
It’s a shame really.. I am quite the mac advocate, and constantly encouraging people to buy.. and this is how they treat me. :(
Can you go public with this in some way? Since you’re in Virginia, are their media outlets (either print or electronic) that you could contact? Some “Consumer Affairs” show or column? Here in San Francisco we have a guy who writes a computer column. If our problems keep up I’ll write to him saying I know of others with 40 GB iPod hard drive failure problems. Then others would respond. Or—send a letter to Steve Jobs. Letters like that usually get bumped down to the appropriate level. One other thought—Try Googling more to find others with similar problems. That’s how I found you and this site.
