Chapter 10

Ten Steps to Recovery

This no-nonsense chapter may not be fun, but it's necessary. Humans aren't perfect, and neither are the machines they make. If your iPod or iPhone stops working as it should, or an iPod touch or iPhone app causes it to freeze up, you can turn to this chapter.

This chapter also covers updating the firmware and software on your iPod or iPhone. (Firmware is software encoded in hardware.) All software devices need to be updated now and then — it's a good thing because new versions fix known bugs and add improvements.

Finally, I describe how to restore your iPod or iPhone to its factory default condition. Restoring to factory condition is a drastic measure that erases any music or information, but it usually solves a software glitch when nothing else does.

Powering Up and Unlocking

To turn on an iPod nano or iPod classic, press any part of the click wheel. To turn on an iPod touch or iPhone, press either the Sleep/Wake button or the physical Home button.

If an iPod nano or iPod classic refuses to turn on, check the position of the Hold switch — on the top of a current-model iPod classic or iPod nano (or on the bottom next to the dock connection on older iPod nano models). The Hold switch locks the iPod buttons so that you don't accidentally activate them. Slide the Hold switch to the left, hiding the orange layer, to unlock the buttons. (If you see the orange layer underneath one end of the Hold switch, the switch is still in the locked position.)

The “hold” switch for an iPod shuffle is actually the three-position switch (or the on-off switch on older models). Slide the three-way switch to expose the green layer underneath to turn on your iPod shuffle.

Rather than a hold button, iPod touch and iPhone models display the message Slide to unlock Slide — slide your finger across this message to unlock your iPod touch or iPhone.

Powering Down

Your iPod or iPhone should be set to go to sleep automatically, unless you change the settings.

The iPod nano or iPod classic lets you set its backlight to turn off automatically by choosing SettingsGeneralBacklight and picking the amount of time to remain on (or choosing Always On). This is similar to putting it to sleep.

You can set your iPod touch or iPhone to automatically go to sleep by choosing SettingsGeneralAuto-Lock and choosing the amount of time before sleeping (or choosing Never, to prevent automatic sleep).

You can force an iPod classic or iPod nano to power off by pressing the Play/Pause button.

To force your iPod touch or iPhone to go to sleep, press the Sleep/Wake (On/Off) button on the top. To turn it off completely so that it has to start its system again from scratch, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button on top for a few seconds until a red slider appears on the screen that says Slide to power off and then slide your finger across the slider to turn it off.

Stopping a Frozen App

Apple is not perfect, and neither are the many thousands of developers who create the apps that run on an iPod touch or iPhone, and the “extra” or clickwheel games on an iPod nano or iPod classic.

If your iPod touch or iPhone freezes while running an app, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button on top for a few seconds until a red slider appears on the screen that says Slide to power off — then press and hold the physical Home button until the application quits. If that doesn't work, see the previous section in this chapter.

If your iPod nano or iPod classic itself freezes, you need to reset its system — see the next section.

Resetting Your iPod or iPhone System

Sometimes problems arise with electronics and software that cause your iPod or iPhone to stop working properly. You can usually fix the problem by resetting it and restarting the iPod or iPhone system from scratch — just like resetting a computer. Resetting the system does not restore the iPod or iPhone to its original factory condition, nor does it erase anything — your content and settings remain intact.

Before resetting the system, you may want to connect the iPod or iPhone to a power outlet by using the AC power adapter. You can reset your iPod or iPhone without connecting it to power if it has enough juice in its battery. However, if you have access to power, it makes sense to use it because the reset operation uses power, and starting up your iPod or iPhone from scratch again also uses power.

To reset the iPod touch or iPhone, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the physical Home button at the same time for at least ten seconds, ignoring the red slider that says Slide to power off, until the Apple logo appears.

To reset the iPod nano or iPod classic, follow these steps:

1. Toggle the Hold switch.

   Slide the Hold switch to the right, exposing the orange layer, to lock the buttons, and then slide it back to unlock.

2. Press the Menu and Select buttons simultaneously and hold for at least six seconds or until the Apple logo appears; then release the buttons when you see the Apple logo.

   The appearance of the Apple logo signals that your iPod is resetting itself, so you no longer have to hold down the buttons.

To reset the iPod shuffle, first disconnect it from your computer (if you haven't already done so) and then slide the three-position switch to the Off position. The green stripe under the switch should not be visible. Wait five seconds and then switch the slider back to the Shuffle Songs or Play in Order position.

After resetting, everything should be back to normal, including your music and data files.

Resetting iPod or iPhone Settings

Perhaps someone played a practical joke on you and set your iPod language to German (and you don't understand German). Or maybe a fee-based hotel Wi-Fi network has captured your iPod touch or iPhone and won't let go. Sometimes you need to reset your settings and preferences.

You can reset all your iPod nano or iPod classic settings, or all or part of your iPod touch or iPhone settings, while leaving your content and personal information intact. On an iPod touch or iPhone, you can also erase all content and reset network settings.

To reset iPod nano or iPod classic settings, choose SettingsReset Settings and select Reset (or Cancel to cancel). This resets all the items on the Settings menu to their default settings.

To see your resetting options on an iPod touch or iPhone, choose SettingsGeneralReset from the Home screen to show the Reset screen.

You have several options for resetting:

Checking the Software Version

You should always keep your iPod or iPhone updated with new versions of the system software that controls it. iTunes automatically checks for updates of this software and lets you update your iPod or iPhone without affecting the music or data stored on it.

Make sure that you use the newest version of iTunes. To check for the availability of an updated version for Windows, run iTunes and choose HelpCheck for iTunes Updates.

If you use a Mac and you enabled the Software Update option in your System Preferences, Apple automatically informs you of updates to your Apple software for the Mac, including iTunes, Safari, iCal, and Address Book. All you need to do is select which updates to download and then click the Install button to download them. iTunes includes updates for all iPod and iPhone generations and can detect which model you have.

To determine which version of the system software is installed on your iPod touch or iPhone, choose SettingsGeneralAbout from the Home screen; on an iPod nano or iPod classic, choose SettingsAbout from the main menu. Next to the word Version is information that describes the software version installed.

Updating the Software

iTunes tells you whether your iPod or iPhone has the newest software installed. Connect the iPod or iPhone to your computer, select it in the iTunes Source pane (in the Devices section), and you'll see the Summary page appear to the right of the Source pane. The Version section of the page tells you whether your iPod or iPhone software is up to date and when iTunes will check for new software.

If an update is available, a dialog appears and asks permission to download it. Go ahead and click the OK button to update the software; you'll be glad you did because Apple often includes new features and battery-saving upgrades. After updating the software, iTunes continues syncing with the iPod or iPhone until it is finished.

Restoring to Factory Condition

You can restore your iPod or iPhone to its original factory condition. This operation erases its storage and returns the iPod or iPhone to its original settings. It's the last resort for fixing problems, and it's the only choice if you intend to change the computer you're using for syncing your iPod or iPhone.

To restore an iPod or iPhone, follow these steps for both the Mac and Windows versions of iTunes:

1. Connect the iPod or iPhone to your computer.

   iTunes opens automatically.

2. Select the iPod or iPhone in the Devices section of the Source pane, and click the Summary tab if it isn't already selected.

   The Summary pane appears to the right of the Source pane.

3. Click the Restore button.

   An alert dialog appears to confirm that you want to restore the iPod or iPhone.

4. Click the Restore button again to confirm the restore operation.

   A progress bar appears, indicating the progress of the restore operation. iTunes notifies you when the restore is finished.

Setting Up and Syncing

After the restore operation finishes (as previously described), iTunes displays the setup screen for a newly minted iPod or iPhone — the restore operation makes it like new again.

In the setup screen, you can give your iPod nano or iPod classic a new name.

For an iPod touch or iPhone, iTunes provides the options to restore the settings from a previously backed-up iPod touch or iPhone, or to set it up as new. If you choose to set it up as new, you can give your iPod touch or iPhone a new name and set the automatic options. See the next section in this chapter if you want to restore from a backup.

To replace content and apps that were erased by the restore operation, sync your iPod or iPhone with your computer's iTunes library. (Don't forget that you'll use iTunes to sync your personal information — contacts, calendars, notes, e-mail accounts, and bookmarks — as well as all your pictures from your computer back to your iPod or iPhone.)

Restoring Settings from a Backup (iPod touch and iPhone)

iTunes provides protection and backs up your iPod touch or iPhone settings so that you can restore them. This backup comes in handy if you want to apply the settings to a new iPod touch or iPhone, or to one that you had to restore to its factory condition.

Whenever you sync your iPod touch or iPhone, iTunes automatically copies all the settings you use to customize your iPod touch or iPhone and its apps, including Wi-Fi network settings, the keyboard dictionary, and settings for contacts, calendars, and e-mail accounts.

To restore your settings, connect your new or restored iPod touch or iPhone to the same computer and copy of iTunes you used before so that iTunes remembers the backup settings. iTunes should open automatically. (If it doesn't, open iTunes manually.) As you start the setup process, iTunes gives you the choice of restoring the settings from a previously backed-up iPod touch or iPhone, or setting up the iPod touch or iPhone as new. Choose the option to restore the settings and then click the Continue button to finish setting up your iPod touch or iPhone.

To delete the backed-up settings for an iPod touch or iPhone, open iTunes and choose iTunesPreferences (on a Mac) or EditPreferences (on a Windows PC).

Click the Devices tab, select the iPod touch or iPhone in the Device backups list, and then click Remove Backup. You don't need to connect the iPod touch or iPhone to do this.