Why is my iPod Shuffle an “Unknown Device”?

Question

Help, I've tried everything.

I have an iPod Shuffle 2nd generation and ever since I plugged it into an AC wall charger, my PC has stopped recognizing it.

I tried multiple PCs, to ensure it's not my PC.

It blinks orange 3 times and then blinks green once, when I unplug it. But when I keep on docking/undocking I finally get it to have a steady blinking orange light, but then it detects my iPod as "Unknown Device" in Windows.

My iPod does work and charges with the AC wall charger, and I can listen to the songs that are in but I can't sync/put new songs due to this issue.

I tried nearly every solution that exists, such as updating the driver in device manager, making it be a mass storage device so I can reformat it, but I can't get it to become a mass storage device, it just detects it as an "Unknown Device" no matter what. I also tried to stop the iPod service to make iTunes recognize it as a mass storage or anything, just so I can reformat it (after doing this it should be no problem detecting on iTunes) but nothing works..

Getting tired of this.. any solutions?! I tried the Apple Reset Utility, Apple Guide 5 steps etc.. Nothing will recognize since it is an "Unknown Device".

Should I just throw it away?

Answer 1

My suspicion is that your charger was not the standard AC charger, and the voltage some how blew part of the port hardware, but not all of it. Are you near an Apple Store or a Reseller? They can probably try to boot it, and if it won't be recognized, they may give you a recycling discount on a new shuffle. It's probably not cost conscious to repair when a new one is $49.