Maybe this is all over the web, but I haven’t seen it mentioned on any sites… I got the idea from an anecdotal comment on a possible cause of the problem on ipod lounge, and when I looked, it seemed to make sense. Basically, the problem stems from the changes Apple made in the 4G to pause the ipod when you unplug your phones… there’s a small charge running through it somehow, so when the circuit breaks, the ipod pauses. The problem occurs with headphones which have a metal disk around the plug, which seem to include most of the higher end ‘phones, including my Shure E2s. It’s probably because the metal disk is touching the metal back of the ipod… but at any rate, a quick and dirty fix is just to take a small piece of plastic wrap, punch a tiny hole in it and run your headphone jack through it… sort of a broken icondom. :-) So your plug issticking through the plastic, but the metal base is still covered by it. I just gave it a try and I’m listening to my 4g static free, no matter what position the plug is in. Give it a try. Much better than continually returning ipods, or giving up your good ‘phones. I might try putting some clear nail polish or something on the ipod around the headphone jack, or on the disk around the plug, since the plastic will tear off fairly quickly… but it works for now.
Did that help? Let me know!
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Heh, deja vu.
The Rio carbon has an identical static problem (possibly for different resons though).. And people were praising the ipod for not having this problem, despite it also having a metal case. Guess apple didn’t quite nail the solution afterall…
well, try this with your rio. Maybe it’ll help.
I’m fairly convinced it’s solely the result of the little thing apple added to the 4G ipod to catch when you unplug your earbuds and automatically pause. Does the rio have the same feature?
Of course, it only happens with the wider metald disk headphones… I don’t understand why the higher end headphones have that… I’m sure there’s some reason for it, though….
I just tried it with my 20GB 4G iPod (using some clear tape over the top of the iPod, and using an X-acto knife to cut out a circle of tape for the plug to go through.
Long story short, it doesn’t make any difference. I still get the noise with my Sony V6s and Shure E3s.
:(
Maybe it’s not earthed properly?
Robin, try it with saran wrap or something, and poke a hole with a pin, then shove your plug through the hole so it has a tight fit… see if that helps. if even a little bit of metal is touching the top of the ipod, it’s not going to fix it.
You can also try popping the plug out just a bit… if that helps, so should the other… if it doesn’t, it may be something else.
Some additional information here — it’s for the rio carbon, but the problem’s the same.
dude ur amazing!! my iPod was pausing without unplugging anything, it would pause by itself, but i took your advice and it totally worked!!! thanks so much!!!!
dude ur amazing!! my iPod was pausing without unplugging anything, it would pause by itself, but i took your advice and it totally worked!!! thanks so much!!!!
Hey, thanks for this idea. I have a 4G iPod and some Shure E3Cs. The static was awful, and your fix works.
Somehow, after spending $300 on an iPod and $200 on a set of Shure earbuds, it doesn’t seem fair that I’d need to screw around with Saran Wrap, scissors and pins to avoid intolerable static. Two questions:
1. If I take my iPod back to Apple, will they replace it? Will the replacement have the same problem?
2. Any experience with a more permanent fix? I hate having to screw around with plastic every time I unplug the earbuds.
Thanks.
–Doug G.
taking the ipod back probably won’t make any difference. You could put a little teflon washer on one side or the other, use some nail polish or latex or something. Good luck. :-)
To follow up my my post above, #9… Great news: Apple replaced the iPod with one that doesn’t have the problem.
Here’s the story. I took the iPod back to the Apple store today, made an appointment at their “Genius Bar”, and described the problem to the guy behind the counter. He’d heard of this problem but had never personally experienced it. He said it wasn’t an Apple Support “Hot Issue”, but he did have a suggested remedy:
1. He’d let me return the iPod and get a replacement. Once. He couldn’t guarantee that the problem wouldn’t exist in the new iPod, and he was unwilling to let me continue to return iPods indefinitely.
2. He let me plug my headphones into the new unit to see if the problem existed on the new iPod. It didn’t.
3. If the problem HAD existed with the new iPod, he was going to contact Apple Engineering and see what they could do about it. Worst case scenario, he would have let me return the iPod for a full refund.
Luckily, the new iPod gave me no static, so I walked out of the store very happy. He told me the my new iPod was manufactured very recently, “so they might have fixed any defects”.
The difference in my listening experience is remarkable. Thanks to Apple for some great customer support!
Dunno, Doug. I didn’t have the problem with mine for the first few weeks… then I started noticing it, particularly when I’d jump past several songs at once.
While it’s possible they fixed the problem, you’d think they’d have announced it somewhere or something. Or maybe they didnt want to be inundated with returns. If only I had an apple store within a reasonable distance, I’d try it out… but I don’t want to take a 90 minute drive to chicago for a fix that may not work.
Congrats on the replacement, though.
If the problem reappears, I’ll post an update.
can some one post the piture of the fix ?
TIA
masking tape
not elegant but it could work
I’ve had a 4G for a few months, and it only recently started making the hard drive noise I’ve read so much about. However, I haven’t had it with earbuds.
I usually leave my iPod docked and listen through my computer speakers (connected w/ y-adapter to PC). The computer has always put out much less sound whenever the iPod is plugged in. I found that it goes away completely if I unplug my computer’s audio from the y-adapter.
So now we know of another possible source of the static.
Sounds more like you need a new Y adapter.
As for the volume… remember that the line-out through the dock is not amplified. it’s just signal out. So it has almost no volume at all. You have to adjust whatever you’re hooking it up to to do that. Or you could just go through the headphone jack, which is amplified.
The iCondom (I’ve put a small ring of Scotch tape on the hadphone jack, not on the iPod) works perfectly for me. I have a 60GB iPod and I had the pausing problem with both Sennheiser MX 450 and Sennheiser PX 100. I’ve never had the problem with the Apple headphones and I’ve thought that the Apple headphone’s jack must be somehow special and it really is: its ring is much smaller than the ring on the Sennheiser’s jacks and does not make a contact with the back of the iPod (the female jack has a small white plastic ring and the male touches it only).
The iCondom helps
i did the same like Siff (small ring of Scotch tape on the hadphone jack, so it covers the metal ring coplaetly)
Thanks.
ps: i use 4g ipod 40 GB just for the info.
hmm…:?
Thank you. it really works
use electrical tape, works the Best!!!
Took an xacto knife and the clear plastic bubble packaging my fm transmitter came in and carefully cut a plastic “donut” that slides tightly onto the headphone plug. It is cosmetically invisible and works like a charm. Be careful with that xacto folks!
i dropped my ipod and it froze with the backlight on and started to overheat, so i pulled it apart because i tried to turn it off but it wouldn’t then when i pulled it apart it turned off
Wow, Thank you so much for posting this… I am pretty annoyed about this (I *love* my shure headphones..) Just went to the Apple Store in the mall and they told me to call Shure and get replacement headphones. Huh. Doesn’t sound like that would be the solution.
wow, this really worked
thanks man
I put a piece of tape over the headphone jack and pushed the headphone male end throught the tape. It works like a charm. Far better than calling the outsourced idiots at HP who informed me that I’d have to pay $275 (the cost of a new ipod) for someone to look at it. You guys are brilliant.
I connected my iPod before installing the software.
a friend of mine said that it can broke the iPod.
and I just can’t turn my iPod on.
what can I do?
thanks
em i don get it my speakers don have metal disk and still pause
Just tried it and it works perfectly :)
THANKS SO MUCH!
You sir, are my hero, just for shits and giggles I came on here and looked to see if there was a fix for this and what do ya know, You saved me buying a new ipod!