ipod blues

July 19, 2005 9:26 AM

I need some help regarding my ipod. Every time I update it with itunes the battery gets depleted. Do I need to get it repaired?

I have a 3G 15 gig ipod that I have owned (out of the box) for a year now. I update via itunes and USB 2.0 using the firewire/USB connector cable and Windows XP. For the most part all has been fine. Recently however, whenever I update my ipod (I've always used automatic updating) it drains 3 quarters of the battery power in mere minutes. I could have the ipod fully charged, and if I update it it will deplete to 1/4 strength. If it's less than fully charged it often depletes completely and often shuts itself off before the update is complete.

Does anyone have any ideas what's going on? Is this a battery issue, a software issue or something else entirely? I still have my ipod under extended (repair) warrantly thankfully.

Thanks.

posted by aclevername to Technology (8 answers total)

Are you plugging it into a laptop? It isn't charging off the laptop, I'm sure...
posted by k8t at 9:30 AM on July 19, 2005

The 3G doesnt support charging over USB, so you're running the harddrive on the 3g's poor battery. Mine does the same thing (drain down) the few times I've gotten it to sync using USB. If you plug in the A/C adapter to the firewire lead on that cable, you'll be able to sync and charge at the same time.

I prefer my 3g to my friend's 4g, but I'm envious of USB charging.
posted by GreenTentacle at 9:31 AM on July 19, 2005

Best answer: If you mean that the battery meter drops by 3/4 that's not the same as the battery getting 3/4 depleted. The battery icon is "smart" in that it attempts to predict the actual charge by watching change in voltage with use. If you're really pounding the hard drive (by updating or by skipping through a lot of songs) it's going to drop faster. When you then just sit and listen to one pre-loaded track it's going to inch up again or decrease slower. And as GT says, unless you plug the firewire plug of that hydra cable into the wall wart to charge as you sync it is going to suck down battery.

There's an interesting battery trick here you might want to try to get better granularity than the icon.
posted by phearlez at 10:50 AM on July 19, 2005

Little-known fact: The 3G cannot simultaneously charge and communicate with the computer over USB.
posted by pmbuko at 1:00 PM on July 19, 2005

The 3G can not charge over USB, period. Or do you mean even plugged in with the hydra cable as I describe it will not charge? I don't think that's correct - I have mine hooked up at home that way and it does indeed charge, although it is not transferring data constantly.
posted by phearlez at 1:44 PM on July 19, 2005

Response by poster: It's not that I expect it to charge via USB, it's just that I never expected it to (at least by the graphic on the screen) deplete so quickly and completely. But it seems that this is standard, and I likely just never noticed it before because I had previously always had the AC plugged in at the same time.

Still, like I said, good to know this isn't a Big Deal.
posted by aclevername at 7:10 PM on July 19, 2005

I had the same problem, your battery can't be lasting very long even when playing. Unless you have the dual usb/firewire cable to charge while you sync it's gonna die. Unfortunately, my ultimate solution was getting a 4G through a Best Buy protection plan. Maybe try looking into the iPod class-action settlement as a way to replace your battery.
posted by Yukon at 7:31 AM on July 20, 2005

Let me modify that...if your battery is having problems when playing try the settlement. Otherwise, just make sure you plug it in to sync.
posted by Yukon at 7:38 AM on July 20, 2005