ipod update help

January 13, 2006 5:16 PM

I tried to update my iPod using Apple's "iPod updater" and now it wants an external power supply to finish the job. The problem is, I don't have the power adapter handy.

I sync my iPod with a Powerbook running OSX. I'm at home and my external power adaptor and firewire cable are in my office at school, an hour commute away. All I have right now is the USB cable.

If all else fails I can complete the update on Monday morning, but in its current half-updated state my iPod is not usable, and I don't really want to be ipod-less all weekend!

posted by sanitycheck to technology (16 comments total)

To my knowledge there's no way around this. You have to plug it into a wall for 10 seconds or so. I had the same situation occur to me about 2 weeks ago while I was at my office and I just had to wait until I got home to a plug. Hopefully I'm wrong -- Good luck.
posted by crapples at 5:22 PM on January 13, 2006

Do you live near an Apple store, or any other place that has iPods on display? Maybe you could drop by and plug your iPod in for a minute.
posted by reverendX at 5:24 PM on January 13, 2006

I'm almost positive there's no way around it. You could try doing a reset, which could possibly cancel the firmware update, but I doubt it.
posted by mr.dan at 5:25 PM on January 13, 2006

I've had the same thing. Stupid USB (ISTR it works OK with FireWire). There really is no way around it, you have to use direct power.
posted by bonaldi at 5:31 PM on January 13, 2006

Do you have a powered USB hub? If so, that should work in lieu of the power adapter (same with a car charger)
posted by nathan_teske at 6:15 PM on January 13, 2006

I had the same problem on my laptop, but plugged it into the primary USB slot on my desktop and that solved the problem, I guess there's enough power surging through that particular slot to do the job. Could you bring it into the office and try it there, or alternatively, see if anybody in your office has their charger?
posted by pazazygeek at 6:25 PM on January 13, 2006

This is insane -- there's an iPod updater out there that requires a step involving a wall power adapter? Despite the fact that Apple doesn't ship wall power adapters anymore?

Seriously, I'm as guilty of Cult of Apple crap at times as the next guy, but this is insane.
posted by delfuego at 6:43 PM on January 13, 2006

A friend told me today that there's a site out there with a workaround. Unfortunately, I don't have the url but I'll email him.
posted by Manhasset at 8:27 PM on January 13, 2006

The reason Apple cares about this is that if you run out of power in the middle of reflashing the firmware in your iPod, you'll probably brain-dead it.
posted by rfs at 9:04 PM on January 13, 2006

One potential option is to jigger the cable so that only the power pins of the USB or FireWire cable make contact with port on the computer. It's tricky, though.
posted by disarray at 9:36 PM on January 13, 2006

My 3G IPod will not take power over USB, only over Firewire. It also has a wall wart that provides a Firewire port with power only... no data. I also got a weird Y cable that lets me hook up to both the wall wart and to a USB port at the same time.

Unless you can scare up a Firewire cable from somewhere, I think you're out of luck. It doesn't have to be actually plugged into the wall... just connected to some device that provices power over FW (like your Mac).

If your USB cable is the same Y adapter that I have, you can likely plug it into your Mac that way. I think that connection is power only, but it should work fine for a firmware update.
posted by Malor at 10:14 PM on January 13, 2006

By the by, I'd imagine that you'd be able to plug it into a sleeping Powerbook and achieve what Apple's looking for. I frequently use my sleeping Powerbook's USB ports to charge all sorts of things -- my cellphone, my Palm and PocketPC, my iPod -- so I'd imagine that that setup would provide the power that the iPod updater is looking for. In the same vein, I'd imagine that a sleeping desktop computer would do the same...
posted by delfuego at 6:07 AM on January 14, 2006

If you're feeling crazy and if delfeugo's excellent suggestion doesnt work than you can try a little trick. Take your usb cable and put a very thin piece of tape over the middle two pins. Then slowly insert it into your computer until the power and ground pins connect, but the data ones do not. Should work, but you might get tape stuck inside that USB port.

Pinout diagram here. Take a look at it. Its pins 2 and 3 you want to cover with tape.
posted by skallas at 11:33 AM on January 14, 2006

I've had this problem before: I lost my wall charger and had a useless iPod for a couple of weeks until a friend lent me his. Really frustrating.

The next time I updated, I had a USB wall socket on hand which did the job perfectly. So, you don't have to use the "official" charger.
posted by blag at 6:36 AM on January 15, 2006

I tried both jiggering the USB cable and plugging it into a sleeping Powerbook, no dice. I don't have a powered USB hub at home, although I bet that would have worked if I did.

Luckily I had a friend visiting last night who happened to have an ipod charger in his car, so I plugged it in out there for a minute or two and now I have a functioning ipod again. Yay!
posted by sanitycheck at 4:56 PM on January 15, 2006

Solution I meant, above.
posted by Manhasset at 3:29 PM on January 16, 2006