Zolved community solution Createarticle_iconnew articleEditarticle_iconedit article

The Apple iPod's White Screen of Death

I get a white/blank screen on my iPod

The software is probably hung up and needs to be restarted.


This is probably caused by not allowing the firmware update to finish the installation before disconnecting the iPod. Try these steps.

Reset the iPod:

  1. Turn the Hold switch on, then back to off.
  2. Press and hold the Menu and Select buttons for 10 seconds (until the Apple logo appears).
  3. You may need to repeat the reset several times.
If the reset doesn't help, then put the iPod into forced disk mode.


Put iPod into Disk Mode:

Apple suggests that you ensure your iPod is charged before following the next step.  How exactly you check a charge on an iPod screen that is completely white has yet to be revealed. But hey, give it a shot anyway.  Plug the iPod into a high-powered USB port, let it sit for 2 hours, then disconnect it.  If you have a wall charger, plug in the iPod, then follow these steps while it is still plugged in.
  1. Turn the Hold switch on, then back to off.
  2. Press and hold the Menu and Select buttons until the Apple logo appears
  3. Immediately switch your figures to press and hold the Select and the Play/Pause buttons until "Disk Mode" appears at the top.

For a lot of people, this solves the problem. Connect the iPod to the computer and (assuming it shows up) reset the iPod again to get it out of Disk Mode.  If at this point you still have the white screen, restore the iPod using the restore function in iTunes under the Summary tab (this will erase everything on the iPod and put it at factory settings).

Don't disconnect or eject the iPod until the store is totally done.  After you think it's done, wait another five minutes.

copyright © 2009, IPTouch, Inc.

 

 

Comments
  • Posted by: dreynolds_194 at 21 Jun 15:32 permalink
    The "solution" does not work, and an Apple "Genius" determined that there was a HARDWARE problem on my wife's 2nd gen nano. Fortunately the problem occurred within the first two months of ownership. If there was ever a product from Apple where it will pay you to purchase AppleCare--itself overpriced--, I believe ANY iPod is the product. As AppleCare runs out on iPods in TWO years, don't forget to start saving your money for your next iPod. Here is a class action suit waiting to happen--I hope! Perhaps some thoughtful judge will see that we get a fifty cent coupon toward our next purchase . . . .
    • Posted by: hottiwitdabootti_982 at 27 Oct 21:46 permalink
      MY ipod has this white screen! what should i do? please help
    • Posted by: tinastrider_4171 at 12 Nov 22:48 permalink
      Worked for my iPod...whew! Thanks!
      • Posted by: nikki-TT at 29 Dec 11:47 permalink
        Thanks guys,...i was so scarred.. :) (it was the microwave that did it tho)
        • Posted by: jsdpkbvp_3083 at 18 Jan 15:13 permalink
          I doubted it would work but it did. Thanks=)
          • Posted by: ju5tin_penis_1552 at 22 Jan 14:39 permalink
            this dosen't work on the 3rd gen nano
            if only i didn't spray paint it :@
            • Posted by: noascott_3771 at 07 Feb 17:30 permalink
              Thanks so much...worked for me too!
              • Posted by: noascott_3771 at 07 Feb 17:31 permalink
                Thank you! It worked for my 3rd generation 8GB iPod nano....whew!
                • Posted by: redlaoballa97_6391 at 28 Feb 06:18 permalink
                  tryed that but when i press and hold menu and select for about 8-9 seconds the screen just shuts off and i try to do i agin but still does the same thing...trun the hold button back and fourth screen turns on the press and hold menu and select the screen shuts off..HELP!!..email me-redlaoballa97@hotmail.com
                • Posted by: trixster15_7150 at 28 Mar 00:15 permalink
                  great I just restored it to factory settings and it still is doin the same thing...
                  • Posted by: harlem10451_9650 at 14 Apr 13:52 permalink
                    THAAAAANNNNKKKKK UUUUUUUU
                    • Posted by: spongbobl0ver_4806 at 28 Apr 13:51 permalink
                      never take water and soap to the ipod
                      • Posted by: spongbobl0ver_4806 at 28 Apr 13:53 permalink
                        Soap and water and soap did mine whew thanks hope this works
                        • Posted by: spongbobl0ver_4806 at 28 Apr 18:01 permalink
                          that dont work for mine .....
                          it just turned the screan black
                        • Posted by: masondeily_4915 at 20 May 08:20 permalink
                          my ipod is still not workin........that pisses me off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!plzzzzzzzzzz help me.
                          • Posted by: jsdlzj_4453 at 06 Jun 04:37 permalink
                            Here's my solution. My iPod's a 2nd Gen Nano 4 GB

                            To fix it you need to restart it in a total of:
                            43TIMES NON STOP.

                            At each interval, when you see a black screen (presumably where the Apple Logo should be) shove your Apple cable (with your iPod) into the computer and HOPE THAT IT HAPPENS. If not doing this until the 43rd time should be enough.

                            Don't bother calling apple support, they don't give anything useful.
                            • Posted by: z.calix_2023 at 24 Jun 08:33 permalink
                              well if u have a video ipod ur actually can also also hold the menu button(top button) and the middle button it shou;d reset it also because that hold menu and play thing doesnt work 4 everyones ipod especially the new edditions
                              • Posted by: cdunk12 at 20 Jul 13:24 permalink
                                my ipod has the white screen too please help
                                • Posted by: cdunk12 at 20 Jul 13:25 permalink
                                  my ipod has the white screen too HELP PLEASE!!! :(
                                  • Posted by: cdunk12 at 20 Jul 13:26 permalink
                                    please help same prob
                                    • Posted by: blueriches_8362 at 20 Jul 18:36 permalink
                                      what happens if the apple logo never appears?
                                      • Posted by: blueriches_8362 at 20 Jul 18:37 permalink
                                        what happens if the apple logo never apears?
                                        • Posted by: blueriches_8362 at 20 Jul 18:42 permalink
                                          what do i do if the logo never appears.i can hear the music if i play with the ipod but the screen is white.tried what you said but the logo does not appear.what do i do????????????
                                          • Posted by: judy_9576 at 06 Aug 03:21 permalink
                                            Thanks! Mine was zapped by an adaptor for a car stereo...
                                            • Posted by: bow_wow_2550 at 15 Aug 21:49 permalink
                                              I tried all of the above and nothing worked. I was ready to give up and buy a new one, but then since I had nothing to lose, I decided to take it apart. I disconnected the battery and pressed all of the connectors down. I didn't think I did anything to help, but when I put it back together and powered it on, it worked!
                                              • Posted by: ninedoor84_4517 at 16 Sep 19:03 permalink
                                                HELP!! i have the white screen of death but dont know what to do
                                                • Posted by: ninedoor84_4517 at 16 Sep 19:04 permalink
                                                  HELP!! WHITE SCREEN OF DEATH IS KILLING ME WHAT DO I DO!!
                                                  • Posted by: Dust_y at 28 Sep 06:12 permalink
                                                    never use nike armbands for your ipod, apparantly the sweat from running seeps right through the material and turns your ipod screen completely white! Who knew? I reset it every 5 mins to see the screen. WEAK!
                                                  • Posted by: Dust_y at 28 Sep 06:16 permalink
                                                    Don't ever use Nike running bands for your ipod! I started using mine and apparantly in their design they didn't think the sweat coming through the material would affect the ipod, or turn the screen on it white! Now every 5 mins after a song is finished playing, I have to reset to see the next song I want to play.....balls
                                                    • Posted by: caspar.zwart_2650 at 30 Sep 12:21 permalink
                                                      Hi everybody,
                                                      I have the same problem with my iPod touch. I figured out there is a small workaround, but so far it hasn't solved the problem permanently.
                                                      In general it seems as if the iPods sometime run out of battery really fast (shortcircuit). In general it helps to reset. When you have the black screen, just keep your iPod connected. It will be powered and after some minutes (I'd say, leave it at least an hour) it will start normally again.
                                                      It seems as if the iPod cannot be reset when it has not enough power left.

                                                      I hope this works for some.
                                                      • Posted by: hotrenor_6672 at 06 Oct 12:26 permalink
                                                        Well perhaps we all expect too much from our Apple gear... after all, it was made in China. I did at least 10 restart/reload/re-everything on this ipod nano. Suddenly it works again, but I saw the white screen come and go and it's a hassle.
                                                      • Posted by: kristinms_5871 at 23 Oct 19:56 permalink
                                                        thanks.. i dropped it in a lake and it was sitting in rice for over a week.. then i take it out and it was all white!! i freaked out.. but thanks.. it worked!! but now my screen colors are all wrong because of the water damage but whatever.. I HAVE MY IPOD BACK!!! thanks so much.. :-)
                                                        • Posted by: fcharnaw_6785 at 28 Oct 03:45 permalink
                                                          The White Screen Of Death issue in Apple iPODs is a hardware-related problem. It can be fixed by a spare part replacement only. No software manipulations can resolve it. This is just because iPODs are assembled in China from low-quality shitty spare parts, and normally cannot operate more than one year. But, yeah, the iPOD design is glamorous! :)
                                                          • Posted by: fcharnaw_6785 at 28 Oct 03:46 permalink
                                                            The White Screen Of Death issue in Apple iPODs is a hardware-related problem. It can be fixed by spare part replacement only. No software manipulations can resolve it. This is just because iPODs are assembled in China from low-quality shitty spare parts, and normally cannot operate more than one year. But, yeah, the iPOD design is glamorous! :)
                                                            • Posted by: dm2008 at 30 Oct 21:56 permalink
                                                              I finally gave up trying to fix my white screen of death problem and went to www.irestoreteam.com. Referred to them from a friend. I spoke with a rep and he said they can fix the White Screen of Death Problem.

                                                              They said that 90% of the time, it is a hardware issue and its usually related to the screen. They performed a free diagnosis and repaired it for much less than apple would. I believe he said there was a faulty connection with the screen contacts. I paid $35 to have it fixed. Works flawlessly! Don't waste your time trying to do software resets and firmware upgrades. Probably wont work.
                                                              • Posted by: dm2008 at 30 Oct 21:56 permalink
                                                                I finally gave up trying to fix my white screen of death problem and went to www.irestoreteam.com. Referred to them from a friend. I spoke with a rep and he said they can fix the White Screen of Death Problem.

                                                                They said that 90% of the time, it is a hardware issue and its usually related to the screen. They performed a free diagnosis and repaired it for much less than apple would. I believe he said there was a faulty connection with the screen contacts. I paid $35 to have it fixed. Works flawlessly! Don't waste your time trying to do software resets and firmware upgrades. Probably wont work.
                                                                • Posted by: rty2k1_2226 at 07 Dec 16:13 permalink
                                                                  I have an IPOD 5th gen with a bad screen. I replaced the screen and had a white screen,no apple logo but the music still played tried all the suggestions and nothing worked ,finally I opened it back up unhooked and rehooked the video ribbon cable and bingo everything worked. got the screen on Ebay for $15 I got the tutorial here http://www.ipodhowtovideo.com/
                                                                  • Posted by: jonathanmartin_9807 at 21 Dec 11:42 permalink
                                                                    I have had this problem on my own Ipod, and it seems as thought there are a number of ways to reset. All the solutions are some variant of 'turning it off and on again', like

                                                                    1/ Press and hold the play/start button whilst the ipod is plyaing, and plugged into the charger - so that the Ipod turns off completey. Strangely, this often brings up the charging icon, and once the screen displays anything at all, it will then go on to dislpay everything else.

                                                                    Alternatively, leave the ipod playing whilst not charging, and with nothing plugged into it (not even the headphones). Ater a few minutes, maybe longer, press the play button to wake up the display - and everyting comes back up.

                                                                    Or, let the Ipod completely discharge. This seems to be the answer to a lot of problems, inclusive of the 'locked on' syndrome - where the ipod won't allow itself to be turned off, unless it is allowed to run out of all stored power.

                                                                    The simultaneous pressing of menu and select does seem to cure a few glitches on my particular ipod - but it doesn't cure the screen problem. An awful lot does seem to be connected, one way or another, to how much charge it is holding, and either increasing or decreasing that charge or running it flat.

                                                                    The good news is that on my ipod I haven't yet had a problem that couldn't be sorted out with a certain amount of coaxing. However, the bottom line has to be a software problem. This just should't be happening.
                                                                    • Posted by: 321sinaloa_9704 at 11 Jan 20:27 permalink
                                                                      when i tried that my ipod screen turned off and i cant turn it back on...
                                                                      can someone please help!?!?
                                                                      • Posted by: armageddon_zine_5731 at 20 Jan 16:51 permalink
                                                                        ok if your ipod screen still isnt working but plays music(and has been charging via wall charger) unplug it, turn it off and put it on HOLD. then just let it sit for several hours. this happened to my ipod before school and halfway thru the day i turned it on and BAM! it started workin again! (theres also a hidden diagnostic menu that you can use... just search it on youtube)
                                                                        • Posted by: armageddon_zine_5731 at 20 Jan 16:54 permalink
                                                                          ok if its still not working but plays music charge it, turn it off and put it on hold, and let it sit for like 5 hours then turn it back on. if it still doesnt work do the reset thing but when screen goes from white to black press&hold center and |<< button.. diagnostic menu! then just hold center and menu or go to OTHER then RESET TEST and it should work
                                                                          • Posted by: storminsane_4232 at 24 Jan 12:49 permalink
                                                                            My daughter had dropped her ipod and the screen went blank. We plugged it into the computer and tried to sync it in itunes, but it did not respond. I tried this and IT WORKED!!!
                                                                            • Posted by: ericklamb_6101 at 27 Jan 11:35 permalink
                                                                              I had this happen to me and searched far and wide for a solution but none worked. here is what ended up working for me. I hope it saves someone else the headache I went through to figure it out. put the ipod into disk mode go into windows explorer (my computer) and right click the ipod drive. click on "Format " in the shortcut menu. format the ipod then you may need to reset it (select + menu) but then put it back into disk mode once it's recognized by itunes restore the ipod to factory settings. like I said this worked for me my problem came from replacing the lcd screen myself. I hope it works for you. the key difference in what i did as opposed to instructions i found on the internet was formatting the ipod through windows explorer.
                                                                              • Posted by: avilaabby_1662 at 03 Apr 19:24 permalink
                                                                                hi i need help my i-pod chromatic fell down on the floor and i picked it up and it turnd white and then gray with 2 lines and i droped it agin on perpouse and it turned white please help i beg of u
                                                                                • Posted by: ajago12598_1545 at 04 Apr 20:12 permalink
                                                                                  Mine is non-responsive, it even doesn't have the apple Logo on the screen when I do the middle button and menu. People of Apple, please HELP!!! My ipod is berserk! And I got it 1/25/09 and right now it's 4/4/09 my e-mail is ajago12598@yahoo.com
                                                                                  • Posted by: wolf30_2781 at 08 Apr 10:34 permalink
                                                                                    omg thank you so much it worked!!!! thank you so much god bless you ha ha!! yay!!!
                                                                                    first i pressed menu for 10 seconds, then i did it again, then again (it didn't work) then i did it AGAIN en all of a sudden i saw the screen again!! thanks!!
                                                                                    • Posted by: whitexboyx at 12 Apr 14:54 permalink
                                                                                      yea uhh i have a orange ipod nano 4th gen 4gb can somebody help me please....my ipod is being a little wierd i was listening to music the other day and my ipods screen turned white and it wont do anything else...i did everything this page told me to do and it is still now working..when i reset my ipod it goes back to a white screen and doesnt show the logo....i did the refresh thing and now i can hear the clicking noise when i turn the wheel but that is it if you have any information that can help me please email me at averysarmy@hotmail.com thank you...
                                                                                      • Posted by: whitexboyx at 12 Apr 14:57 permalink
                                                                                        and now that i did the reset thing on itunes the computer wont reconize my divice (ipod) need info plox
                                                                                        • Posted by: lol-at-yourface_2697 at 13 Apr 19:57 permalink
                                                                                          while i was listening to m ipod i out it down and when i saw it after that it had turned white. but then i worked out i could just see some of the display and the songs would still play. howo do i get my screen back!!
                                                                                          • Posted by: vikkib_123_3057 at 18 Apr 14:02 permalink
                                                                                            i managed to get rid of the white screen of death but when i connect it to my computer it tells me it has malfunctioned and doesnt recognise it!!! can anyone help??
                                                                                            • Posted by: kate17_798 at 17 May 13:51 permalink
                                                                                              Ok,
                                                                                              For the iPod touch, there is a better way that is not so confusing.
                                                                                              Simply hold the home button and the sleep button until the apple logo shows up (should take about 30 seconds.)
                                                                                              If this doesnt work, try hooking your ipod up to a computer
                                                                                              • Posted by: dm2008 at 03 Jun 16:21 permalink
                                                                                                After having tried many times without success to fix my white screen of death on my nano, I came across www.irepairteam.com that does ipod repair. Saw a news article about their service on webwire.com. I spoke with a rep at the company and he said they definitely can fix the White Screen of Death Problem on almost every kind of iPod.

                                                                                                He said that almost every time this problem happens, it is a hardware issue and is related to faulty contacts on the screen or on the logic board.

                                                                                                I was a little skeptical about sending it in but they repaired it for much less than apple would have. paid $39 to have it fixed. And now it has a 1 year warranty from them too. Works flawlessly! Don't waste your time trying to do software resets and firmware upgrades. Probably wont work.
                                                                                                • Posted by: spacebuster23_2833 at 04 Jun 15:42 permalink
                                                                                                  Okay. I have a 8gb nano 4g. I was charging it and can back to it and it had the white screen. I've tried to reset it but it doesn't work at all.
                                                                                                  • Posted by: spacebuster23_2833 at 04 Jun 15:44 permalink
                                                                                                    Sorry I didn't finish. When I press any buttons the white screen shows. When I am charging it, a dark gray screen shows like when turn on ipod. I can't put in disk mode cause white screen shows up. What do I do?
                                                                                                  • Posted by: brittkinz_3806 at 13 Jun 16:54 permalink
                                                                                                    omg thank u~!!!!!!!! i was bout reeady to break my ipod lol
                                                                                                    • Posted by: brittkinz_3806 at 13 Jun 16:54 permalink
                                                                                                      i was bout to break my ipod to pieces thanks :D
                                                                                                      • Posted by: sarahfairburn_2821 at 14 Jun 18:51 permalink
                                                                                                        the reset didn't work for me - i tried about 20 times, changed the port on my computer, restarted my computer etc - so i just out it on hold for ten minutes and when i toggled back it was working!
                                                                                                      • Posted by: megcooper_2164 at 25 Jun 19:32 permalink
                                                                                                        I am attorney who has had this issue with the ipod and want to get a class action together against Apple...if anyone is interested in forming a class, please contact me at megcooper26@gmail.com.
                                                                                                        • Posted by: megcooper_2164 at 25 Jun 19:33 permalink
                                                                                                          I am an attorney who has had this issue with the iPod. I am interested in forming a class to file a class action. If anyone is interested, please contact me at megcooper26@gmail.com