Why won't my iPod connect to Mac after macOS Sequoia update?

I read your response, and yes I tried the method you suggested. Didn't work. The iPod showed up in the music app, the little 'spinning wheel' did its thing for a couple of minutes, and then it said it did not recognize the device. Any other ideas??

For whatever reason, my 2 iPod 3rd gens are both being recognized and working correctly with Sequoia/Music now. No restarts needed. I can’t say that I did anything special to get them to work except for repeatedly trying for about 8 days in a row, so I’m afraid I can’t be helpful with advice.

Sooooo...... 'Twould seem we are all voices in the dark ... destined to helplessly shout at the uncaring winds of Job's and Wozniak's wet dream. I suppose after a sufficient wait my iPod will once again begin to work. Won't be the first time ... doubt it will be the last, either. Sort of like the fact that I'm currently logged in to this page even though Apple refuses to acknowledge the password I gave it to get here. Unless ... that wiggle of the password icon that indicates non-acceptance, is now a wiggle of orgiastic joy??? Any thoughts out there??

Ok, I've made several comments after having no luck whatsoever in getting my iPod classic to work with Sequoia, the last being somewhat irreverent (I'm a musician ... goes with the territory) and suggested, somewhat sarcastically, that after all my ranting and raving it would probably start working on its own, knowing of course that it likely won't, and this afternoon I tried hooking it into the music app on my MacBook, and it worked ... now it's completely content with itself. I don't get it. Of course, it's April 1st, and I'm waiting for the clown's face to pop up and scream "April fool!!!" Check back with me tomorrow .... (sigh)

Got it working. It's possible the contacts on my 30 pin cable are performing badly due to age.

If I had two Macs, & two cables I could do conclusive all-other-things being equal tests to pinpoint the problem conclusively.

I do have two 2nd Generation Nanos, which have been helpful in this process.

I updated my 2024 MacBookPro to Sequoia 15.4 to no avail. I still am not able to sync. Using the right side USB-C port I AM able to get the laptop to recognize the ipod but it prompts me to restore.

My situation is a particular one as I lost everything in the LA fires back in January so this ipod which was in my vehicle has my whole music collection. I can't restore. I also wish there was a way to pull off the music so I can backup my ipod.

There is a way to get all of your music off the iPod and into AppleMusic on your Mac.

Plug the iPod into your Mac and "Enable disk use" so the iPod mounts like any other HDD.

Click on the iPod so you can see its contents. Should be 3 folders called - Calendars Contacts & Notes

Click the "cmd" "shift" "." keys at the same time. This will reveal the invisible folders.

Navigate to the now visible but greyed out, iPod_Control : Music. In there you will find many folders called something like F00 & F44.

WITHOUT Apple Music running copy all of those folders into the Music : Media : Automatically Add to Music folder.

Start Apple Music and it will do as the folder says "Automatically Add to Music".

Apple Music will organise everything back into Artist and Albums ect.

NOTE. When I've needed to do this in the past I have always created a new Admin User, logged into it and used that with the fresh copy of Apple Music so as to not inadvertently do any harm to my music library.

Once the library is organised you can copy and add the albums your primary music library as you need.

I was having the same problem with an iPod Classic 160 GB (gen 6?). I had wiped it and restored using Sequoia 15.3, but then I could only see it as an external drive. Following the Sequoia 15.4 update I was able to see the iPod in the Music App, and it prompted me to go to Finder to complete setup. Now it appears to be syncing normally.

I also changed 30-pin cables, but I don't know if that was the problem. I'll have to wait until the sync is complete to test.

I will eventually upgrade this with a new battery and storage, but it seems to be working again as stock.

I am synced now, with iPod classic and Sequoia 15.4. After several days of trying, during which I clicked "Restore", all with no result, I was suddenly asked if I wanted to reformat iPod. I said yes, then it said "synchronizing", but with no result: still no music on the iPod.. I disconnected and reconnected and then the sync ran normally. Wonderful to hear music this way again: lovely sound.

This is not an option for me as I am unable to even mount my ipod. That said, I am currently sourcing OEM cables to make sure it's not some cheap cable causing issues. Trial by elimination.

Once I am mounted, my first steps will be to move the music from the ipod to a drive. This is the only copy of the music I have since the LA fires.

If you don't mind me asking what cables are you using? And are they OEM or aftermarket? If possible, please be specific.

That said, I am glad to hear your success. I hope this trickles down to all of us.

How old is that SD card? They are notorious for failing... Talk to the RaspberryPi folks about it. There's a reason they moved to eMMC with better quality flash chips instead. Also make sure there isn't a write protect tiny switch on your SD card.

Assuming you have your music backed up. Just upgrade your SD card to a new one. They are dirt cheap nowadays. Get a 128GB or a 256GB SD. It should show up as NONAME, so open Disk Utility and format Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and give it a proper iPod Mini name. Then go to Finder and open it on the sidebar and tell it to restore. Or perhaps eject and re-insert. Once it's restored you should be good to go.

It's not the SD card or the CF-to-SD card adapter; I've ruled that out as I took it apart, tried a different SD card, then even tried putting back the original HDD. Same issue. Tried swapping the CF/SD card to a spare Mini (silver), no luck there either. And yes, I'm using legit working Apple 30 pin connectors (using 2 different ones in experiments FWIW).

I have 3 minis: Gold (daily driver), Silver (parts since donor mangled the shell), and a Blue (stock). The Blue is working so I MIGHT try swapping its HDD for the CF/SD and see if it is a motherboard thing. If the board is at fault, it is curious since Gold DOES work 100% as a USB drive and older versions of macOS have no problem with the device, so really don't think this is it. As well, I also have a 1st gen Nano which works (though only 4GB).

Why do you think? Its just too old, i mean idk how, the iPod classic should still work (if youre talking about that) but if you’re talking about the iPod touch 7th gen is insane, its only 6 years old, i mean, my iphone 4s still can connect to sonoma (yes) but its from forever ago

This response is tongue in cheek, humor. No offense is intended.

Gen-Z: What is an iPod? 🤣

Seriously, the iPod devices mentioned are approximately between 11 & 17 years old. I think you got your monies worth. Music has evolved from record players to reel to reel tape to 8-track to cassette tapes then compact discs to MP3 / MP4 players and now to streaming.

Can you elaborate more about how you use these iPods from yesteryear? I can't imagine the battery life to be all that great considering their age. There are a variety of alternative options. But before I offer suggestions. I'd like to know more about how you have been using the iPods in greater detail. That will help me focus on the alternatives that may be able to fill the void.