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

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)

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.

I eventually got my 2nd Generation iPod Nano connecting to Sequoia 15.4. I can relax with my tunes with my old case & lanyard. Occasionally, someone notices I'm putting an old device to good use.

But, you're using your iPod professionally. A current iPhone will be more reliable. Just be sure to put it into airplane mode when using it on the job. Low power mode will help the batter last longer.

You can still have fun with your iPod offstage!

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.

I was syncing my ipod 4th gen up until two weeks ago and now suddenly it says 'The selected device could not be found'!

Where are you guys finding any 'restore' function? I can't click on anything, it's greyed out and it's just spinning until I get that error message.

I have a brand new 30pin to USB cable...

Edit: and by the way it works fine as a hard disk, and shows up in the sidebar both as a hard disk and ipod but it's only the syncing music that does not work...

I really hope this can be fixed!!!

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.

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 is an issue for me. I have tried updating both an ipod classic and an ipod shuffle and am unable to add music to these devices anymore, even ejecting the ipod classic once I have tried updating does not work. I have to shut down my computer to disconnect the ipod. I thought maybe it was an issue with the ipod classic but having tried with another device and seen the reports here, it seems it is an issue with macOS.

FYI.. .. Also wanted to say that once I saw its disk show up in Finder, I was successfully able to drag and drop a music file onto it, then select that file, hit the Space bar and played it. I really need to have it show up in Apple Music so I can replace all the songs

How can I get to the dialog box asking permission to restore the iPod? All I get is "Connection Failed - Make sure "Macbook Air is turned on and in range." It is turned on and in range. I am BEYOND frustrated with this. I had my iPOD NANO 7 stolen. I have replaced it with a new one and now all it is is a brick that won't connect to my Mac. $%^&*&^%

También a mi me esta pasando no puedo sincronizar mi iPod nano o classic, como lo hacia de costumbre antes de la actualización a sequoia 15.5, tuve que acudir a un pc con Windows para resolver un problema. Que indignación tener que acudir a un PC WINDOWS para resolver un problema que ha generado Apple en su última actualización, necesito saber que tengo que hacer para volver a sincronizar mi iPod con mi Mac.

I am an Ipod Classic user also wanting to sync his ipod to a macbook pro running Sequoia. Currently I am unable to do so.

Should I submit a bug report as well? Let me know.

Sequoia 15.3 worked OK with my 2nd generation Nano.

Out of luck with 15.4