Are you having trouble syncing your iPod with your computer? Unfortunately, iPod sync issues like this can be common. Luckily, you can resolve many iPod problems by changing a few options here and there on your devices.

This guide tells how you can fix the issue with your iPod and get it to sync with your computer successfully.

1. Use a Different USB Cable and USB Port

check usb cable

More often than not, it’s a faulty cable that causes connection and sync issues with your iPod. A defective cable can’t transmit data properly; if this describes yours, you need to replace it with a high-quality USB cable.

While checking the cable, you should also review the USB port on your computer. Make sure it works by testing another device with it or following our dead USB port diagnosis guide. If you have a bad port, use another one that works.

This basic yet effective method is often overlooked, so make sure to try it before going forward.

2. Relaunch iTunes or Finder and Resync Your iPod

Sometimes, iTunes (on Windows or macOS Mojave and older) or Finder (on macOS Catalina and newer) can have minor issues that cause your iPod not to sync with your computer. You can fix most of these minor glitches by simply restarting these apps.

quit itunes

Close iTunes or Finder (depending on your platform), then relaunch it. Once the program relaunches, connect your iPod and see if your issue is resolved.

3. Disable the Antivirus Software on Your Computer

Antivirus programs are known to cause problems with many apps; yours might be interfering with iTunes or Finder. One way to deal with this is to keep your antivirus software turned off while you sync your iPod with your computer.

Most antivirus programs have the option to turn off protection temporarily on their main screen. Click that option and make sure the protection shields aren't running. Then, finish your sync process and re-enable your antivirus afterwards.

4. Use Wi-Fi Sync Instead of USB Sync

Wired sync isn’t the only option you have available for your iPod. iTunes and Finder both support Wi-Fi syncing, which means you can sync your iPod to your computer without using any cables.

Related: How to Sync Your iPhone to iTunes and Back

If a wired connection is causing sync problems with your iPod, you can enable Wi-Fi syncing in iTunes or Finder and start using that for all your future syncs.

Here’s how you do that in iTunes (the steps are similar for Finder):

  1. Select your iPod in iTunes and click the Summary tab in the left sidebar.
  2. Tick the box that says Sync with this iPod over Wi-Fi on the right pane and click Apply.
    sync ipod over wi-fi

5. Run iTunes With Admin Privileges

If you are on a Windows PC, a possible reason why your iPod won't sync is that iTunes has permissions issues. Perhaps the app doesn’t have the required permissions to run tasks on your iPod.

You can fix this permissions issue by running iTunes with admin access, which you can do as follows:

  1. Open the Start Menu and search for iTunes.
  2. Right-click on iTunes and select Run as administrator.
  3. Confirm the prompt that appears.
    run itunes as admin

6. Ensure the Correct Drivers Are Installed on Your Computer

A lot of Windows connection issues stem from lacking the appropriate drivers. If you haven’t installed the right drivers for your iPod, that may be why iTunes doesn’t detect and sync your device.

Related: How to Find & Replace Outdated Windows Drivers

Installing the correct drivers on your Windows PC should fix the issue; here's how to do that:

  1. Close iTunes if it’s running on your PC.
  2. Connect your iPod to your computer using a cable. Ensure your device is unlocked.
  3. Search for Device Manager using the Start Menu and open it.
  4. Expand the option for Portable Devices and you’ll see your iPod.
  5. Right-click on your iPod and select Update driver.
    update ipod drivers
  6. Click on Search automatically for updated driver software on the following screen.
    search ipod drivers
  7. Finish the driver update process.
  8. Reboot your computer.
  9. Disconnect your iPod from your computer and reconnect it.

7. Update Your iPod and iTunes/macOS Version

If you’re using an older software version on your iPod, have a really old version of iTunes or macOS, or both, these older versions may be why your iPod has sync problems.

You can update the software on your iPod, plus update iTunes or macOS, to see if that fixes your issues.

Update an iPod as follows:

  1. Head to Settings > General > Software Update and check for available updates.
  2. If an update is available, tap Download and Install.

You can update iTunes for Windows by downloading and installing the latest version from the Microsoft Store. If you installed iTunes from Apple's website, choose Help > Check for Updates instead.

Mac users can update iTunes by heading to the Mac App Store and downloading new updates. However, you can’t update Finder on its own. You must update your macOS version to get the latest release of Finder.

8. Ensure Sync Is Enabled for the Content You Want to Sync

If your iPod syncs with your computer but you only get partial content on your device, you might have enabled selective sync in iTunes or Finder.

These apps have an option that lets you selectively add content to your device, which might be the culprit here.

You can change partial sync to full sync in iTunes as follows:

  1. Click your iPod in iTunes or Finder to see various content options.
  2. Select the content type that doesn’t sync properly from the left sidebar. For example, click on Music if you are not seeing all your iTunes music files on your iPod.
  3. Tick the Entire music library option to ensure all of your music tracks are synced with your iPod.
    disable itunes partial sync
  4. For another type of content, tick the similar option that syncs all files.

9. Consolidate Your Files in iTunes

When you add a media file to iTunes, iTunes only adds a reference to your file in the app. It doesn't actually copy the file from its source to the iTunes folder.

Consolidation basically copies all the files that you’ve added to iTunes to the iTunes folder on your computer. Sometimes, consolidating your files fixes the iPod sync problems, which you can do by following the below steps:

  1. Open iTunes and click File > Library > Organize Library.
  2. Tick Consolidate files and hit OK.
    consolidate files in itunes

10. Reauthorize Your Computer in iTunes

If you're still having problems, it’s worth deauthorizing and reauthorizing your iTunes account on your computer to see if that fixes the issue:

  1. In iTunes, click Account > Authorizations > Deauthorize This Computer.
    deauthorize a computer in itunes
  2. Enter your account details and click Deauthorize.
  3. To reauthorize your computer, click Account > Authorizations > Authorize This Computer in iTunes.

11. Change Your Computer’s Power Management Settings

Your Windows PC has an option that turns off your USB-connected devices to save power. Since you connect your iPod to your computer using a USB cable, your system might be turning off that connection after some time.

Disabling the power saving option for your connection might fix the issue; here’s how to do that:

  1. Open Device Manager, expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers section, and double-click on USB Root Hub.
  2. Go to the Power Management tab and untick Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. Then click OK at the bottom.
    disable usb power saving

12. Erase and Restore Your iPod

You can try erasing your iPod and restoring it from an iCloud backup to see if that helps you sync the device with the iTunes or Finder app.

To create an iCloud backup, you need an active internet connection. Follow these steps:

  1. On your iPod, head to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup, and enable iCloud Backup.
  2. Tap the Back Up Now option to start backing up your iPod.
  3. Once your iPod is backed up, go to Settings > General > Reset and tap Erase All Content and Settings.
  4. Allow your iPod to fully erase.
  5. Start setting up your iPod from scratch and tap Restore from iCloud Backup on the Apps & Data screen. Select the backup you made earlier to restore your device.
  6. Once the device is restored, connect it to your computer and see if you can sync it with iTunes or Finder.

Start Copying New Content to Your iPod

Now that your iPod sync problems are (hopefully) gone, you can start syncing new content from your computer to your device. It’s time to load your new music files, videos, and anything else that you’d like to see on your handheld device.

If your issue is still not resolved, you might have an issue with your iTunes library. There are methods to fix a broken library, allowing you to then sync your library's contents with your devices.