iPod Shuffle 3G VoiceOver Problems

The new iPod Shuffle 3G music players have been out for just more than two weeks now, and some people are having problems with the VoiceOver feature where it says generic phrases instead of saying the playlist name.

Apple Discussion Poster "uber53G" Writes:

"The Voice Over feature is only saying generic stuff, ie: 'All Songs, Playlist 1, Playlist 2, etc.'"

For other people, the iPod shuffle seems more temperamental, where it will say the playlist names properly for some and give generic names in other situations.

Another Apple Discussion poster "Eric Erickson" writes:

"While it will say the name of some playlists it will say playlist 1 or playlist 4 for others. I have plugged it in and renamed the playlists several times. I am now down to one playlist where it says playlist x instead of the name, but I don't know why it's doing that."

In order for VoiceOver to work, you will need to ensure it is enabled, and also have some free space on your shuffle for the VoiceOver files to be stored. Lastly, depending on how you manage your music, it is possible you may be unplugging the shuffle before the VoiceOver files are transferred to it. This may be why some people are getting proper voice-over functionality for some playlists and not for others.

In addition to these problems, there very well could be bugs in the iPod shuffle's software. While a software update would be required to tackle any software glitches, you can try the following to ensure the shuffle is set up properly.

1. Enable VoiceOver

VoiceOver must be enabled before the shuffle will speak playlist names. Otherwise, you'll just get the generic "playlist 1", "playlist 2", and so on. This Apple Knowledgebase document provides instructions on enabling VoiceOver on the iPod Shuffle: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3475

2. Clear some space on the Shuffle.

The voice-over files will take up some space on the device, so if you're filling it up, try to remove some files to ensure there's space to accommodate the VoiceOver files.

3. Ensure synchronization completes.

When synchronizing your shuffle, if you have it in "Manual" mode, be sure to let iTunes fully synchronize before you disconnect the device. You will know iTunes is finished when "iPod sync is complete. OK to disconnect" appears in the iTunes status window.

The following procedure has worked for some users with this problem, which will ensure everything is set up properly for VoiceOver.

1. Clear out some or all the space on your shuffle
2. Disable VoiceOver (in the "Summary" tab) and click "Apply"
3. Synchronize the music, and ensure you have not filled the device
4. Enable VoiceOver
5. Resync again and wait for the "sync is complete" message in iTunes

UPDATE: Uninstalling and Disabling VoiceOver Completely

Apple has released a knowledgebase article on how to uninstall VoiceOver in iTunes if do not wish to use it for your iPod. To do this, remove the "iPodVoiceOver.framework" file from the /Macintosh HD/Library/Appication Support/iTunes/ folder and restart the application. Then synchronize your iPod. Information on how to do this in other computing platforms is available in the knowledgebase document.

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