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KP* · May 20, 2003, 08:04 PM

I bought my 15G iPod the day after it came out, and have been treating it with care. It's usually sitting in my jacket pocket and doesn't see much movement except for occasional trips to the cradle. However, a few days ago I noticed the remote cord had split open where it joins the plug that goes into the iPod. Now the wires inside are exposed and I'm worried about them getting twisted or pulled. Most of all I'm surprised that after a few weeks of light use this $40 remote is falling apart. Anybody else have anything like this?

Here's a picture:
http://home.earthlink.net/~kparlato/ipodcord.jpg

djjava · May 20, 2003, 09:04 PM

Originally posted by KP*:
I bought my 15G iPod the day after it came out, and have been treating it with care. It's usually sitting in my jacket pocket and doesn't see much movement except for occasional trips to the cradle. However, a few days ago I noticed the remote cord had split open where it joins the plug that goes into the iPod. Now the wires inside are exposed and I'm worried about them getting twisted or pulled. Most of all I'm surprised that after a few weeks of light use this $40 remote is falling apart. Anybody else have anything like this?

Here's a picture:
http://home.earthlink.net/~kparlato/ipodcord.jpg

maybe that will also be considered a $650 repair from Apple....

Axo1ot1 · May 20, 2003, 09:49 PM

just go back to where you bought it or to an Apple store and I'm sure they will toss you a new remote.

jtbowden · May 30, 2003, 03:10 PM

Same thing happened to mine. I called Apple and explained that it had broken after light use and that I was worried the wires might break, too. The rep said they would be glad to send me a new one and that it would arrive in 3-5 days.

It came in 18 hours! So, they should replace yours too if you ask nicely.

KP* · May 30, 2003, 10:36 PM

Ooh, nice! The main purpose of my original post was not to whine about my broken iPod, but to establish if this was a problem plaguing all the remotes. Obviously two people isn't a trend, but it's a start. I'll pay the Apple store a visit and see what they say (unfortunately I didn't buy it there -- they were sold out and suggested that I go to J&R, where I got one of the last ones). Hopefully they'll give me another one even though I didn't purchase it there. Thanks for relating your story!

G4ME · May 30, 2003, 11:48 PM

i got mine (original remote for my 5 gig) last october, and i noticed that it did this around january. i should head down to New Hamshire and get a new remote. or hell i should just get some heat shrink and seal it up, cause the chance of it happening to the new model i think would be pretty high seeing that it looks like its really only shoved in there.

oh well i have still used it and the wires are still doing fine

KP* · May 31, 2003, 04:37 AM

Yeah, I notice that the plug doesn't have one of those flexible ribbed pieces that surrounds the end of the wire to keep it from bending too much at the point where it enters the plug. That makes me think that a new one would break just as quickly, but in the future I would try to work something out with white electrical tape. It might be slightly less pretty, but in this case function is much more important to me.

OreoCookie · May 31, 2003, 05:43 AM

Tell Apple about it. They have send me a new one without asking any questions. Seems to be a known issue. I have a g2 iPod though.

superd · May 31, 2003, 06:02 AM

I bought my 15gb the first day that they were avaliable here in Japan and my remote suffered the same seperation fate as the initial posters. I have yet to remedy the problem as my Japanese isn't all that great. I've got to get that fixed soon. Maybe when time permits. I think that the cord needs to have a different connecting plug as it needs to be very flexible and the current design isn't

Dave