Why won't my iPod display turn on? Is it broken?

If the display on your iPod remains black when you try to use it, first check to make sure that the hold switch isn't locked. Assuming you have unlocked the iPod, it is most likely that the battery is dead rather than that the display is broken, so try charging the battery.

If you have tried charging the battery for at least half an hour, and the display is still black, try connecting the iPod to its host computer and copying songs or other files to the iPod. Then try deleting these files. If this works properly, it is most likely that the display has died or that someone -- one of your jackass friends, perhaps -- has turned the contrast to black so that nothing is visible.

Since you cannot see the display to navigate to the correct contrast setting, you will need to "Restore" your iPod to factory settings. This will delete everything on the iPod, so be certain you have everything backed up first.

If restoring the iPod to its original factory settings doesn't work, you likely have a dead display or another hardware problem and service will be needed.

Site sponsor Mission Repair offers free hardware diagnosis and an affordable 24 hour display repair service by mail for all iPod models.