iPod touch Most Recent iTunes for 1st Gen iPod touch running iOS 1.1.0?

[smoothbit]

I have a 1st gen iPod touch running iOS 1.1.0 that I’ve not used for a few years. The last time I did I was able to sync it with iTunes on my Mac, but that no longer works.

The most likely solution looks to be updating it to iOS 3.1.3, but at this point I kind of like the idea of keeping it on the very oldest iOS it can run.

Does anyone know what the last version of iTunes is that will support iOS 1.1.0? I currently have 12.9.5.5 running in Mojave.

 

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I just connected my 1GB 1st gen iPod shuffle and 1st gen iPod mini with 64GB CF card, and they both sync fine with iTunes 12.9.5.5, so it’s just the iPod running 1.1.0 that’s causing me issues.

 

[acorntoy]

iPod Touch DFU Mode - How to Put iPod Touch 5/4/3/2/1 in DFU Mode

Want to enter the iPod touch DFU mode? This article shows you in detail how to successfully enter your iPod touch 5/4/3/2/1 into DFU without any data loss.

www.ultfone.com

Maybe try DFU mode.

 

[smoothbit]

iPod Touch DFU Mode - How to Put iPod Touch 5/4/3/2/1 in DFU Mode

Want to enter the iPod touch DFU mode? This article shows you in detail how to successfully enter your iPod touch 5/4/3/2/1 into DFU without any data loss.

www.ultfone.com

Maybe try DFU mode.

I did that once before and thought I had bricked the iPod touch, only realised I could “fix” it by restoring it using an old Mac running an old version of iTunes.

Which, now that I think about it, is probably the same problem I’m having right now…

 

[acorntoy]

I did that once before and thought I had bricked the iPod touch, only realised I could “fix” it by restoring it using an old Mac running an old version of iTunes.

Which, now that I think about it, is probably the same problem I’m having right now…

iTunes supports some pretty damn old devices (as the most recent version works with the og ipod). I doubt you’ll get a answer faster than just trying to hunt and download old versions of iTunes on your own computer. Finding old iTunes software that runs on Mac is really really hard, but I don’t think your going to find somebody using a 1.0 device that can just answer your question of what works. I’d research the version 2-3 years ago, try to find that and work back from it.


The fact that a current Mac (M1) with iTunes through finder can still connect to an OG iPod running OG software through many dongles however suggest the problem is very likely on your touch‘s end and not on the Mac. Ie the device might be fried from disuse, most old old devices still connecting and working have been used constantly and upkept through their life.

 

[Shirasaki]

You can give Windows a shot since it can install very old version of iTunes without problem.

 

[Jack Neill]

I would install a old OS in a VM.

 

[el-John-o]

Considering Big Sur’s built in iPod syncing with Finder will work with an OG iPod from 2001, I would imagine plugging it in to a modern Mac will “just work” if the device is working correctly.

 

[smoothbit]

Considering Big Sur’s built in iPod syncing with Finder will work with an OG iPod from 2001, I would imagine plugging it in to a modern Mac will “just work” if the device is working correctly.

That's what I imagined too, so I was surprised when it didn't work for me.

 

[smoothbit]

iTunes supports some pretty damn old devices (as the most recent version works with the og ipod). I doubt you’ll get a answer faster than just trying to hunt and download old versions of iTunes on your own computer. Finding old iTunes software that runs on Mac is really really hard, but I don’t think your going to find somebody using a 1.0 device that can just answer your question of what works. I’d research the version 2-3 years ago, try to find that and work back from it.

The fact that a current Mac (M1) with iTunes through finder can still connect to an OG iPod running OG software through many dongles however suggest the problem is very likely on your touch‘s end and not on the Mac. Ie the device might be fried from disuse, most old old devices still connecting and working have been used constantly and upkept through their life.

You can give Windows a shot since it can install very old version of iTunes without problem.

I would install a old OS in a VM.

Thanks for the suggestions. Rather than trying to deduce the most recent compatible version of iTunes, I figured I'd try looking for the oldest compatible version of iOS.

So I dug out my 2006 MacBook that has a Windows XP Boot Camp partition, and used iTunes 7.5 to try out iOS 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4 and 1.1.5.

Unfortunately, none of those would sync with the latest version of iTunes on my Mac mini running Mojave, or the Big Sur Finder on a MacBook Pro.

So then I found the original iOS 3.1.3 IPSW I downloaded back in 2010. This time I couldn't install it using iTunes 7.5 in Windows but I could using iTunes 8.2 in Snow Leopard, and now the iPod touch appears just fine in both iTunes and the Finder.

(Upgrading from 1.1.0 through 1.1.5 was as simple as holding down Shift while clicking Restore, but both installing 3.1.3 and downgrading back to 1.1.0 did require restarting in DFU mode.)

For now I'll leave it on 3.1.3, so that I can use my current iTunes library, but when I fancy using that even-older-interface I'll DFU-restore to iOS 1.1.0, it's much much faster to do so than current versions of iOS.

 

[el-John-o]

That's what I imagined too, so I was surprised when it didn't work for me.

Wow! That's surprising.

In a lot of ways, the older iPods are far more useful and compatible than older iOS devices.