How to Understand the Battery Lights on Your iPod Shuffle

When it comes knowing when to charge your iPod's battery, it's usually pretty simple. Take a look at the battery meter on the screen and if it's low, plug it in. But, when it comes to the charging iPod Shuffle--which doesn't have a screen--how do you know when to plug it in?

The answer depends on the model, but your options are generally to either check the battery lights or, on models that support it, have the iPod speak to you.

4th and 3rd Generation Shuffle

These models support both the battery lights and VoiceOver, which allows the Shuffle to speak the battery charge level to you.

When the Shuffle is connected to a computer, you may see one of three lights:

Solid Green - Fully charged.
Solid Orange - Charging.
Blinking Orange - The Shuffle is syncing and should not be disconnected.

When the Shuffle is not connected to a computer, you may see one of four lights:

Solid Green - At least 26% charged.
Solid Orange - At least 11% charged.
Solid Red - The Shuffle is 1-10% charged.
Blinking Red - The Shuffle has almost no charge and needs to be charged right away.
If the light doesn't appear, the battery is completely drained.

When the Shuffle is not connected to a computer, you can also use VoiceOver to have the Shuffle speak the level of charge. On the 3rd generation Shuffle, turning the device on and off again quickly will engage VoiceOver (an announcement automatically plays when the battery is at 10% charge and a tone plays just before the battery dies).

On the 4th generation Shuffle, simply press the VoiceOver button in the top center of the device.