# iPod shuffle out of room?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-out-of-room/650753>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 19, 2013, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-out-of-room/650753 "2013-02-19T00:45:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-out-of-room/650753/1 "2013-02-19T00:45:13Z")

</div>

I think it’s 4th generation, I bought it 3-4 years ago. Anyway, there are 165 songs and 8 hours of music (taking up 972 MBs) loaded on it, yet it says it’s out of room. I did the “convert” thing according to the help instructions and it let me load one song before I got the “out of room” message. How can it be full?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-out-of-room/650753/2 "2013-02-19T01:27:10Z")

</div>

> **[How to check the storage on your iPhone and iPad - Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108429)**
>
> iOS and iPadOS monitor the storage on your device by analyzing how much space each app uses. You can also check the storage on your device in Settings, or in iTunes or the Finder on your computer.

> [@](#):
>
> Why the difference? Most disk manufacturers measure disk capacity this way: 1 MB = 1 million bytes (1000 x 1000). A 4 GB disk, therefore, is one that holds 4 billion bytes. Computers, including Windows computers, Macintosh computers and iPod, measure disk capacity this way: 1 MB = 1 048 576 bytes (1024 x 1024). The difference in these two calculations is what causes the drive to appear as 3.7 GB on a computer, but actually be a 4 billion byte disk.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-out-of-room/650753/3 "2013-02-19T02:53:45Z")

</div>

If it is a 4th gen shuffle, then you should have 2gb capacity. I have about 1,400 songs on my 8gb ipod. A little New Math tells us you should have room for roughly 350 songs.

Depending on where your music files came from they can have differing bit rates, or “density” if you will. When you connect to your computer and open itunes, click on the music tab before syncing, there will be a choice for you to convert your files to a smaller bit rate, giving you more room for more songs.

See [here](http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/03/12/itunes_106_adds_option_to_sync_192kbps_256kbps_quality_audio_to_devices)for more details.

Or give it to a nephew and get a new Nano 16gb!  
Nothing tells you you need more storage than a couple of 6 foot stacks of cd’s you want on your Ipod!