Crashes on Ubuntu 14.04 when trying to connect to iPod

Thank you for your bug report, could give the output of those commands
- dpkg -l | grep rhythmbox
- ldd -r /usr/lib/librhythmbox-core.so.8
- which rhythmbox

I hope this will be fixed soon. I really liked how Rhythmbox was working with my iPod.

ionicabizau@laptop:~$ dpkg -l | grep rhythmbox
ii gir1.2-rb-3.0 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 amd64 GObject introspection data for the rhythmbox music player
rc librhythmbox-core7 2.99.1-0ubuntu1 amd64 support library for the rhythmbox music player
ii librhythmbox-core8 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 amd64 support library for the rhythmbox music player
ii rhythmbox 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 amd64 music player and organizer for GNOME
ii rhythmbox-data 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 all data files for rhythmbox
ii rhythmbox-mozilla 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 amd64 Rhythmbox Mozilla plugin
ii rhythmbox-plugin-cdrecorder 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 amd64 burning plugin for rhythmbox music player
ii rhythmbox-plugin-magnatune 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 amd64 Magnatune plugin for rhythmbox music player
ii rhythmbox-plugin-zeitgeist 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 all zeitgeist plugin for rhythmbox music player
ii rhythmbox-plugins 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 amd64 plugins for rhythmbox music player
ii rhythmbox-ubuntuone 13.10-0ubuntu2 all Ubuntu One Rhythmbox plugin
ionicabizau@laptop:~$ ldd -r /usr/lib/librhythmbox-core.so.8
 linux-vdso.so.1 => (0x00007fffedffe000)
 libm.so.6 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libm.so.6 (0x00007f69b8c32000)
 libtotem-plparser.so.18 => /usr/lib/libtotem-plparser.so.18 (0x00007f69b8a13000)
 libgudev-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgudev-1.0.so.0 (0x00007f69b8808000)
 libwebkitgtk-3.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libwebkitgtk-3.0.so.0 (0x00007f69b669e000)
 libsoup-2.4.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libsoup-2.4.so.1 (0x00007f69b63de000)
 libpeas-gtk-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/libpeas-gtk-1.0.so.0 (0x00007f69b61cf000)
 libgtk-3.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgtk-3.so.0 (0x00007f69b5abf000)
 libpeas-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/libpeas-1.0.so.0 (0x00007f69b58ab000)
 libgdk-3.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgdk-3.so.0 (0x00007f69b5603000)
 libatk-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libatk-1.0.so.0 (0x00007f69b53e1000)
 libpangocairo-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpangocairo-1.0.so.0 (0x00007f69b51d4000)
 libgdk_pixbuf-2.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgdk_pixbuf-2.0.so.0 (0x00007f69b4fb2000)
 libpango-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpango-1.0.so.0 (0x00007f69b4d65000)
 libcairo.so.2 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libcairo.so.2 (0x00007f69b4a5a000)
 libgirepository...

I suffer from the same bug with my iPod Classic.
This is the output in the terminal when I launch Rythmbox:

$ rhythmbox

(rhythmbox:9033): Gtk-CRITICAL **: gtk_css_provider_load_from_path: assertion 'path != NULL' failed

(rhythmbox:9033): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: object SoupServer 0x2815940 finalized while still in-construction

(rhythmbox:9033): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: Custom constructor for class SoupServer returned NULL (which is invalid). Please use GInitable instead.
g_dbus_connection_real_closed: Remote peer vanished with error: Underlying GIOStream returned 0 bytes on an async read (g-io-error-quark, 0). Exiting.
Segmentation fault (core dumped)

And this is the output when I use the comands
- dpkg -l | grep rhythmbox
- ldd -r /usr/lib/librhythmbox-core.so.8
- which rhythmbox

- dpkg -l | grep rhythmbox

ii gir1.2-rb-3.0 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 amd64 GObject introspection data for the rhythmbox music player
ii librhythmbox-core8 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 amd64 support library for the rhythmbox music player
ii rhythmbox 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 amd64 music player and organizer for GNOME
ii rhythmbox-data 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 all data files for rhythmbox
ii rhythmbox-mozilla 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 amd64 Rhythmbox Mozilla plugin
ii rhythmbox-plugin-cdrecorder 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 amd64 burning plugin for rhythmbox music player
ii rhythmbox-plugin-magnatune 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 amd64 Magnatune plugin for rhythmbox music player
ii rhythmbox-plugin-zeitgeist 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 all zeitgeist plugin for rhythmbox music player
ii rhythmbox-plugins 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 amd64 plugins for rhythmbox music player

- ldd -r /usr/lib/librhythmbox-core.so.8

 linux-vdso.so.1 => (0x00007fff21239000)
 libm.so.6 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libm.so.6 (0x00007f3102024000)
 libtotem-plparser.so.18 => /usr/lib/libtotem-plparser.so.18 (0x00007f3101e05000)
 libgudev-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgudev-1.0.so.0 (0x00007f3101bfa000)
 libwebkitgtk-3.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libwebkitgtk-3.0.so.0 (0x00007f30ffa90000)
 libsoup-2.4.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libsoup-2.4.so.1 (0x00007f30ff7d0000)
 libpeas-gtk-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/libpeas-gtk-1.0.so.0 (0x00007f30ff5c1000)
 libgtk-3.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgtk-3.so.0 (0x00007f30feeb1000)
 libpeas-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/libpeas-1.0.so.0 (0x00007f30fec9d000)
 libgdk-3.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgdk-3.so.0 (0x00007f30fe9f5000)
 libatk-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libatk-1.0.so.0 (0x00007f30fe7d3000)
 libpangocairo-1.0....

Marking as <new> instead of <incomplete>.
Hope that it will be fixed very soon...

I am glad to hear people that confirm that the bug exists.

Same problem here. I can add that this problem exists in my installation indeed before to upgrade to 14.04.

jtome@revo:~$ rhythmbox

(rhythmbox:18119): Gtk-CRITICAL **: gtk_css_provider_load_from_path: assertion 'path != NULL' failed
g_dbus_connection_real_closed: Remote peer vanished with error: Error receiving message: Connection reset by peer (g-io-error-quark, 0). Exiting.
Violación de segmento (`core' generado)

jtome@revo:~$ dpkg -l |grep rhythmbox
ii gir1.2-rb-3.0 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 i386 GObject introspection data for the rhythmbox music player
rc librhythmbox-core5 2.96-0ubuntu4.2 i386 support library for the rhythmbox music player
rc librhythmbox-core6 2.98-0ubuntu5 i386 support library for the rhythmbox music player
rc librhythmbox-core7 2.99.1-0ubuntu1 i386 support library for the rhythmbox music player
ii librhythmbox-core8 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 i386 support library for the rhythmbox music player
ii rhythmbox 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 i386 music player and organizer for GNOME
ii rhythmbox-data 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 all data files for rhythmbox
ii rhythmbox-mozilla 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 i386 Rhythmbox Mozilla plugin
ii rhythmbox-plugin-cdrecorder 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 i386 burning plugin for rhythmbox music player
ii rhythmbox-plugin-magnatune 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 i386 Magnatune plugin for rhythmbox music player
ii rhythmbox-plugin-zeitgeist 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 all zeitgeist plugin for rhythmbox music player
ii rhythmbox-plugins 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 i386 plugins for rhythmbox music player

jtome@revo:~$ ldd -r /usr/lib/librhythmbox-core.so.8
 linux-gate.so.1 => (0xb77a4000)
 libm.so.6 => /lib/i386-linux-gnu/libm.so.6 (0xb75f6000)
 libtotem-plparser.so.18 => /usr/lib/libtotem-plparser.so.18 (0xb75d8000)
 libgudev-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libgudev-1.0.so.0 (0xb75cc000)
 libwebkitgtk-3.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libwebkitgtk-3.0.so.0 (0xb58c2000)
 libsoup-2.4.so.1 => /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libsoup-2.4.so.1 (0xb5826000)
 libpeas-gtk-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/libpeas-gtk-1.0.so.0 (0xb5818000)
 libgtk-3.so.0 => /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libgtk-3.so.0 (0xb52ca000)
 libpeas-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/libpeas-1.0.so.0 (0xb52b5000)
 libgdk-3.so.0 => /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libgdk-3.so.0 (0xb5210000)
 libatk-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/...

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

@Jorge Tomé (jorge-jorgetome) what version of Rhythmbox?
Maybe the problem appears form upgrading to v3.

@bizauionica Version is `rhythmbox 3.0.2-0ubuntu1` but this problem is present (at last in all my computers) since previous distributions and has never been solved :-(

My iPod Classic is totally usefulness if I cannot synchronize it.

Same issue, only with an iPod Touch (2nd Gen).

Confirmed, 6th generation iPod Nano.
rhythmbox 3.0.2-0ubuntu1 amd64
3.13.0-24-generic #46-Ubuntu SMP Thu Apr 10 19:11:08 UTC 2014 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

@seb128 Can you change the importance level to a greater one please? I cannot wait this to be fixed...

Same problem here with my iPod Touch (2nd Gen): Clicking on iPod crashes Rhythmbox.

This bug affects me too. ipod shuffle 4G; just trying to open the ipod in rhythmbox crashed rhythmbox. This is very annoying. With 13.10 and rhythmbox, I had finally found a way to sync my ipod without using itunes. The upgrade to 14.04 ruined it for me :(
I still have my 13.10 install on an external HDD, so I can boot that and use it to sync, but that's a pretty crap workaround.

rhythmbox's debug output is strange. While processing the request to open the ipod, a large amount of blank lines is output, then some more normal output follows, ending like this:

...
mns: last-played => 17
(18:49:39) [0xab9a60] [rb_entry_view_sync_columns_visible] rb-entry-view.c:2445: visible columns: album => 5
(18:49:39) [0xab9a60] [rb_entry_view_sync_columns_visible] rb-entry-view.c:2445: visible columns: rating => 15
(18:49:39) [0xab9a60] [rb_entry_view_sync_columns_visible] rb-entry-view.c:2445: visible columns: track-number => 6
(18:49:39) [0xab9a60] [rb_source_bind_settings] rb-source.c:1437: binding paned position for (null)
(18:49:39) [0xab9a60] [rb_source_bind_settings] rb-source.c:1446: binding show-browser for (null)
(18:49:39) [0xab9a60] [rb_property_view_selection_changed_cb] rb-property-view.c:864: selection changed
(18:49:39) [0xab9a60] [rb_display_page_model_add_page] rb-display-page-model.c:669: inserting source Podcasts with parent 0x1b42320
Speicherzugriffsfehler (Speicherabzug geschrieben)

hmmm... I don't have podcasts on this ipod. Does it assume I do and stumbles on an empty list? Just guessing.

Today's update has fixed the bug for me. Thanks :)

IT also affects me. Ipod touch 3rd G. Not only RHythmbox crashes when I try to open the ipod listed under devices but also Banshee and Clementine behave in the same way. Ipod syncs with no problems in Windows using Itunes. It was not happening in Ubuntu 13.10. Since it affects other programs in my 14.04 installation, maybe this info will help you track the bug better.

Hey, I am happy to announce you that it works fine now.
Can you confirm this?

Rhythmbox has been updated but the problem persists. I can confirm what DrX found out: Other tools like gtkpod or Banshee behave in the same way. CopyTrans Manager in a VMWare (Windows 7) is working perfectly on the same Ubuntu 14.04. workstation. I also installed Linux Mint 16 (which is based on Ubuntu 13.10.) in a VMWare and everything works fine. Obviously it's not a bug in rhythmbox but a bug in some library/driver that is used to connect the device. And obviously the bug was introduced in Ubuntu 14.04.

I run every few days:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

I am very happy that it works fine for me.

I can confirm that bug still there, even after latest updates. I am using Ubuntu 14.04 in two computers both 64 bits and both have the bug in all programs as mentioned in my previous post. Ionica Bizau, what version of Ubuntu are you using? 32 or 64 bits? Are you using pre-released updates?

@DrX I use Ubuntu 14.04 64bits, and you guessed right! I get pre-released updates. :-)

Using Ubuntu 14.04 64bits as well here. Got the pre-release updates as well (especially tried for this one), and still have this problem.

Hope this gets fixed.

Then the question is: do you get the same error like me?

I am having the exact same issue. 14.04 64 bits, ipod 2nd gen 32GB.
I open rhythmbox click on my ipod then it crashes.
I tried Banshee and the exact same thing happens.
So its probably some library used by both programs :)

Problem still there, can't access my ipod touch 3rd Gen 64 GB, using iOS 5, Ubuntu 14.04 64 bits with pre-released updates. All apps I have tried crash as soon as I double-click on ipod. It was behaving like that for my Ipod CLassic but now that one is fixed but not Ipod Touch. Perhaps one thing or should I say, the only thing that annoys me about Ubuntu is that things that work might get broken after upgrading to a newer version. Ipod was working fine with 13.10...

I'm having the same problem. When I click on my iPod through rhythmbox, it crashes.
My Computer: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 64 Bit
My iPod: iPodTouch 4th Generation running iOS 6.1.6

Same Problem here, Rhythmbox and banshee are crashing (Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit),
thank you for helping

Update: I had to reset my ipod from Windows Itunes. Itunes erased without asking all my music. So I reset the ipod and now it was appearing in ubuntu file manager but it was not mounting. I came across a page suggesting to run:
sudo chmod 777 /var/lib/lockdown

after doing this, neither Rhythmbox, nor Banshee nor Clementine crash. I can actually access my ipod from Rhythmbos and Banshee and I see the couple of albums I transferred in Itunes. I try to transfer music and it shows me the transfer bar, with number of songs and MB and it finishes but music does not appear on ipod. I can even play the music that I transferred in Rhythmbox (without quitting) but when I quit and then access Ipod again, none of my tracks transferred with Rhythmbox are there.

It seems to be a bad problem with iOS itself since I found about the resetting option in help forums for Itunes. It gives crazy behaviour like not transferring art work for albums until you reset your ipod... I feel I am closer to make it work and it was not an Ubuntu thing. Only problem now is that I am not able to transfer music. At least programs are not crashing anymore.

I'm also observing Banshee crashing when either the iPod is plugged in, or if launch when iPod is already docked.
   Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit
   iPod Touch 2nd Gen 32GB, iOS4.1

Prior to upgrade (13.10 64-bit):
   Banshee crashed if iPod was already docked when it was launched; it did not crash when iPod plugged in after launch.

Suspect this might be a libgtkpod issue.

Same here. Basically, I tried to use gtkpod originally, but after I plug iPod touch 2G 8GB in, the application crashes. Switched over to Amarok, but I got error that it's not possible to connect iPod. Then I installed Banshee, and it is not recognizing iPod properly. It does not give info about disk usage on device and there is no possibility to sync device.

Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit

Still having a problem getting my iPod Touch (2nd Gen, 8GB) to work. HOWEVER, my girlfriend's iPod Touch (2nd Gen, 16GB) works perfectly on my computer! I'm out of ideas. I thought the problem might have been with my iPod, but I tried resetting it to factory settings (twice) and still nothing. I also know that the iPod WILL work with Ubuntu 12.04.4, however I am not too keen on changing my entire OS just for a bleeding MP3 player to work. Thinking about selling my iPod and getting a Samsung Galaxy Player, because this is getting really stupid.

Couple of more symptoms:

When I open the terminal and run:

idevicepair unpair && idevicepair pair

I get the message: "Device xxx is not paired with this host."

So then I tried running just:

idevicepair pair

I got: "SUCCESS: Paired with device xxx"

However, despite this, nothing works. The iPod has been showing up in the File Manager PCManFM (running Lubuntu 14.04 LTS 64-bit), but clicking on it does nothing but gives me an "Unable To Connect" message (though I'll get an unhandled lockdown error (-3) or (-16)). The device is also not showing up in Rhythmbox anymore. The computer knows the iPod is there (running "lsusb" in the Terminal shows the iPod connected), but there is no dialogue between the two. I've got the latest libimobiledevice, ifuse, and libusbmuxd installed.

Here's the Banshee debug log from the time of strup completion to after I connect my ipod, which confirms this to be libgpod as the culprit:

[1 Debug 18:00:49.609] Finished - Startup Job

(Banshee:8421): GLib-CRITICAL **: Source ID 355 was not found when attempting to remove it

(Banshee:8421): GLib-CRITICAL **: Source ID 365 was not found when attempting to remove it

(Banshee:8421): GLib-CRITICAL **: Source ID 307 was not found when attempting to remove it

(Banshee:8421): GLib-CRITICAL **: Source ID 403 was not found when attempting to remove it

(Banshee:8421): GLib-CRITICAL **: Source ID 306 was not found when attempting to remove it
[6 Debug 18:02:08.738] Found DAP support (Banshee.Dap.AppleDevice.AppleDeviceSource) for device [REDACTED] and Uuid [REDACTED]
Stacktrace:

Native stacktrace:

 banshee() [0x4b73d8]
 banshee() [0x50f13b]
 banshee() [0x423d22]
 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpthread.so.0(+0x10340) [0x7f2be2b99340]
 /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgobject-2.0.so.0(g_type_check_value_holds+0x3d) [0x7f2bde562c3d]
 /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgpod.so.4(+0x207a8) [0x7f2ba4e2c7a8]
 /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgpod.so.4(itdb_parse+0x53) [0x7f2ba4e314d3]
 [0x41808b47]

Debug info from gdb:

Could not attach to process. If your uid matches the uid of the target
process, check the setting of /proc/sys/kernel/yama/ptrace_scope, or try
again as the root user. For more details, see /etc/sysctl.d/10-ptrace.conf
ptrace: Operation not permitted.
No threads.

=================================================================
Got a SIGSEGV while executing native code. This usually indicates
a fatal error in the mono runtime or one of the native libraries
used by your application.
=================================================================

Aborted (core dumped)

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

I have the same problem. Just installed Ubuntu 14.04 (64 bit). Have iPhone 5s 16 GB. Can mount iPhone and browse file contents, but all music players (Rhythmbox, Banshee, Clementine) crash when try to access the phone within the app. Gtkpod also crashes when phone is connected to computer.

i have an iphone 5s with ubuntu 14.04. same issue as chris (can mount iphone and browse file content but music player crashes). sometimes the whole operating system crash and im forced to power off the system.

i have installed the latest libimobiledevice.

iphone is running on ios8

Same problem here. Ubuntu 14.04, Rhythmbox crashes when opening my 1gen Ipod touch 8gb.

[WORKAROUND]: Wiping all content off of the device (Artwork, songs, playlists, database) using file operations in Ubuntu appears to put the iPod into a state where it can again sync via. So there is some interaction in the content being read from the device and the software bug causing the crash.

However, as the conditions which cause the crash are still unknown, it is impossible to say whether a device that "works" after manual wipe will again start to manifest problems.

Did not try to Factory Reset the iPod with iTunes or use the iPod's "Erase all Content" options, but suspect that they would have the same effect as a manual wipe.

As workarounds go, this is pretty much the nuclear option, but it does bypass the bug for an indefinite period.

It's definitely related to podcasts. Everything worked fine for me until I started adding podcast subscriptions. It synced fine the first time, then crashed every subsequent time. When I deselected "podcasts" from the sync options on the iPod, it works fine. When I reselect it, it crashes again.

Can anyone reproduce this under 14.10?

I don't have any problems on 14.10 anymore.

I tried Matt's "Wipe everything off the iPod and then restart it trick." (comment #39) It worked for a couple of weeks and then Rhythmbox started acting up again.

Running Lubuntu 14.10.

I am still having the problem with 14.10

When I run from command line and click on my ipod:

michael@Computadora1:~$ rhythmbox

(rhythmbox:4173): Gtk-CRITICAL **: gtk_css_provider_load_from_path: assertion 'path != NULL' failed

(rhythmbox:4173): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: object SoupServer 0x2506200 finalized while still in-construction

(rhythmbox:4173): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: Custom constructor for class SoupServer returned NULL (which is invalid). Please use GInitable instead.
Segmentation fault (core dumped)
michael@Computadora1:~$

If I connect my Ipod to Itunes in a Windows 7 64 bit Virtual Box then let the Ipod sync,
then reboot and use Rhythmbox it seems to fix the problem.

Rhythmbox and banshee both hang. And if I try to kill them, they become <defunct> (zombies) and I need to restart.

Ubuntu 14.10

I tried Michael Clare's post (#44) that syncing the iPod with a proper iTunes software will make said device work with Linux...and it actually worked! I could connect my iPod Touch (2nd Gen) and add music through Rhythmbox. HOWEVER, after I downloading an app to the device from the App Store, it stopped functioning again. Once I reconnected the iPod to iTunes and let the device sync (used my girlfriend's laptop for all of this, by the way), it was able to connect with Rhythmbox and function normally.

TL,DR: Sync your iPod to a proper iTunes to make it work with Rhythmbox. Just don't download any apps for it unless you have access to iTunes to sync with later.

So basically it is not really possible to use any ipod, be it touch or classic and this bug has low importance? Great!

Hi I have a second generation Ipod Touch (4.2.1 iOS) and I had the same crashes. So this is how I make things work. Once the ipod is detected by the computer I double click on the Ipod icon and Nautilus opens up with the files on the device. I then go to Itunes_Control/iTunes/. I rename the file Playcounts.plist as Playcounts.plist.txt. Then start Banshee (I have stopped using Rhythmbox.... I guess you could try it). The sync works fine.
A bit cumbersome but effective.

grooverunner's suggestion to rename the file worked for me: Rhythmbox, iPod Touch 5-gen and Debian Jessie

grooverunner's fix also worked for me. iPod Touch 2nd gen 4.2.1

I have an iPod Shuffle (2Gb, don't know which generation...) and running my computer on Linux Mint Cinnamon 17.1 Rebecca (based on Trusty 14.04). Used to sync good using Rhythmbox but, don't know why, plugging the iPod I got the list of the .wav files which are part of iPod's firmware. So, when doing sync, plugged out, got the message "Please sync music bla bla". Tried using Banshee, everything looked pretty good but again got the same message. After trying couple -dozens- of things (did not reach grooveruner's tip to get read) not working at all, did the following:

1. Run GParted and deleted the sdb (partition where the iPod was mounted).
2. Went to Nemo (Nautilus, Thunar, ..., whatever file manager) and deleted every folder but "iPod_Control".
3. In this folder, clicked on "Music" and checked there were only three subfoldes: "f00", "f01", "f02": these are the ones which appear after using iTunes (Win) to reset iPod to default.
4. Run Banshee and sync normally. It worked 100%.

If someone get's stuck in the same situation and context, here's how I fixed the problem... for the moment.

Confirmed grooverunner's workaround: My "wipe everything" was too heavyhanded, but did erase the playcount file.
(Nice work narrowing it down!)

Tried the fix by grooverunner (#48). It did work! Thank you!

Yep, grooverunner (#48) figured out the magic! Ubuntu 14.04; ipod touch 1st gen. 3.1.3

My old classic iPod doesn't appear to a Playcounts file so Grooverunners fix doesn't work for me. I think I'll give up.

Thanks grooverunner! I have chrash when a click on Ipod icon on rhythmbox, now my Ipod Touch 4 gen sync normally.

I can confirm that deleting the playcount file solves the problem. However, it seems to reappear so one would have to delete the file before every sync :-( Platform is Ubuntu 16.04, iPod touch.