How to find the Apple Music iPod easter egg

On Oct. 23, 2026, the 25th anniversary of the iPod’s unveiling, Apple Music’s website started showing a playable virtual first-generation iPod on its Page Not Found screen. It’s an easter egg, so Apple isn’t advertising it. You have to land on a page that doesn’t exist.

Getting there takes a made-up URL, a trick to stay out of the app, and a long press in the settings menu.

How do you find the hidden iPod on Apple Music?

Open a web browser and go to music.apple.com followed by any made-up path, for example music.apple.com/macrumors. The error screen reads Page Not Found, with Give this a spin instead beneath it, and the virtual iPod appears. It won’t show up inside the Apple Music app.

Per MacRumors, 9to5Mac and Engadget, the /ipod path works too. The outlets disagree slightly on what it shows. MacRumors says music.apple.com/ipod displays Looking for something? instead of the usual error text. 9to5Mac treats /ipod as just another nonexistent path. Either way, you should end up at the iPod.

Getting past the app redirect on Mac and iPhone

Apple Music links often try to throw you into the app, and the app is the one place the iPod doesn’t live. MacRumors says Mac users can hold Command while clicking the link to stay in the browser. On iOS, press and hold the link, then tap Open.

If you click a link and land in the Music app, that’s the redirect doing its job. Back out and try again with one of those two tricks. The workaround matters most if you’re sharing the URL with friends, since a plain tap on a phone is the likeliest way to miss the whole thing.

Using the click wheel and launching the hidden game

The virtual iPod copies the 2001 original: a click wheel plus buttons for Menu, Back, Forward, Select and Play/Pause. According to 9to5Mac, the wheel works by clicking and dragging. The home menu, per PCMag and Engadget, offers Playlists, Artists, Songs and Settings.

PCMag lists a few more details Apple copied: scrubbing through a song with the wheel, Shuffle, Repeat, a backlight toggle, and a mute for the click-wheel sound.

The game is the part most people will miss. Go to Settings, then About, and click and hold the center button for a few seconds. MacRumors calls the game Breakout. Engadget calls it Brick, a Breakout-style game, and says a game by that name was a real easter egg on the first iPod. Whatever it’s called, it’s a paddle-and-bricks game hiding behind a system screen.

MacRumors also credits Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak with helping create Breakout at Atari. That’s MacRumors’ claim; the other outlets don’t mention it.

If it won’t work on your desktop

Engadget’s reviewer called the feature somewhat buggy and couldn’t get it working on a desktop at all. That reviewer recommends a phone or tablet. MacRumors and 9to5Mac, by contrast, describe it working in a browser, including dragging the wheel with a mouse, and neither mentions problems.

None of the outlets has published a specific fix, so I can’t offer one that’s been confirmed. If the desktop version stalls, switch devices. A phone is a better fit for a wheel you spin with your thumb anyway. Use the press-and-hold method above so the link opens in the browser and not the app.

What’s inside the virtual iPod

PCMag and Engadget both report 1,029 playable songs. Songs play as 90-second previews in the browser, according to all four outlets that cover the playback. Engadget says you don’t appear to need an active Apple Music account to use it.

The artist list is broad. MacRumors points to pop and hip-hop names such as Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Drake and Dr. Dre, along with Coldplay, U2, Foo Fighters and Daft Punk. PCMag adds Alien Ant Farm, Evanescence, Mariah Carey, Nickelback, Slipknot and Sum 41. Engadget mentions Baha Men, blink-182 and Eminem. Most artists have one to five tracks.

Apple also built playlists. PCMag describes a 22-track list called Songs From iPod that takes in Gorillaz’s Feel Good Inc., U2’s Vertigo and Daft Punk’s Technologic, plus 2001-themed playlists for alternative, country, pop, rock and hip-hop. PCMag says the simulated storage reads as full at 4.5GB.

Sources differ on the era. 9to5Mac says the music comes from artists popular around 2001. PCMag says there are some post-2001 tracks, aimed more at 2000s and early 2010s nostalgia.

Why it’s worth five minutes of your time

Mostly, it’s a free hit of nostalgia. You don’t appear to need a subscription, and it runs in a browser tab. If you owned an iPod, the wheel and the menus are the point, and 90-second previews are plenty for that.

It’s also a small nudge toward Apple’s paid service. According to 9to5Mac, Apple Music costs $11.99 a month and is part of the Apple One bundle. If you’re weighing streaming services, our look at the Spotify Family Plan verification change covers the other side of that decision.

The egg won’t replace a dedicated player. Apple discontinued the iPod touch in 2022, ending the iPod line, so the browser version is the closest thing Apple offers now. If you want a real iPod touch, Apple no longer sells one.

What we still don’t know

Apple hasn’t commented in any of the coverage, so the idea that this marks the anniversary is the outlets’ inference. Nobody has said whether the iPod will stay on the site after Oct. 23, or why Apple built a feature most visitors will never see.

Credit for the discovery is also muddled. MacRumors credits Kian and Alex Greenland, 9to5Mac says Kian found it on X, PCMag says TechRadar spotted it, and Engadget gives a hat tip to Notebook Check for the hidden game.

A few smaller gaps remain:

• PCMag noticed that Coldplay’s Viva La Vida is listed twice, which echoes a classic iPod syncing glitch. Whether that’s a joke or a mistake is unknown.
• Engadget’s UK-based reviewer couldn’t say whether the artist selection differs in the US.
• Why the experience is smooth for some people and broken for others on desktop hasn’t been explained.
• Whether it works for people without Apple Music in every region isn’t confirmed.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Apple Music iPod easter egg URL?

Any nonexistent path on music.apple.com triggers it, for example music.apple.com/macrumors. The /ipod path also works, though MacRumors says it shows a Looking for something? message rather than Page Not Found.

How do I play the hidden game on the virtual iPod?

Go to Settings, then About, and click and hold the center button for a few seconds. MacRumors calls the game Breakout, while Engadget calls it Brick, a Breakout-style game.

Do I need an Apple Music subscription to use it?

It doesn't appear to be required, according to Engadget. Songs play as 90-second previews. Whether it works without a subscription in every region isn't confirmed.

Why does the iPod keep sending me to the Apple Music app?

The easter egg only works in a web browser. MacRumors says Mac users can hold Command while clicking the link, and iOS users can press and hold the link and tap Open.

Sources

This article was compiled from reporting by the following outlets. Links go to the original reports.

1. MacRumors: Apple Music Has a Hidden iPod You Can Play With
2. 9to5Mac: Apple’s website has fun new easter egg: a fully interactive iPod
3. PCMag: 25 Years Later: Apple Music's New iPod Easter Egg Lets You Play 1,029 Songs
4. Engadget: Apple Music has a fun Easter egg for the iPod's 25th anniversary
5. The Verge: Apple revives the original iPod as an Apple Music easter egg