Sansa Clip Zip Firmware 01.01.17

SanDisk MP3 players All other MP3 players
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Firmware is the software code that powers your Clip Zip. You can think of it as the operating system.  SanDisk actively and periodically updates the capabilities, functionality, and reliability of the Firmware.  For an optimal experience with your Clip Zip, SanDisk recommends that you update your Firmware with each new release.  It’s fast, easy, and free!

SanDisk has just released firmware version 01.01.17 for the Sansa Clip Zip. Download links and the release notes are available below.

Windows Users can Connect the device in any Mode and follow the instructions below.

Mac and Linux users can connect their Clip Zip in MSC or Auto Detect mode and follow the instructions below. 

MSC mode instructions:

  • Turn on the Clip Zip
  • Navigate to  Settings  on the menu of the device 
  • Scroll down to  System Settings
  • Scroll Down to  USB Mode
  • Select  MSC

 Sansa Clip Zip Firmware 01.01.17 Download and Installation instructions

Update using the Sansa Firmware Updater

For Sansa Firmware Updater - Click here to download 

Manual Firmware Update (Download and Instructions)

Manual Firmware Update (All Regions) - Click here to download

All languages are now in one firmware version. After firmware update you will need to select your Language and Region preference.

• Remove any external card from the Clip Zip before performing firmware update

• Ensure your battery is > 50% full. 

• Plug in your Sansa Clip Zip to your computer. 

• Extract the  clpza.bin  file from the .zip file you just downloaded into a folder on your computer.

• Once extracted, drag the file to the root directory of your Sansa Clip Zip. 

• Disconnect the Sansa Clip Zip and let the firmware update begin. 

• Once it finally finishes doing its update, it will turn itself off. 

• Turn the Clip Zip on, Select your language and region preference 

• Once its back to the main menu, head to “Settings” >“System Settings”> “Info”, and verify the “Version” is now 01.01.17"x".

                    Sansa Clip Zip Firmware 01.01.17 Release Notes

This new firmware has various bug fixes, including key fixes listed below, as well as enhancements. Upon completion of the firmware upgrade, the device will turn off; power on the device to complete the upgrade process.  If the device does not initiate or complete, press & hold the Power switch for 15 seconds to reset the device and then press and hold power button again to restart. 

Enhancements

  • FM and Voice Recording duration selection is now bi-directional for convenience 
  • Music EQ added to the Music Option submenu for easy access
  • Player automatically jumps to Card menu upon external card insertion
  • “A” and “The” are omitted  in Artists, Albums and Songs lists to optimize content browsing
  • Chapter number display is added to Audible playback screen  

Bugs Fixed

  • Pressing Back button does not return to previous list when playing an album after first song is played

Known Issues

  • Recently Added doesn’t update Rhapsody transferred tracks
  • Artist Info page doesn’t display for Rhapsody transferred tracks
  • Some brands and types of microSD cards are not recognized by device
  • AAC files encoded with Microsoft mp4-2 variable bit rate cannot be played (Work around:  User can use different encoder or encode songs to different supporting formats)
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  • Music EQ added to the Music Option submenu for easy access

Definitely a good step. Are they going to put the Play All back in the Music menu too? <I hope, I hope>

  • Chapter number display is added to Audible playback screen   

Also a very good enhancement. Personally, I don’t use Audible so could care less but a lot of people do, so I’m sure they will be thrilled about this.

  • “A” and “The” are omitted  in Artists, Albums and Songs lists to optimize content browsing

Does this mean that if we have The The on our players, the entire Artist listing will disappear? :stuck_out_tongue:

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Some nice enhancements.  Although, I’d like to see the earlier improvements of the Clip line that were dropped with the Clip Zip added back in:  with the what’s playing screen for music, elapsed time and remaining time, and track no./total tracks; plus, as mentioned above, the now-missing Play all option.  And I continue to think that the available screens need to be re-thought and expanded.  Hopefully, being worked on.

A real bummer I see for consumers:  the fact that some manufacturer makes of microSD cards won’t work on the player.  This really leaves consumers in a bind, in buying a card for the player but then potentially having to send it back if it doesn’t work (and given that online prices typically are significantly less expensive than in-store prices, eating the shipping costs).  It’s a bit puzzling to me, as I thought there was a standard for microSD cards–but some manufacturer makes, even with this standard, still won’t work?  Presumably, SanDisk cards would work just fine, and would be a safe bet ?    :wink:

4

Some nice enhancements.  Although, I’d like to see the earlier improvements of the Clip line that were dropped with the Clip Zip added back in:  with the what’s playing screen for music, elapsed time and remaining time, and track no./total tracks; plus, as mentioned above, the now-missing Play all option.  And I continue to think that the available screens need to be re-thought and expanded.  Hopefully, being worked on.

Personally, I wish that the “A”/“The” skipping in lists was an option–I know my music by the original name, with the “A”/“The”.  But my guess is that many others will like the change.

A real bummer I see for consumers:  the fact that some manufacturer makes of microSD cards won’t work on the player.  This really leaves consumers in a bind, in buying a card for the player but then potentially having to send it back if it doesn’t work (and given that online prices typically are significantly less expensive than in-store prices, eating the shipping costs).  It’s a bit puzzling to me, as I thought there was a standard for microSD cards–but some manufacturer makes, even with this standard, still won’t work?  Presumably, SanDisk cards would work just fine, and would be a safe bet ?   

5

Some nice enhancements.  Although, I’d like to see the earlier improvements of the Clip line that were dropped with the Clip Zip added back in:  with the what’s playing screen for music, elapsed time and remaining time, and track no./total tracks; plus, as mentioned above, the now-missing Play all option.  And I continue to think that the available screens need to be re-thought and expanded.  Hopefully, being worked on.

Personally, I wish that the “A”/“The” skipping in lists was an option–I know my music by the original name, with the “A”/“The”.  But my guess is that many others will like the change.

A real bummer I see for consumers:  the fact that some manufacturer makes of microSD cards won’t work on the player.  This really leaves consumers in a bind, in buying a card for the player but then potentially having to send it back if it doesn’t work (and given that online prices typically are significantly less expensive than in-store prices, eating the shipping costs).  It’s a bit puzzling to me, as I thought there was a standard for microSD cards–but some manufacturer makes, even with this standard, still won’t work?  Presumably, SanDisk cards would work just fine, and would be a safe bet ?       Perhaps a compatibility list should be started.

6

Some nice enhancements.  Although, I’d like to see the earlier improvements of the Clip line that were dropped with the Clip Zip added back in:  with the what’s playing screen for music, elapsed time and remaining time, and track no./total tracks; plus, as mentioned above, the now-missing Play all option.  And I continue to think that the available screens need to be re-thought, and expanded.  Hopefully, being worked on . . . .

Personally, I wish that the “A”/“The” skipping in lists was an option–I know my music by the original name, with the “A”/“The”.  But my guess is that many others will like the change.

A real bummer I see for consumers:  the fact that some manufacturer makes of microSD cards won’t work on the player.  This really leaves consumers in a bind, in buying a card for the player but then potentially having to send it back if it doesn’t work (and given that online prices typically are significantly less expensive than in-store prices, eating the shipping costs).  It’s a bit puzzling to me, as I thought there was a standard for microSD cards–but some manufacturer makes, even with this standard, still won’t work (and odd that they may worlk on the earlier Clip players)?  Presumably, SanDisk cards would work just fine, and would be a safe bet ?       Perhaps a compatibility list should be started.  And I wonder of this is a permanent issue, or something that can be (and should be) “fixed.”

7

My sansa updater isn’t showing any updates to download… what could be the problem?  

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This firmware update just came out yesterday. Typically, an update is released and posted here first before general release (one of the ‘perks’ of being a regualr forum member or visitor). The Updater should have it in a day or two.

But you don’t have to wait. Just follow the manual installation instructions in the post. Takes about 2 minutes to update manually. No Updater needed.

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Ok, I’ve done that, but what do I do once I instal it…  It’s showing that windows does not reconize the file

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Sometimes a few days may pass before a new update is put in whatever directory on whatever server the updater program checks. In any case, you can do a manual update following the directions in the first post of this topic.

Edit: beaten to the punch.

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Ross2011 wrote:

Ok, I’ve done that, but what do I do once I instal it…  It’s showing that windows does not reconize the file

Done what? Are you following the directions?

• Extract the clpza.bin file from the .zip file you just downloaded into a folder on your computer.

• Once extracted, drag the file to the root directory of your Sansa Clip Zip. 

• Disconnect the Sansa Clip Zip and let the firmware update begin. 

• Once it finally finishes doing its update, it will turn itself off. 

• Turn the Clip Zip on, Select your language and region preference.

Really, it’s not rocket science.

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Correction?

This is rocket science.  Managing files with Windows isn’t always straightforward, so I understand your frustration.

The bin file for the firmware is deflated, compressed, or zipped.  Depending upon which version of Windows you are running, the commands needed (and the process to unzip / decompress / inflate…) are a little different.  With the earlier systems like Windows 2000 / XP there are utilities like 7Zip, WinZip, and others.

Decompress, unpack, extract, (see what I mean, the nomenclature changes) the file first, and it will be called ClipZip01.01.17 as a folder , then inside that, your bin file is called clipza.bin - this is the uncompressed / unsqueezed / decompressed file.

When Windows says I don’t know what do do with the file , in essence, this happens if you try to manually open the file.

So much for rocket science, Microsoft can at time be more complicated.

With Windows 7 , they changed the operation yet again.  Click on the zipped folder, and look at the top of the window.  Click on the Extract button that will appear.

Then drag and drop the file to the Clip Zip’s Internal Memory (in MTP mode), or the root directory (in MSC mode).

The Zip will update upon disconnect.

Bob  :smileyvery-happy:

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I have Windows xp, so your saying I can’t update it manually. I took several computer classes, so I know how to unzip files and even hack into them. But I know nothing of putting that unzip file in a root files???    call me dumb, but thats how it is  :frowning:

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.

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Hey, I figured out how to do it, thanks for your help  :slight_smile:

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Awesome!  I was just about to sit at an XP machine to refresh my memory on the keystrokes for you.  The trick is to unzip that file from about 9.4MB to 15.4MB “deflated”.

For those who may wonder, the firmware can be transferred in either MTP or MSC modes; in MTP, you’ll see the Zlip Zip as a portable device.  When you double click on the icon, the next level is Internal Memory.  Click on this icon, and the bin  file is simply placed along side the files / folders in this window (but not into any of the folders).

Bob  :stuck_out_tongue:

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@miikerman wrote:

Some nice enhancements.  Although, I’d like to see the earlier improvements of the Clip line that were dropped with the Clip Zip added back in:  with the what’s playing screen for music, elapsed time and remaining time, and track no./total tracks; plus, as mentioned above, the now-missing Play all option.  And I continue to think that the available screens need to be re-thought, and expanded.  Hopefully, being worked on . . . .

 

Personally, I wish that the “A”/“The” skipping in lists was an option–I know my music by the original name, with the “A”/“The”.  But my guess is that many others will like the change.

 

A real bummer I see for consumers:  the fact that some manufacturer makes of microSD cards won’t work on the player.  This really leaves consumers in a bind, in buying a card for the player but then potentially having to send it back if it doesn’t work (and given that online prices typically are significantly less expensive than in-store prices, eating the shipping costs).  It’s a bit puzzling to me, as I thought there was a standard for microSD cards–but some manufacturer makes, even with this standard, still won’t work (and odd that they may worlk on the earlier Clip players)?  Presumably, SanDisk cards would work just fine, and would be a safe bet ?       Perhaps a compatibility list should be started.  And I wonder of this is a permanent issue, or something that can be (and should be) “fixed.”

I second all of Miikerman’s comments for the most part but I personally love that they now ignore “a” and “the” when organizing music.  I always thought my ifruit phone ignoring those was nifty.  But you’re right on the timing display; elapsed/reamaing time is a big deal to leave out of any mp3 player.

And if the player has compatibility issues with some micro SD cards, please list them Sandisk.  A while back a Tektronix signal generator in our lab had issues with some USB thumb drives.  Tek posted which brands/capacities were problematic.  Please do the same and save everyone some grief.  They eventually fixed the problem with a firmware update but it took them nearly 2 years.

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@tnmats wrote:

@miikerman wrote:

 

Personally, I wish that the “A”/“The” skipping in lists was an option–I know my music by the original name, with the “A”/“The”.  But my guess is that many others will like the change.

 

I second all of Miikerman’s comments for the most part but I personally love that they now ignore “a” and “the” when organizing music.  I always thought my ifruit phone ignoring those was nifty.

 

In scrolling through my Artists list after the update, I notice my “T” section that used to be the longest is now one of the shortest. :smileyvery-happy:

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Regarding “Play All”, I don’t see the need for this.  Right now the first entry is “Shuffle List”.  If you bypass that and select the first entry it seems to me that you get “Play All” by default.  Let me know what I’m missing.