Sansa Fuze Firmware Update 01.02.31 & 02.03.33

Is was the OFF setting in the audiobooks settings that caused the no-skip problem - all fixed now, thanks!

Hi,

I just got a Sansa Fuze with the installed Firmware v02.02.26P. Do I have to worry about that “P” when I make a firmware update? Can I save the installed firmware with that P from the Sansa Fuze in case anything goes wrong with the update?

By the way, all the different versions of firmwares I have downloaded look alike, have the same name and size. Only the carrying zip-files have different names! Is that correct?

Thanks to anyone who helps,

notrabacho

P means pacific. if you selected rest of world firmware will show as P

@drlucky wrote:
P means pacific. if you selected rest of world firmware will show as P

Thanks for the info. When I first started the Fuze I really tried to avoid Europe, even though someone from SanDisk support mentioned to me that the reduced volume function was applied only to firmware versions after .26. But at the time of the initial setting procedure I didn’t know which firmware was on that player.

I have version .31 firmware downloaded from this location here, but I will wait with the update until problems show up and because I don’t know what improvements v.31 would provide. My only problem right now are a few weak MP3-voice files (audiobook) with very few peaks that prevent further amplifying without distortion. A firmware update probably would not help here.

The firmware descriptor is automatically appended to the end of the listing, showing the selected region.  The firmware is the same build for all regions.

I just had a thought.  Download mp3gain and normalize the gain of those quiet audiobooks, and you’re good to go!

Bob  :smileyvery-happy:

@ neutron bob

 

Thanks for looking into my type of problem! So “firmware descriptor” is the key word to look for!

As far as my audio files are concerned, I already came across Version 1.3.4 Beta of MP3Gain on some download site of a computer magazine, but there under supported operating systems it listed only Win 98, Win NT 4.0, Win 2000 and Win Me. So I am trying Audacity 1.3.11-beta right now and specifically the amplifying option available in the effects menu where Audacity automatically calculates the maximum amount you could amplify the selected audio file without causing clipping. It lets you even mark the option to amplify above dB 0,0, but I wonder whether this would be good for the Fuze and especially my ears. I think if I just could cut away or reduce those few peaks then the main part of my audio files could be amplified without clipping. Since I am not a great expert in working with audio files, it might take me some time though.

Hi everyone!

Sansa Fuze is great, but I think the reason why occasionally it blacks out and won’t turn on unless you hold the power on button for half a minute is because of a backlight duration setting related firmware bug. I’ve set the backlight duration to 5 seconds for better power saving while playing a song, then when the backlight turned off that time the song kept playing for a couple of seconds and then Fuze just shut off on its own and I had to hold the power on button for 30 seconds (which resets the backlight setting) to be able to turn it back on. I’m not 100% sure that it was caused by changing the backlight duration and I’m sort of scared to experiment with it because I fear I could screw up my Sansa Fuze. :smiley:

Does anyone else experience the Sansa Fuze blackout after setting the blacklight duration to 5 seconds? Also does anyone keep it at 5 seconds without any ill-effects?

Funny I had a issue like yours. But mine was related to a Cd I ripped and installed…  ZZ Top’s XXX, MP3 at a rate of 192 CD and my fuze would power down after a few songs were played or only get through one song and got to pause they turn itself off…  it started doing it on random other riped CD’s too…  But I know the ZZ top was the last cd I installed in the player so I deleted that cd and sure enough my issues were gone… a few months later I re riped the same ZZ top XXX CD and this time all is fine… Go figure… This is just some info I offer, may help you, it may not…  Good luck!  George

I’ve seen this issue, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a backlight settings bug, but you never know…

The most likely culprit is a corrupted file.  I had this issue pop up a few days ago on the sister player, the e200v2, the stealth Fuze.  It wasn’t an mp3 file, but an Audible file, (.aa format) that caused the device to chug and shut off randomly.

I deleted the file, and retransferred in a different format.  Luckily, I had loaded the audiobook only on the previous transfer session, opting to spend some quality time with a cup of coffee, instead of running Juice and WiMP for the day’s news, as I normally do.  Heck, I even eschewed my morning copy of the New York Times Audible Edition, making the diagnosis far easier, a stroke of good fortune.

Bob  :smileyvery-happy:

I just realised that selecting “Rest of World” instead of “Europe” after doing Reset Factory Settings or having just updated the firmware will keep the “High” volume option available (without affecting the FM radio). (V02.03.31)

It’s definitely not about corrupted file(s), they are FLAC files encoded by me and re-tested just to be sure, and otherwise Fuze plays them without any trouble at all. It may not be changing the backlight duration setting to 5 seconds per se, but changing it to 5 seconds while a song is being played. Or maybe changing it at all while a song is being played. I’ll do some more testing.

What is “ReplayGain”? What is “the popular three-letter abbreviation”?  What is “Gapless”? Thanks.

Even at the maximum level for the High Volume option, the volume level of my Fuze is terribly inadequate. I listen primarily to news and talk shows which I download from the internet and I can barely hear them in my car with headphones or at home through my stereo unless the room is completely quiet. I would appreciate an option to set the volume way higher. Thanks.

@infti wrote:

Even at the maximum level for the High Volume option, the volume level of my Fuze is terribly inadequate. I listen primarily to news and talk shows which I download from the internet and I can barely hear them in my car with headphones or at home through my stereo unless the room is completely quiet. I would appreciate an option to set the volume way higher. Thanks.

What do the files sound like through your computer speakers? If it’s quiet there too, look for some software that’ll normalize the volume before you transfer to the Fuze. If not, try messing with the equalizer on the fuze–voices are in the midrange, and not every set of headphones or speakers reproduces that range very well, and if it helps, upgrade your headphones. If neither works, you may have a bad unit.

infti wrote:

What is “ReplayGain”? What is “the popular three-letter abbreviation”?  What is “Gapless”? Thanks.

All good questions . . . for a new thread. Sort of straying off the topic of this one though. :wink:

I know that the volume on the file is low. The worst on is Democracy Now — you can try one yourself to verify the volume. (Computer speakers are not a good test, because the sound on my netbook is very bad.) I downloaded the Windoze version of a program called “Normalize” created Linux people and I cannot get it to work. But why should I need to pump up my files this way to play them on this player anyway? It really should allow reasonable volume levels.

How could it possibly be any more on topic or to the point? These obscure terms were introduced without explanation in the post to which mine is a response. Why on earth would you bother to post a message making no effort to address my questions but instead claiming that they are off topic?

infti wrote:

I know that the volume on the file is low. The worst on is Democracy Now — you can try one yourself to verify the volume. (Computer speakers are not a good test, because the sound on my netbook is very bad.) I downloaded the Windoze version of a program called “Normalize” created Linux people and I cannot get it to work. But why should I need to pump up my files this way to play them on this player anyway? It really should allow reasonable volume levels.

Where do you live? There are EU volume restrictions placed on these devices now. The latest firmware reduced the volume to what some say is intolerably low, but if you’re affected (living in Europe) there is a way around it. Reset your device to Factory Settings and don’t choose Europe as your ‘region’. Select ‘US’ or ‘Rest Of World’ instead.

infti wrote:
How could it possibly be any more on topic or to the point? These obscure terms were introduced without explanation in the post to which mine is a response. Why on earth would you bother to post a message making no effort to address my questions but instead claiming that they are off topic?

Because:

  1. Your questions had nothing to do with the latest firmware release, of which this thread is for discussion of problems associated with.
  2. These terms are not that obscure. In fact, if you just look around, you’ll find threads dedicated to those specific topics, in which they are described and your questions will be answered. For example: Replay Gain: A how to informational, Gaplesss, 3-letter abbreviation (that some here find offensive).
  3. My response was to suggest and inspire you to start a new thread with your questions, not unnecessarily lengthen this one straying off-topic and adding more clutter to an already over-bloated thread that new people have to wade through in order to try and find the answers they seek regarding the firmware update.

But, in having to explain all this to you I am now adding to the problem. Please, in the future think about asking your questions in the appropriate thread, or start a new one. It makes for a much cleaner forum for everyone. :wink:

Thanks. I live in the US and purchased my player at BestBuy in the US. I just did what you suggested and it did not seem to improve the situation. I suspect it was already set to  ‘US’ or ‘Rest Of World’. It did seem to be the cause of the nearly immediate subsequent crash. Once I got the player going again, I found something that helped a bit and what is probably the best thing available now short of running the files through a normalizer. Under “Music Options”, I selected Equalizer settings and then chose “Custom”. I cranked all the sliders to the maximum setting. This helped enough that I think I’ll be able to live with it until Sandisk does something about the volume problem, or until I find a normalizer that works (whichever happens first).