Will not play Rhapsody channels

For Rhapsody , the Sansa must be in MTP Mode for transfer of subscription / protected media.  The e280R has two modes, Rhapsody and Plays For Sure, with subscription media actually possible using the current PFS (MTP) method, and MSC mode to handle Real Networks proprietary RAX format.  This format of DRM is pretty clever, as the device holds the license, not a combination of embedded media license plus the device.

One of several things can be happening on your system, but let’s try the simplest things first. Verify the firmware version, as Rhapsody Authorization glitches have been tackled with the last two revisions (builds).  On the device, check the firmware that’s currently loaded by going to Settings > scroll down to Info , and check the build listing after Version.  I have 02.38.06 on this device currently.  

Let’s check the status Rhapsody.  On the top line of the device display, the status line , you should have the clock, a colored dot (red-yellow-green), then playback / battery level.  Do you have a wee dot? This shows subscriprion media license status.  I’ll guess that yours may be red.  The presence of the “dot” shows that Rhapsody has sent license data.

Back to the Settings screen we go.  Just after Info, do you see a listing called Rhapsody Information?  If you tap on that, the diaplay is going to change in one of several ways.  If track licenses are genuinely expired, you will get a message stating “Your subscription tracks have expired”.  This screen is normally displayed when the license has lapsed.  If your email address / account name pop up, something may be amiss, as this normally will drop off with the track license being expired.

Plug in your Fuze+, and open Windows Explorer.  Click on the Fuze, and see that it connecting in MTP mode for Rhapsody.  I think it is, since you have the option available for Authorize.  Since you’re running Windows 7 64 bit , Rhapsody also supports 64 in the latest builds.

Let’s use the Device Stage.  Double click on the Fuze+ to open Internal Memory > Service > Rhapsody (do you see your account information loaded here?) > Channels > here will be the series of Channels playlist .pla files.  We want to see if everything is going into its proper location.

If so, manually force the Rhapsody Client to set up the Fuze from scratch using the Windows Format command.  Right click on Internal memory and select Format.  We need FAT32 for the Fuze+ since we’re above the 2GB floor.  After you format that puppy, unplug, and see that it refreshes the database (the Fuze+ says “loading”), then you should have no subscription warning or dot visible.

Next, plug in, and authorize the Fuze+ again from the Rhapsody 4 client.  It’s critical that you select one music track and transfer it to the device first, so we can test the system out.  After transfer, see if the track will play correctly.

Sometimes, simply authorizing the device doesn’t work correctly, so if one test track is sent over, the client builds the license data correctly.

Let me know what you get at this point.

Bob  :smileyvery-happy: