Bad Headphone Jack - Static

[thaumaturge]

2 Day old Fuze developed mild static which now has grown into very bad static.  Oddly, it doesn’t seem as bad on the FM Radio source, just everything else.  I’m assuming it’s a bad solder joint in the headphone jack, but who knows.

Back it goes!  Hopefully the replacement is okay.

Message Edited by Thaumaturge on 05-03-2008 08:56 AM

[thaumaturge]

Okay, so I exchanged the Fuze for a new one.  (Had to seek out a BestBuy that actually had another one.)

I still get pops if the headphone jack is ever so slightly flexed upward in the direction of the screen.  No constant static yet though.

I realize the size of this device implicitly makes this a delicate area given that the jack is 2/3 the thickness of the whole case, but I suspect this thing will not last under normal use.  It’s just too easy to flex the jack in the socket.  This looks like a design issue as the jack connection should be bullet proof.  I’ll give it a couple days and see what happens.

Anyone else experiencing similar issues?

Does a case help?

[apix]

that’s strange, mine doesn’t have that problem. I can bend the headphone in any direction (with pretty good force) and I’m not getting that…

You can probably start a case with SanDisk, however its a headphone jack, so there’s not too much that can be done from remote troubleshooting. They would probably offer to replace it 

[kasutorosan]

I may have a solution to your problem if you still need one…first off…i’ve been having the same problem as you…i’ve tried 2 normal earphones…they work just fine…but i wanted to use earphones with clips on them so they don’t fall off easily…i bought 2 different brands…and i get that pop thing when the earphone plugs are moved a bit…i finally noticed a difference between them…the earclip earphones have a wider protruding cylindrical metal part right at the end of the plastic…what you can do is…put tape on the bottom part…then plug it in…and the tape should get flattend and cover the part i’m talking about…this image (l-r) shows the earclip plug, earclip plug with tape that now works fine(probably don’t need that much tape…but i guess none of the metal should be touching the sansa on the outside)…and the normal earphone that came with the fuze…

…hope that helps…if not…may god have mercy on your sansa!..

[thaumaturge]

Thanks for the tip and pic.  Unfortunately, the phones I have that cause the pops the most already have rubber in the area you taped.

Having reviewed the Fuze disassembly pics over at anythingbutipod, it looks like the jack receptacle itself is more likely the issue.  For more pics, check it out here http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/2008/03/sandisk-sansa-fuze-disassembly.php